Last week, I was asked to post some more home-grown DIY skin care gift ideas for the holidays. You will need some glass storage jars, a few minutes in the kitchen, and a quick trip to a craft store to pick up the art supplies you may need to personalize or decorate your gifts. Here are a few new recipes for you, and they perfectly compliment some of the recipes I posted last year.There are many different exfoliants right in your kitchen cabinet. Several body scrubs use sugar because it is so gentle on the skin, but some people prefer the coarser grains of a salt scrub.
Salt has been known for centuries for it's healing properties and time has proved it to be a relaxing way to soak sore and tired muscles. Creating your own therapeutic scented bath salt is easy. Use one tablespoon of baking soda for each cup of salt used, and add a few drops (usually 10 to 20, depending on the strength of the fragrance) of your favorite essential oil for scent. It doesn't matter whether you use epsom salt, rock salt, sea salt, or rock salt, and some formulas mix them all together.
This one makes an awesome scrub for dry and tired feet.
Peppermint Foot Scrub
*1 cup dead sea salt
*1/3 cup sunflower oil or other carrier oil of choice
*10 drops peppermint essential oil, 5 drops lavender. Mix well and store in an airtight jar. Stir again before using.
Coffee grounds also make a wonderful exfoliator and they are loaded with antioxidants.Caffeine also acts as a vasoconstrictor, reduces puffiness (this is why caffeine extract is often an ingredient in many cosmetic eye creams), and may also temporarily lessen the appearance of some varicose veins.
My personal favorite coffee recipe...
Vanilla Body Scrub
*1 teaspoon vanilla essential oil
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1 cup coffee grounds
*1/3 cup hazelnut oil or other carrier oil of choice
Mix ingredients in a glass bowl, store in an airtight jar, and stir well before using. You'll be baby-soft and smell like dessert.
Feel free to experiment with different variations on these recipes. Essential oils can be found at most local health food stores. Either combine them for their aromatherapy benefits or to create your own signature scent. Honey has natural healing and moisturizing properties, and can be added to almost anything. Your carrier oil is the base that holds all the ingredients together, and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth. Choose an oil that doesn't go rancid very quickly, and these products may be stored and used for up to a year. Sunflower oil is a favorite because it absorbs so quickly and has a long shelf life. Nut oils (macadamia and hazelnut) are amazing for their sweet scent and hydration properties, but don't give a gift to someone without forgetting to ask if they have a nut allergy first.
Happy holidays!!!
Ooh! I have about a zillion of these recipes. I've been making home beauty stuff for a couple of years now, mostly because my skin is so sensitive and everything makes me dry, itchy, or break out. So far, my faves are a body powder with a delicate fragrance from powdered chamomile, calendula, and lavender flowers added to a base of kaolin clay, corn starch and baking soda and a lotion of coconut oil, cocoa butter and several other ingredients. I keep saying I'm going to send these to you and I never do! Oh well... maybe next year. Thanks for sharing your recipes... happy holidays right back at ya!
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