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I recently made two trips where my legs spent a lot of time exposed to the sun. After returning home my skin looked the worse for wear and I realized that the more I age the drier and less elastic my skin is becoming. Sigh. In times like these my remedy of choice are sugar scrubs for exfoliation and more moisture. Alas, I've been out of any sugar scrubs for quite awhile, and sometimes, when you're in a pinch (like visible evidence of one's impending age) you just don't want to go running all over town to track down what you need.
So I decided to try to whip up my own sugar scrub. I mean, it's sugar and oil, how hard can that be? After a quick search on the Internet, including this very informative web page, I found out that it was pretty easy - you can basically make a sugar scrub out of any plant-based oil (mineral oil isn't recommended), sugar, and fragrance - except that many of the recipes asked for lecithin. (What the heck is lecithin?)
However, after poking through the cabinet to see what ingredients I might have, I found an unopened bottle of Palmer's Cocoa Butter Soothing Oil. Given to new mothers everywhere! And it had lecithin in it. Plus, collagen and other elasticity-building ingredients. Perfect!
So here's what I did.
1 9oz bottle of Palmer's Cocoa Butter (that's travel size)
¼ cup canola oil (I would have used all Palmer's if I had more)
½ cup of white sugar
20 drops fruit fragrance (you can get fragrances in any craft store with soap supplies)
In the end, the canola oil was a little heavier than I was used to in a scrub but the result was the same... my skin was smooth and moisturized! Apparently, sugar also naturally produces glycolic acid, an exfoliating alpha hydroxy acid. I was very pleased, I had instant gratification and it probably cost all of a dollar (on the high end) to make. The oil will try to separate from the sugar without enough (guess?) lecithin but a quick stir with a finger smoothes it back together.
I did find that the fruit fragrances couldn't quite compete with the cocoa scent, so the next time I use Palmer's I'm going to use brown sugar with some vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon. (I'll smell like cobbler!) For any new mothers out there, this is a great, easy way to use any leftover Palmer's Oil.
