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Conquering dry winter skin with homemade scrubs and lotions

SchneiderPeeps - Dry, chapped skin is a huge problem in the winter. You can easily conquer it with homemade scrubs and lotions.

Last week we had a little chapped lips issue going on here. We were applying lip balm all day it seemed and still several of us had dry chapped lips. Poor Esther, she didn’t really understand why we kept telling her to stop licking her lips, they were dry after all. But really, licking dry lips only makes them worse.

What we needed to do was get the dry flakes off so the lip balm could work. So, I whipped up a little lip scrub for us to use and it occurred to me that even though we use homemade scrubs and lotions quite a bit around here, I’ve only mentioned it in passing once. Today I thought I’d share with you the very basics of scrubs and a few ideas on making them yourself. 

There are some things in life that you really need a recipe for, like cake, but other things where a process or method will do just fine. Scrubs fit into the later category. 

SchneiderPeeps - Dry, chapped skin is a huge problem in the winter. You can easily conquer it with homemade scrubs and lotions.

To make a scrub you need only two or three things, something gritty, something smooth and creamy and possibly a scent. 

The gritty product is what is going to do the exfoliation. I only use salt and sugar for my grit and either one will work just fine. Now, both salt and sugar have various coarseness to them. A good rule of thumb is, the more delicate the skin, the finer the grit needs to be. So for lip scrub I use a very fine salt or sugar but for a body scrub I use regular sugar.

The smooth and creamy product is to help the grit move around and to moisturize while the exfoliation is going on. There are so many things you could use for this but my favorite is glycerin, with sweet almond oil being my second choice.

Lastly, you can chose to scent your scrubs. I usually don’t but it won’t hurt anything if you do. The scrub is going to be washed off after just a moment or two, so you won’t be getting much of the medicinal benefits by using essential oils in the scrub. So, if you chose to use essential oils there is no need to use more than a few drops.

Over the years I’ve used a lot of different brands of essential oils. I’m now in the process of just using Rocky Mountain Oils. They have quality oils and make each batches GC/MS test results available, they also practice environmental sustainability in harvesting, packaging, and recycling. These are things that are important to me.

Usually a ration of 3 parts salt or sugar to 2 parts glycerin or oil will be a good starting place. If the scrub is too thick add a little more glycerin or oil, if it’s too thin add a little more salt or sugar.

SchneiderPeeps - Dry, chapped skin is a huge problem in the winter. You can easily conquer it with homemade scrubs and lotions.

Here’s the thing about exfoliating, you need to put on a moisturizer immediately. You’ve just exposed your more delicate skin and you need to protect it. I make variations of salves and body butter to use.

If you want to learn more about self-care and botanical skin care, I highly recommend this course from The Herbal Academy.

Homemade Scrubs and Lotions

Homemade scrubs and lotions are great entry level projects for botanical skin care. This list is some of our family's favorite body scrubs, lotions, and salves.

SchneiderPeeps - Dry, chapped skin is a huge problem in the winter. You can easily conquer it with homemade scrubs and lotions.

How do you conquer dry chapped skin?

Thanks for sharing with your friends!

Sara K

Wednesday 21st of January 2015

I love my lip balm and body butter (both homemade).

I hadn't thought about a lip scrub until I read your post - thank you!

Angi Schneider

Wednesday 21st of January 2015

We don't use the lip scrub often but sometimes we really need to get the dry flakes off. Do you have body butter recipe that you love that you'd like to share? No pressure, I'm just on the hunt for the perfect one for me.

Kate

Wednesday 21st of January 2015

This will be great for making gifts!

Angi Schneider

Wednesday 21st of January 2015

It would. We made DIY Spa sets for our siblings and their spouses for Christmas and included some scrubs. It was a really fun gift.