The weather has been so cold in SF lately, and my skin is definitely seeing the effects of it. Even with extra lotion, my elbows and knees have been feeling very dry, and sometimes (gasp!) even a little flaky. Moisturizing body scrubs are the perfect remedy, but I find that bath related products are the lone beauty product I can just never bring myself to indulge in. Since I don’t use them as often, they typically sit around in my bathroom, looking pretty (but taking up space), so I much prefer to make them on my own whenever I think about it!
And that’s how I found myself whipping up this super simple sea salt and sugar body scrub on Saturday afternoon. You can easily make this with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Just a little bit of sea salt and sugar (if you don’t have turbinado or demarara sugar, you can try substituting brown sugar — it’ll just dissolve on you faster!), olive oil, and honey. To spice things up a bit, I also added some essential oils for a bright, citrusy kick. The tiny essential oil vials are readily available at my local Whole Foods; if you can’t find them at yours, check stores like GNC too.
After the scrub is mixed together, I like to sit in the tub with the water running, and rub a dub dub from head to toe (if you have a bath partner — ooh la la! — get them to scrub your back too). The salt and sugar do such a great job of exfoliating, the honey softens the skin, and the oil moisturizes. Afterwards, I just rinse off in the shower with no soap, and I’m perfectly smooth and moisturized. It’s pretty fantastic! Here’s the recipe:
great DIY – but i am always saying i’m gonna do one, but end up never doing it
I love the idea of sugar and salt together! Definitely going to whip this up one of these days. And beautiful photography.
Love this. Pinning you! The cold WI weather has me dry all over too! xx
The best thing you can do with sugar for your body! Love it.
No matter how much lotion I use I still feel super dry :( Maybe it’s the harsh Chicago wind! Thanks for this awesome DIY Victoria!
If you’re extra dry, try the scrub then layer your normal
lotion on top of it! You can also sub out all the salt
for only the sugar.
I found that a little coconut oil after a hot shower soaks way down in my skin and works better than any lotion i’ve ever had. ill never go back to lotion.
I’m going to try this tonight for sure, I have a bad case of winter weather skin!
I’ve been using this recipe for years. It’s perfect – not to rough on the skin, very effective. Love the graphics for the recipe.
Love this, thanks for sharing! I bet you smell divine after using it too!
Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget
I just read a DIY scrub post on Freutcake the other day, and I think you and the universe are telling me ‘doooo itttttt’.
And if you ever do decide to splurge on this kind of beauty product, try the sugar lip scrub from Lush! I think it’s only like 10 bucks (so really not too much of a splurge), but it works well and is soo yummy and sugary, just like your scrub above.
That looks as if it would smell absolutely amazing! I’m going to give it a bell tomorrow while my boy is out golfing. Thanks for the DIY!
Lauren x
Gordon + Gold
This is really intriguing to me. I’ve tried making glycerin-based soap a few times, but I haven’t quite figured out how to get the bubbles out. This though…just might have to give this a go!
We’re in the midst of a harsh, cold and snowy winter here in New England and I am in need of a little extra TLC in the skin department. I just mixed up and used this scrub. It’s fantastic! My skin is now soft, smooth and moisturized. I like that I can make this up fresh whenever I need it. Thank you!
What do you think or have you ever tried Coconut Oil in place of the Olive Oil? Thoughts, please.
I haven’t, Cathy! It might work really well though, especially if the Coconut Oil was more liquid than solid (though, even if it was solid, you could keep it in your steamy bathroom while you shower and it’d liquify pretty quickly, I’m guessing!). Let me know if you try it!
Great recipe! Looing forward to reading more from your blog. I’m obsessed with homemade beauty recipes.
http://www.wherefitnessmeetsbeauty.com/beauty/