Jones Body scrubs are excellent moisturizing exfoliates that are super easy to make at home. The ingredients are inexpensive and the best part is that it doesn’t take long to make. These scrubs make great gifts for a dinner hostess, a friend at work who is struggling, or just friends and family. I make jars for myself for days when my skin feels a little dry.
For this DIY, you will need:
- 2 cups Epsom salt or organic cane sugar
- 1 cup carrier oil
- 8 drops of an essential oil
- 1 drop of food coloring
- Optional: Mason jar, medicine dropper
- Decorative elements: Ribbon, tag, fabric square about 4 x 4, small porcelain spoon
Essential Oils
Essential oils are the true essence liquids extracted from the parts of plants. Almost every sweet plant has an essential oil. So if there is a particular scent you like, for example grapefruit or lavender, you can find an essential oil for it. You can find essential oils at your local GNC and I hear Walgreens carries some. But for more variety, you can look online.
Carrier Oil
A carrier oil is a vegetable oil that comes from a part of a plant such as a seed or nut. Since essential oil applied directly to the skin can cause irritation, carrier oils are needed to dissolve the essential oil and carry it to the skin. Vegetable oils are the carrier oils used primarily for aromatherapy purposes. Examples of vegetable oils are avocado oil, grape seed oil, macadamia nut oil, evening primrose oil, and apricot kernel oil. There are many other vegetable oils that you can use and they all have different scents. Just experiment to see which scents you like best based on the ingredients of the oil.
1. In a mason jar, mix Epsom salt with your carrier oil.
2. With your medicine dropper, add the essential oil one drop at a time.
3. Then add your drop of food coloring and stir until the color spreads in the mixture.
4. Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
5. Place the flat metal disc-lid on the jar and then place the 4 x 4 fabric square over the lid. Screw the outer band to the top of the fabric.
6. Tie the ribbon to the tag, and then, give it to a dear friend!
You may not need a pipette depending on the package for the essential oil. For example, my lavender oil bottle has a thin opening so the liquid can escape one drop at a time.
For food coloring, try to match the color to the essential oil. For example, if you are making a lavender body scrub, you can use purple coloring; or use any color you like. Here, I used a drop of blue food coloring to give it a light seaglass color.
You can also match the color and design of your ribbon and fabric square to the particular essential oil of your choice. For example, if you are using tangerine oil, you can use orange ribbon instead. Or to create variety, you can use a different color like pink or blue. I like to implement blue in creative packaging because blue is the color most associated with all things calm, refreshing and spa-like.
