DIY Bath Scrub **Updated**

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It's a long, dry winter and I use lots of sugar scrub so I don't have the alligator thing going.    I like the combination of exfoliation and oil - lots of oil!    As I finished my last tub, I thought I could probably make the stuff lots cheaper and without all those unpronounceable chemicals. 

Pinterest is full of sugar scrub recipes.  I wanted to make some with what I had on hand, which left out ones with a fancy oil base or  essential  oils for fragrance ( I do have some patchouli oil, but while I still love the occasional trip back to the  70s, patchouli is a bit much for every day).  So I was happy to find a recipe at Freutcake using stuff I already had. 



Lots of scrub recipes call for brown sugar, but I like a coarser scrub and this ones uses Turbinado sugar that has a  much coarser grain than brown sugar.  

The recipe:

1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar

2 cups Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract (or your favorite essential oil)

Directions: Combine the two sugars in a bowl and mix to incorporate. Add olive oil and stir. Mix in honey and vanilla. Store in an airtight jar.

Again, this is a coarse scrub, so if you'd like something less vigorous, you can substitute brown sugar for the Turbinado.  I wouldn't use this as a face scrub.

I doubled the vanilla and added extra oil after packing the scrub into jars.  I let the oil settle down into the scrub and added more - a couple of times.  ( I told you I like oil).  The scrub looks and smells good enough to eat, but let's not.

I packed the scrub into some small recycled glass jars.  Even though all the pictures on Pinterest showed the scrub in glass jars, I'm not sure that glass jars filled with slippery oil  are the smartest idea for the shower.  I'm on the lookout for some small metal tubs - seems safer.

I've already tested my scrub and love it.  Think I'm going to try grinding some lavender and using lavender essential oil for fragrance in the next batch. 

This scrub would make a great gift - packed in a nice tin and finished off with some fibers and a cute tag.  I think I have an idea for the  office gifts for next Christmas- I even found a site for the tins.

**UPDATE**  I finally made the lavender scrub.  I ground about two tablespoons of dried lavender in the coffee grinder and added it and lavender essential oil to the sugar/ oil/ honey mixture.   Most recipes calls for just a few drops of oil, but I add much more - probably a teaspoon or two.  The smell is divine!