Feel like a Goddess! DIY Sugar Scrub ~ Guest Blogger, Shai Smith

Growing up, I was never much of a girly girl. I wasn’t allowed to wear make-up, didn’t buy my own clothes, and washed my hair with the family bottle of Pert shampoo. Looking or feeling beautiful was just never a priority.  Then, after learning how to make my own laundry detergent, I started scouring the internet for other cheap, homemade products to help my frugal, young family while also helping the earth, and I just happened across the wonders of homemade bath products.  Since then, I’ve become an addict.  While I’m still not really a ‘girly-girl’, the act of creating and using my own eco-friendly beauty products has brought out an inner natural goddess I never knew existed.  Every woman deserves to feel like a goddess now and then, and you can, too, when you take control of your natural beauty and tell cosmetic companies you’re kissing their chemicals goodbye.

My all-time favorite beauty product that I make at home is my sugar scrub!  Even the cheapest container of sugar scrub at the local department store is nearly $8 and full of nastiness I can’t fathom rubbing into my skin. These toxic tubs can even be as much as $30-50 a jar!  Exfoliating, though, is an important part of skin care, as it removes the dead skin cells from the top of your skin and stimulates the newer skin cells underneath. So, what’s a woman to do? Make her own, of course!

Here's my recipe:

- 1 ½ c. sugar

- ¼ c. oil - grapeseed, olive oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil all work great
- experiment and see what you like!
- natural oil extract or massage oil of your choice for scent

Just mix them in a recycled container, like a mason jar, and store it in a dry place such as your bathroom cabinet. When it comes time to exfoliate, make sure you mix the contents of the jar, as the oil likes to settle a bit. Personally, I often only use the first two ingredients. On the rare occasion I add scented oil, I use almond. I have noticed that vanilla and sugar mixed together with oil smell alot like vanilla vodka.

Shai Smith is an eco-friendly mama and the mastermind behind The Vagabond Studio. She is a full-time student, writer, artist, and nature lover. The creativity she radiates is infectious and I feel pretty lucky to call her my friend. 
Check out Shai's latest creations here.