Kitchen Beauty: Super Simple DIY Scrubs

Honey poster from Paul Blundell via allposters

Remember back in February when I admitted being on a total DIY kick? Well, I'm still obsessed.

I blame the spending hiatus.

At any rate, over the weekend I tried two super simple scrub recipes that I got off of this article.

The honey lip scrub is just 1 tsp each of olive oil and honey, 2 tsp of granulated sugar, and a dash of lemon juice. I got my lemon juice from a lemon I had lying around, but I'm sure bottled juice would work fine (as long as it has citric acid). I mixed everything together in a teeny bowl and rubbed over my lips with a finger. My lips came away flake free and SO soft, and I didn't even feel like I needed to put balm on them, which is a miracle in the winter. Plus, the scrub is actually kind of yummy if you get some in your mouth, unlike some store bought kinds I've tried, and it's very gentle. If you have sensitive skin, maybe omit the lemon juice at first, though.

The hand and foot sugar scrub is something my mom told me about ages ago, except that I (of course) never listened to her. It's the simplest thing in the world: equal parts granulated sugar and olive oil. That's it! The website above says a tablespoon of each to scrub hands and feet with. I actually mixed up a quarter cup of each, threw in a little extra sugar for more scrubbing power, and took it into the shower with me (in an empty container I had lying around). The scrub was wonderful not only for my hands and feet, but my parched and flaky legs and lower back. The sugar gets rid of flakes, and the olive oil moisturizes. Unlike some of the store-bought scrubs I have tried, this didn't sting my skin or disappear on contact. It was super gentle but effective, and the sugar dissolved right away in water when I was done. It did smell a bit like a french fry, but you could throw in some essential oils for scent if that bothers you. The smell did not linger after the shower, though the softness did.

Word of warning: olive oil will make the bottom of your shower VERY slippery, so be careful not to wipe out like I almost did. It will also be slippery the next day too if you don't wipe it up. You have been warned.

So there you have it- two more easy homemade beauty products to try out, and you probably already have the ingredients in your cupboard.

Anybody else tried a kitchen beauty recipe? Did it work? Spill your secrets!