Exfoliating your skin once or twice a week is the best way to improve your skin tone. Scrubs unclog pores, promote a speedy turnover of skin cells, balance your body’s oil production, and rid your pores of toxins and dirt to create a fresh overall look and feel. Scrubs are very easy to make at home – once you have all of the ingredients prepared and measured, the process only takes a few minutes.
This recipe uses organic demerara cane sugar as the main exfoliating ingredient (which means that you can nibble a little in the shower and it’ll be tasty). If you are a savory person, you could use sea salt in place of the sugar, the main difference being that sugar is better for sensitive skin. This recipe also calls for virgin coconut oil, which soaks into your skin quickly, is naturally antifungal, and helps to lock in moisture and promote skin hydration. Not to mention, virgin coconut oil also lends its sweet scent and taste to create dessert-like recipes. You can also use another pure oil in place of coconut, like olive, walnut, avocado or sunflower oil. Keep in mind that some will have a stronger savory scent or might feel oilier on your skin. Whichever you choose, the oil should be in liquid form for thorough mixing. The easiest way to melt coconut oil is in a saucepan on your range, at low heat. Keep stirring the oil while it is heating until it’s just melted, and take it off the heat to cool to room temperature. As oils are heated their healing properties change, so the less heat used, the better. To melt oil in the microwave, heat for 10 seconds at a time until liquefied.
The best place to use a scrub is in the shower. After an initial rinse, scoop out a handful of scrub and massage it onto wet skin. You might step out of the water stream as you do this to keep the scrub from dissolving as you spread it over your entire body. Rinse the scrub off thoroughly and pat your skin dry when you exit the shower.
Tools You Will Need
Mixing bowl
Spoon
Jars with lids
Food processor (optional)
Coffee grinder (optional)
Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler
Spice grater (optional)
Zester (optional)
Tea towel or sandwich bags
Saucepan or microwave safe bowl
Chai Masala Scrub
¼ cup Black tea
1 tbsp Dry ginger, ground
1 tbsp Cinnamon, gound
½ tsp Cloves, ground
½ tsp Nutmeg, ground
½ tsp Cardamom, ground
¼ tsp Black pepper, ground
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Coconut oil
Directions:
Grind the black tea leaves to a powder. If you don’t have a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle, put the tea leaves in a sandwich bag or tea towel and roll with a rolling pin or lightly hit with a hammer to grind the leaves up. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg can be bought already ground (easiest method) or you can use a grater to grate them. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and vanilla thoroughly. Pour the oil over the ingredients and mix to combine.
We wanted to share a recipe using ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores. Once made, you can store your scrub for up to three months in a sealed jar.
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