Recently when we went to Florida, in the bathroom of a restaurant in Pensacola I had the opportunity try a extremely yummy smelling body scrub. They had it in a bowl next to the sink with instructions to rub it on your hands and rinse off. It smelled very coconut-y and tropical; perfect for a beach setting. My first thought was (after, oh my god this smells yummy) was “Hey, I bet I could make this!)
Armed with a determination to make a body scrub of my very own and the motivation to get it done for Mother’s Day so I could present some to my mother, I turned to the world’s most valuable crafting resource: Google.
Eventually I found my way to a couple of scrubs that I decided I would try for myself.
First, we went shopping for jars or glass containers. After being unsuccessful at JoAnne’s, we wound up at Michael’s where I settled on some 8 oz candle jars, a small hot-glue gun and some pretty ribbons. Later that evening, after further Googling, I thought 8 ounces might be too big; since these scrubs are made out of kitchen ingredients, I was concerned they might have a fairly limited shelf and/or refrigerator life. So instead of using the candle jars, I got a box of twelve 4 oz canning jars from Kroger. They seem like a very good size!
The first one I wanted to try was the simplest: peppermint foot scrub from theidearoom. It is simply white granulated sugar, coconut or olive oil and scent. I chose to use a refreshing peppermint eucalyptus scent that I found in the soap-making section at Michael’s. I wound up using a ratio of 1:2 of sugar to oil: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 a cup oil. I used an extra light olive oil. I would have preferred to use coconut oil, but it was more expensive. On a side note, I love coconut oil. I use it in my hair and I understand it’s good for your skin and is excellent for cooking. Anyway, I added about 20 drops of scent because it was fairly mild and I love the smell of peppermint. Then I poked a hole in the ends of 5 capsules of Vitamin E and squeezed that into the mix. I finished up by added ONE drop of red food coloring because the olive oil turned it slightly yellowing and I thought pink would be a good color for peppermint. Only one drop though, I didn’t want to turn mine or my mother’s skin pink.
After mixing it all up, I scooped it into the canning jars and hot glued pretty pink ribbon with dangling ‘crystals’ all around the jar underneath the lid. I tried it myself in the shower and was pretty pleased with it. I wanted it thick enough that it wouldn’t run off and could actually be used to scrub, but not so thick that it was too rough. Go with personal preference. I would make this again, definitely.
The other scrub I tried didn’t quite turn out as well: coconut milk body scrub from Priya Beauty recipes. This one calls for a 1:1 ratio of brown sugar to coconut milk (1 cup) and a little coconut oil (1 tablespoon). I warmed the coconut milk in the microwave and added the brown sugar and coconut oil. It seemed runny, but I chalked it up to the warm milk melting the sugar. I figured when it cooled it would thicken up. I added Vitamin E to this one as well, but I passed on the scent, because I love the smell of coconut and felt that between the coconut milk and the coconut oil it was yummy enough. I poured it into my jars, added my ribbon and refrigerated. I didn’t want the coconut milk to go bad. I imagine this would have a very low shelf life and refrigeration is surely a must.
I just tried this concoction in the shower today and it was extremely runny. It ran right off and there was no ‘scrub’ to it at all. However, it smelled really yummy and my skin feels nice and soft. I would make this again, too, but next time I’m going for a 2:1 ratio of brown sugar at least.
All in all, I liked them. It was an easy to make but (I think) decent present for my mum. I would caution if you use one of these in the shower to beware of the floor getting slippery from the oil, especially if you don’t have any textured no-slip strips in your tub or shower.
