Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Homemade Body Scrubs

So this is kind of a random blog post for me, but I have been experimenting with homemade body scrubs as a Mother’s Day present for my mom and I thought I’d share them so that others can make them at home too! They are super simple, plus they are made mostly from ingredients you can find in your pantry!

To snazz them up for gift giving, use some ribbons or tissue paper. Be sure to add labels so that the recipient knows what’s inside!

I’d suggest using organic ingredients when you can, just to keep mind of potential adverse reactions. I found organic sugar, olive oil, and coconut oil at Essene in Queen Village (Philadelphia) but I’m sure Whole Foods has a selection as well.

These body scrubs are completely customizable. You just need an ingredient that works as an exfoliant (sugar, salt, coffee grounds, oatmeal, etc.) and then an oil to moisturize (olive, almond, coconut, walnut, etc. — these are sometimes referred to as “carrier oils”) To make them smell amazing, add a little bit of essential oils, which can be found at specialty shops or online. A favorite local store of mine is Herbiary. You can even add food coloring if you’d like the color to pop. Here are a few of the ones I made this week to give you some inspiration:

My mom is madly in love with the smell of citrus, (Last year, I made her these Lemon Earl Grey bars and she was ecstatic), so I decided to make a Grapefruit-Bergamot Body Scrub. Grapefruit and Bergamot are both very energizing smells, citrus-y and refreshing. This would be a great morning body scrub.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic raw sugar
• 1/3 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon sea salt (I used grey Celtic Sea Salt ®)
• 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil, at room temperature
• 4-6 drops each of Bergamot and Grapefruit essential oils
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, if needed (optional)
• 4-6 drops each of red and yellow food dye (optional)

To make, combine the sugars, sea salt, coconut oil, and essential oils in a bowl, mixing thoroughly. If you’d prefer a thinner consistency, add the teaspoon of olive oil and mix thoroughly. If desired, add some red and yellow food dye to make the mixture an orange color.

I also made a more relaxing body scrub for my boyfriend’s mom. This Lavender-Chamomile Body Scrub would be perfect right before bed. Just use to exfoliate, rinse, and follow with a body moisturizer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
• 4-6 drops each of Lavender and Chamomile essential oils
• 1 teaspoon organic olive oil, if needed (optional)
• 4-6 drops each of blue and red food dye (optional)

Combine the sugar, coconut oil, and essential oils, mixing well. If you’d prefer a smoother consistency, add the olive oil. For a purple hue, add the blue and red food dye and mix thoroughly to combine.

I decided to make myself a Coffee Body Scrub as well, because, well, why not?

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup organic raw sugar
• 1/4 cup organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup coffee grounds
• 2 tablespoons sea salt (I used grey Celtic Sea Salt ®)
• 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon organic olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Feel free to add more sugars/coffee grounds/sea salt until you reach your desired consistency.

Last up, one more citrus body scrub using Meyer lemons. I saw this Meyer Lemon Body Scrub recipe on utry.it and had to make my own batch.

Ingredients:

• the zest of 2 Meyer lemons
• 1 cup of organic granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon organic olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing thoroughly. Be sure to save those Meyer lemons for a food recipe, they are delicious!

Note: I used 4 oz jars for mine so that I could give small samples of multiple scrubs. These recipes above make about 1 cup, so two 4 oz jars.