For many gals, nothing is more fun than a day at the spa. Unfortunately, all that pampering can put a real dent in your wallet.
If you are living on a tight budget, but want to treat yourself to a relaxing body scrub or facial, head to your kitchen or bathroom. Believe or not, regular household items can be the key to an affordable spa pick-me-up.
One of the cheapest ingredients for a DIY spa treatment is sugar. The sweet stuff is inexpensive and versatile. Sugar can be used to cleanse and exfoliate skin with very little effort. What’s more, sugar doesn’t burn or scratch delicate skin like harsher ingredients, which is why it is commonly used in body scrubs.
You can make your own sugar scrub by combining a cup of sugar and a half cup of olive oil. Mix the two ingredients together, slather it on your skin, gently rub it in, and then rinse thoroughly. By adding a few other ingredients to the aforementioned sugar scrub recipe you can nourish your skin in a variety of ways. For example, squeezing some fresh lemon juice into a mixture of brown sugar and almond or coconut oil will yield a scrub that moisturizes dry skin. Another option is to add a few drops of vanilla oil to enhance the scent of your scrub.
If your skin is prone to breakouts, consider adding a tablespoon or two of green tea and some honey to the basic sugar scrub recipe. Green tea, especially in pure leaf form, is known to heal damaged skin. For a complete body scrub, rather than just a facial, combine sugar with yogurt and honey. Do this in the shower, as it can get quite messy if you are not careful. Mix the ingredients together, and then refrigerate the scrub for a couple of hours so it is not so goopy. Next, apply it to the parts of your body that need some revitalizing, such as your knees, elbows and ankles. Finally, thoroughly rinse your skin with cool water, making sure you’ve removed all of the sugar, yogurt and honey.