Sandblasting Sugar Scrub

According to Nick, there’s not much good about the Kuwaiti desert, where he’ll be stationed for some undetermined amount of the summer. As if the searing heat were not enough, the oil laced sand blows relentlessly across the unprotected flatlands, sandblasting whatever solid forms it comes upon. Trying to be positive, I reminded him that people pay lots of money for that kind of intense exfoliation treatment. In fact, I had just made an oil based sugar scrub to do just that. My concoction smells more like roses than camel dung, and can be applied selectively, but it does the same job, more or less.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved to make beauty products. I think the sink in the back bathroom at my folk’s house is still pitted from my sister and my soap making fiasco.  When I taught Food Science at a high school in Medford, we made soaps, lip balms, and lotions, experimenting with various scientific principles. It’s a natural extension of cooking and the ingredients are often interchangeable.

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with salt and sugar scrubs. My hands get so dry from constant washing, I am completely plastic bag impaired. I stand on the produce aisle rubbing the new plastic bag between my fingers while holding a bunch of cilantro, or a handful of green beans. My hands have so little natural oil left in them I can’t even open a bag, which is a rather inconvenient malady for a professional shopper. I’ve found that oil based salt scrubs do a great job of getting rid of dry skin and moisturizing as well. But the salt part of the scrub reminds me that there’s truth to the “rubbing salt in my wounds” saying. Ouch! So I’ve switched to sugar scrubs which do a great job in exfoliating, don’t sting, and dissolve more slowly than salt. I’ve also switched from using olive or almond oil to using mostly coconut oil which is more solid at room temperature and makes a less runny scrub. The oil can be infused with all sorts of herbs, spices, citrus zests, or flowers to lend a subtle fragrance that lingers on the skin.

Jars of this scrub make great gifts.

Rose Infused Sugar Scrub

½ cup coconut oil, melted in the microwave until liquid
Fragrance ingredients (I used rose petals, mint, and a sprig of rosemary)
2 Tablespoons olive or almond oil
1 cup granulated sugar

Infuse the warm coconut oil with the herbs or flowers by steeping them in the warm coconut oil, covered, for about 30 minutes. Strain into a bowl, pushing down on the herbs to extract more fragrance. If you want the oil very clear, rewarm slightly and put through a coffee filter. (This takes about another 30 hour.) You can omit this step but the more impurities in the oil, the more quickly it will develop off odors. After straining, add the olive oil and the sugar and stir to blend. Put into a mason jar or empty cosmetic jar. To use, wet hands and scrub vigorously with the sugar scrub. Rinse and pat dry.

Makes about 1 ½ cups.