Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Homemade Sea Salt Scrub: Spa Quality at an Affordable Price

As a mother of two boys and a full time college student, I sure need a good pamper session here and there. Recently I attended one of those at-home parties where a consultant shows you a bunch of beauty products to try and buy. Looking through the catalog, the prices for their products were pretty steep. I mean, some people at the party were looking to spend over $300, which is definitely not in my budget. I just can't wrap my head around that one. Spending oodles of dollars on products to defy the aging process. And from the looks of Joan Rivers, it's a losing battle.

One of the products I really liked was the sea salt scrub. Although I purchased it, I couldn't see myself spending that kind of money on a regular basis, even if I think I deserve it. I want it all, to get a spa like treatment without having to pay the overinflated prices. So what do I do?

I take matters in my own hands and make my own homemade version of it.

Over the years I've learned that just because something costs more, it doesn't mean it has a better quality. Oftentimes companies rely more on marketing their product, and when looking at ingredients, they may not have poorer quality and/or in less concentrated amounts.

The company that makes the sea salt scrub I bought won't post a list of their ingredients, just the active botanicals. Sooo...since the only active botanicals on the bottle are sweet almond oil and avocado oil, then I guess the "other stuff" isn't so important for the consumer to know. For all I know they could've put a teaspoon of avocado and sweet almond oil in their product and a ton of vegetable oil. I feel that by making my own batch, I know exactly what I put in it, and how much.

Here's my recipe:

A glass jar with lid
A package of Village Naturals Bath Shoppe Bath Soak (scented sea salt)
Safflower Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Jojoba Oil
Avocado Oil

Fill the jar 3/4 to the top with sea salt. Pour Safflower oil in until it totally saturates the salt. Add jojoba, sweet almond and avocado oils in your desired amount. Add your oils until there is about a centimeter above the top of the salt. Stir contents around until you feel its completely mixed.

Note: I used safflower oil because the other oils cost more. But if you want to use just those and other specialty oils, feel free to omit the safflower oil. You also can get unscented sea salt and add your own scented oils/fragrances in it. Even though my lavender bath salt was scented, I added a little lavender oil and some french lavendar scented Himalayan salt to it as well.
Oh yeah, DO NOT use mineral oil. It is not good for your skin at all.

I made two batches, a White Tea scent and Lavender scent. I suggest using this stuff before bed, so that it further aids in nourishing and repairing your skin. I took a shower, and let my skin get saturated with water. This helps to lock in moisture from the scrub. Take a small handful of sea salt scrub and massage it on your skin gently. Do not apply pressure, let the weight of your hands and the motion to do the work. In order to get better results, spend more time rubbing gently and lightly. Make sure to focus more on the rough spots, like knees, elbows, feet and hands.

When you are done, there will be a pile of sea salt on the tub floor. I just started a bath and soaked in it for a while. Your body will be covered in a lot of oil, and the sea salt bath helps to detoxify your skin and the soak will rinse away excess oil and dead skin from the exfoliation. When you get out of the bath, pat your skin dry with a towel.

The results were amazing. The sea salt exfoliated while the oils moisturized my skin. The lavender scent relaxed and calmed me. My skin was so soft, supple, smooth and glowing. My husband was so impressed with the results he wanted to try it too.

So, the proof is in the pudding, you don't have to break the bank to get a luxurious spa treatment.

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