Happy Friday!! Welcome to Friday Favorites and a special thanks to Heather from Housewife Glamour for hosting our fabulous FF party! I just love reading everyone’s favorites of the week.
This week I am sharing some of my most favorite recipes for homemade beauty products. I like to keep it real simple- I don’t get into all those complicated recipes that you have to cook and use a double boiler and chill for hours etc. My most favorite homemade beauty recipes are for scrubs- specifically for the hands, feet, lips and the face.
1. Rosemary Mint Hand Scrub
Have you ever walked by Sabon Boutique in New York City? It’s a store filled with all kinds of beauty pampering products but one thing they offer is a complimentary hand scrub treatment. If you ever get a chance, give it a whirl. Wow. We so often neglect our hands yet they work so hard for us in our everyday life. Why not give them a little love?
Rosemary Mint Sugar Hand Scrub
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Epsom Salt
1 cup Coconut Oil
5-10 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
5-10 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and coconut oil. Stir until well mixed. Add 2 drops each of rosemary and peppermint oil. Stir until the scent is evenly distributed throughout the sugar and salt mixture. Continue to add drops of the rosemary and peppermint oil until the desired scent level is achieved. Add the scrub to a jar and tighten the lid to seal.
Here’s another recipe I got from the BlogHerFood Conference this past May from Sunkist if you prefer something more citrus-y:
Zesty Grapefruit Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar scrub
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed Sunkist grapefruit juice
1 tbsp honey
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Apply to your hands by dipping a sliced grapefruit in the grapefruit sugar mixture. In addition to the massaging skin benefits, the grapefruit will also work to brighten nails. Follow the treatment with a luke-warm soaked wash cloth.
2. Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub
Another area we forget to exfoliate is our lips. Nobody wants dry flaky lips. I love doing this at least once a week.
Coconut Oil Sugar Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
Coconut Oil
Honey
Brown Sugar
Directions:
Mix a tablespoon of coconut oil and a tablespoon of honey. Stir until they form a pasty mixture and then add two teaspoons of brown sugar. Mix until everything is well blended. Add the scrub to a clean jar and tighten the lid to seal.
3. Baking Soda Facial Scrub
The absolute easiest and cheapest thing in the whole world. Why spend more than a buck on a facial scrub? Baking soda does the trick just fine. Mix a little baking soda with enough water to make a paste and apply to skin gently in a circular motion. Then rinse. That’s it. Nothing to it right? I swear my skin glows after I do this.
4. Peppermint Foot Scrub
Who doesn’t love a pampering pedicure? I love going to a salon and get my tootsies spoiled but it can really get expensive. Check out this super easy recipe for a homemade foot scrub:
Peppermint Foot Scrub
Ingredients:
Granulated Sugar
Coconut Oil
Peppermint Essential Oil
Directions:
Take 1 cup granulated sugar and pour into a mixing bowl. Gradually add the Olive Oil or Coconut Oil and mix together until you have a slightly wet, but grainy consistency. Add a few drops of Peppermint Essential Oil. Transfer the scrub to a cute jar and generously on your feet!
5. Dry Brushing
I usually skip using or making body scrubs in the shower, mostly because it leaves an oily slippery floor. Instead, my Mom turned me on to the benefits of dry brushing. Not only does it exfoliate your skin, it has also been proven to improve circulation and releases toxins from your system. It increases blood flow and is thought to assist with digestive issues. It is very easy. Before you hop into the shower, grab a dry brush and begin to scrub your skin in a gentle circular motion. Start at your feet and work your way up.
- Choose a brush with natural fibers.
- Brush skin once a day, ideally before a morning shower.
- Use long upward strokes- from feet to legs, from hands to shoulders. Always towards the heart.
- Do not use on broken skin.
- Clean brush once a week with soap and water.
Of course about anything can be made at home nowadays from lip gloss to hair masks. Some are great, but be wary of those that promise to grow your hair in 1 week or take 6 inches off your hips in 3 days. Not everything on Pinterest can be trusted as we have all probably learned! Happy Friday!
What are some of your favorite homemade beauty recipes?
Helen Corbin
Friday 23rd of January 2015
I love all of these and will have to try them. I sometimes put just plain coconut oil on my face and hands after a scrub. One of these days, I am going to get up the nerve to make a turmeric/yogurt mask. The reason I am hesitating is because it can stain your skin yellow but they say you just scrub it off with a washcloth - maybe I will try :-)