Salt scrubs get rid of dead skin cells, improve skin tone, boost circulation, and stimulate the lymphatic system, which in turn helps to prevent cellulite. The base (carrier) oils moisturize the skin naturally, and you can add essential oils to hydrate and balance, to energize, or to detoxify.
Here’s an easy salt scrub recipe you can do at home in a few minutes and for very little money. It takes a couple of minutes to mix the ingredients, and then you just need approximately ten minutes to massage the salt scrub on your body and rinse it off in the shower. Treating yourself to a salt scrub couldn’t be easier!
The Salt Scrub Recipe
The amounts of salt and oil in this recipe are rough estimates. You might need a bit more or a bit less. Experiment with the amount of oil you add to the salt; you might like your salt scrub a little oilier or drier than in the recipe. Most salt scrub recipes use fine sea salt, although I have also used coarse sea salt occasionally. You’ll need
- approximately a cup of (fine) sea salt
- approximately half a cup of olive, sweet almond, jojoba or coconut oil (if you use coconut oil, it has to be in liquid form)
- 10-15 drops of essential oils – choose from the following or add your own favorite oils.
Choose 2-3 essential oils for your scrub:
- detoxifying: Juniper, Grapefruit, Rosemary, Geranium, Lemon (all these are also great for an anti-cellulite salt scrub)
- energizing: Rosemary, Grapefruit, Basil, Black Pepper, Ginger, Thyme, Peppermint, Eucalyptus
- to boost circulation: Rosemary, Ginger, Black Pepper
- great for all skin types: Lavender, Geranium or read Essential Oils for Different Skin Types for more ideas.
How to Use the Scrub
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Use the scrub on moist skin. Salt scrubs can be a little bit messy, so stay in the shower room or in the bath when applying the scrub. Massage the scrub on your skin starting from the feet and working your way up. Use vigorous but gentle movements – you don’t have to use a lot of pressure. Focus on the areas you think are congested or need exfoliating, such as areas that have cellulite, or areas with a lot of dry skin. You can use the scrub on most parts of your body, but if your face is sensitive, you might want to choose a more gentle scrub for the face instead.
Rinse the remains of the scrub off with warm water. The oil will leave the skin moisturized, but high quality vegetable oils absorb fast and will not leave the skin too oily.
Clean the bath/shower well afterwards. Since the scrub is oily, I usually pour some boiling water in the drain to prevent clogging.
Photo: Morguefile
