Oh, winter. You bring with you so many lovely things: comfort food, cozy fires, Christmas… but why, oh why must you always bring me dry skin?
It’s true. I have super, super dry skin. And this is the first winter that I have been making my own homemade lotion. I loved it in the summer, but I’m going to be honest, I haven’t loved it in the winter. My elbows, my arms, my legs feel like alligator skin. They’re awful. I’m embarrassed.
The thought crossed my mind, just for a moment, to just go buy a bottle of Lubriderm and slather it on my scaly skin. But not willing to give up my all-natural beauty regimen, nor to pay $8.99 for a bottle of lotion, I began searching the Internet for even more skin-nourishing alternatives.
And I found this: Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub at www.bystephanielynn.com. Sign me up. Turns out it’s exceedingly simple to make and I already had the ingredients on hand. I’m sure you do, too.
First, mix together 2 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of white sugar until all of the lumps are gone. This is an important step. I didn’t do it the first time and ended up with lots of lumps that didn’t mix up once I put the oil in.
Next, you stir in 1 cup sunflower oil, (I used safflower oil, which is sold at my local grocery store. You could use olive oil, but it has a much stronger scent, a scent that does not mix well with vanilla) and 1 Tablespoon vanilla until well mixed.
Finally, scoop into a sealable glass jar (I had this one in the 16 oz size from the Container Store, but you could also use a mason jar) and viola! You have a wonderful body scrub that will make your dry skin a thing of the past. I use it in the shower, after soap, before my final rinse, then I just pat my skin dry with a towel. I have also been known to use it on my face, which is also extremely dry.
And if you have chapped lips this winter, use it as a lip scrub before you put on your favorite lip balm. Bonus: it tastes wonderful!
Happy winter, everyone.
Full Of Graces 