apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I *heart* Trader Joe's.

Thanks for the tip. I can't get through the winter without my l'occitane salt scrub, but it's a bit pricey.

I will definitely give this a try.

I love these scubs but homemade is much cheaper. I mix baby oil with sugar and a few drops of lavender oil essence and it works great. I've also tried brown sugar as suggested by Martha Stewart and, while it smells yummy, it left brown streaks all over my tup. I would think sea salt would also work if you dont want a true salt scrub.

I should proof read before I post. :) tup=tub and nix the word dont in my last sentance.

I have some of this and it smells & feels wonderful, but I warn people to be very careful while using it, because as you rinse it off it coats the floor of the tub or shower with oil and is very slippery indeed. (It works as advertised -- it's excellent on rough elbows and heels)

I LOVE this stuff! They have another scent (in a pinkish container) that smells so good I want to eat it. But it does make the tub slippery as Deborah said - there's even a warning on the package about it.

I was going to say something like what Mota Rose said, except I'll go a step further and say that I don't like salt scrubs, and I don't think there's any particular good reason to use them over sugar scrubs except possibly the size of the salt granules. Whereas there are plenty of good reasons to use sugar instead of salt.

The main thing I dislike about salt scrubs is that if you have a paper cut or hangnail on your hands, you'll find out about it quickly and ouchily.

You can do a really nice hand massage at the sink with warm water, granulated sugar, and olive oil. Dampen hands, let water run, put around a tablespoon of sugar in the palm of one hand, cover in oil (you won't need much), and rub hands together for a minute or two, including up onto wrists. Rinse hands, then wash with moisturizing soap, towel off, and use a nice lotion. You can mix the scrub up in a little condiment bowl beforehand, if you like, and you can also choose not to wash your hands afterwards, just rinse well and towel dry. You can also use the olive oil sparingly (a little on a paper or cloth towel) and rub it into your cuticles.

If you want to do the same as above in the shower, do so, but mix beforehand in a plastic or metal bowl and consider adding a few drops of whatever essential oil you like - lavender and rosemary are both good choices. A bit of ground ginger would be OK too, as a mockup of the Origins ginger salt rub.

On another note, Trader Joe's has a great hand and body lotion that they sell in big pump bottles for like $2-3.

I usually make my own scrubs, but this stuff breaks my homemade rule. It's amazing!

I prefer salt to sugar...sugar doesn't seem to do anything for my skin, but salt makes it glow. Don't know why.

Anyway, Trader Joe's! Fantastic!