The one thing I love the most about Ayurvedic wisdom is that its just so dang easy to apply, once you know how of course !

With a core teaching of, Like attracts like and opposites bring balance, Ayurveda’s awesomeness shone brightly in my awareness during our recent return from the Australian summer, back to winter Swiss and directly inspired the following recipe.

By the time we had flown one third of the way to pause in Dubai, my warm, summer loving, coconut oil moistened skin had begun to dry out faster than I could rehydrate either internally or externally; I was literally witnessing the light and drying qualities of air travel bring Vata dosha to the forefront.

So by the time we arrived in cold and dry winter Swiss, all I could think about was balancing these qualities with a warm oil self massage, otherwise known as Abhyanga.

As luck would have it, there was no shortage of delicious fatty oils in our house and I went about fulfilling upon my intention until…

I had a realisation !

How could I get the oils to penetrate more readily, more deeply into my tissues, immediately ??

Exfoliation coupled with moisturisation was the key !

The following recipe was born from an urgent need, few ingredients and lots of speed.

Interestingly sugar is the main ingredient and I was actually quite surprised albeit a little delighted to find a packet of organic white sugar squirrelled away in our kitchen cabinet. Perfect for a suddenly snowy, cold winters day :)

P.s - Read about why we have sugar in our kitchen cabinet and learn about how to make your own Kombucha here

Easy DIY Body Sugar Scrub Recipe

- enough for one full body application.

Smart & Sassy - by doTERRA - blends Grapefruit, Lemon, Peppermint, Ginger, and Cinnamon essential oils to achieve warming and spicy aromatic and sensory applications. Perfect for awakening dry, cold winter skin and stimulating healthy lymph flow… — Smart & Sassy - by doTERRA - blends Grapefruit, Lemon, Peppermint, Ginger, and Cinnamon essential oils to achieve warming and spicy aromatic and sensory applications. Perfect for awakening dry, cold winter skin and stimulating healthy lymph flow, in readiness for Spring.
Fancy a bottle for yourself ? Learn about doTERRA Essential Oils and find guidance for ordering your own here

You will need -

Sugar
Oil
Essential oil

Method

Place 3 Tablespoons of fine white sugar into an empty jar
Pour over top 2 Tablespoons of Oil (I used Sesame oil as this is particularly good for penetrating into the deepest tissues)
Finally add 6 drops of your favourite doTERRA essential oil (I used Smart and Sassy)

Mix as you like - The essential oils disperse into the Sesame oil and both drench the sugar to create a gorgeous aromatic smoosh of exfoliating and moisturising goodness.

Directions

Once in the shower, swirl the mixture around with your fingers and apply lavishly to your damp skin and sloth of those dead skin cells - the mixture of the warm water and massage pulls toxins out and drives the nourishing oils in. Rinse and pat your body dry. What remains is dewy moistened, happy and glowing skin.

Oh my, how lovely and simple that was !

I didn’t use this scrub on my face, instead opted for a tiny bit of powered oats mixed with oil to achieve the same. More on my facial skin care routine another time.

Additional notes about Citrus oils

Given their bright, uplifting, lymphatic supporting and detoxifying nature, citrus oils are a perfect choice for your winter exfoliating scrubs. Many citrus oils can however be photo-toxic (which means skin discolouration when exposed to UV light) so as a general rule, save the sunbathing when using citrus on your skin.

According to Robert Tisserand, ‘Essential Oil Safety’, it is imperative to only use fresh non-oxidised citrus oils on your skin, so always adhere to expiry dates for all citrus oils.
4% is the maximal dermal dilution recommended for safe dermal Grapefruit application and 2% dilution for Lemon.
The blend dilution for the recipe above is around 1% (6 drops to 30 mls of carrier oil) which is on the lower side of risk for both Grapefruit and Lemon oil, both of which are components of the doTERRA Smart and Sassy blend.

Not a into D.I.Y (doing it yourself) ?

doterra exfoliating scrup amberspear.com.jpg

doTERRA has got you covered.

Add the Spa exfoliating body scrub to your next LRP and give that one a go. I’ve added one to my upcoming monthly care package and am super excited to give it a try. To get yours - ask me how.