Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Homemade Christmas: Lavender & Calendula Face Scrub

 
I'm back with another DIY Christmas gift suggestion this week. This lavender and calendula scrub rocks on many levels: you can whip up a batch in minutes, it's perfect for all the ladies on your gift list, it's extremely inexpensive to make, and oh-my-goodness, what it does for your skin. Especially in the middle of a Canadian winter :)

I have been using one variation or another of this scrub on my face for a couple of years now instead of any type of commercial cleanser or soap product, and I've never looked back. It's very similar to those pricey "cleansing grains" you see in upscale cosmetics boutiques. Apparently my skin still has a dewy, youthful glow as a stranger told me a couple of weeks ago that she thought I was about 26 - you should have seen her jaw drop when I told her I had a 16 year old son!

But I digress...

Seriously, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you make this face scrub. It lends itself well to lots of variations (for example, you could use rose petals and rose essential oil instead of lavender for another spin on the floral theme). I would definitely keep the calendula in the mix, as it's used more for its healing properties than as a contributor to scent or colour.

I specifically went with the lavender-calendula combo so I could pair it with this lavender-calendula lip balm!

I use a spice grinder to grind all the ingredients - don't use your coffee grinder or your scrub will smell like coffee and your coffee will taste like lavender :)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup finely ground oats
2 tbsp finely ground coconut
1 tbsp ground lavender flowers
2 tbsp ground calendula flowers
10-20 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions:
Combine the rice flour, oats, coconut, lavender and calendula flowers. Add the lavender essential oil and stir until evenly incorporated into the scrub.

That's it!!

To use: Put about a teaspoon of scrub in the palm of your hand and add enough water to make a thick paste. Gently rub on face in a circular motion, then rinse off (I find it easier to use it in the shower rather than trying to rinse off in front of the sink).

Where to find dried herbs for making scrubs:
If you have a local health food store with a bulk section, check there first! My local store carries both lavender and calendula flowers.

If you don't have a good local source of bulk herbs, I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great prices on high quality organic herbs (as well as culinary herbs and spices, tea blends and many other wonderful things!) Their shipping costs to Canada are fairly steep, but their prices are so good that the overall cost is still lower than anywhere else I've found for comparable quality products.

If you missed the first installment of my Homemade Christmas series, check out Create Your Own Tea Blends. For even more holiday ideas, you can find my whole Christmas on a Dime series HERE. 

Note: The links to Mountain Rose are affiliate links and I will receive a commission from them (at no cost to you) for any purchases you make after clicking these links.

Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c 
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