Four Easy DIY Body Care Recipes To Make at Home

You don’t need to leave the house to indulge in a luxurious treatment for your skin and body… chances are you’re already well stocked with the necessary makings to create you’re very own home spa experience.

Below are a few favorite DIY body care recipes made using items and ingredients most of us already have at home. Pick one that sounds particularly good right now, or pour yourself a drink, don a plush fuzzy robe, and make a full day of it by dipping into all three treatments.

Enjoy!

DIY Exfoliating Body Scrub:

Slough away rough patches and dry, dead skin cells, moisturize, and self massage all at once! Its easy to whip together your own exfoliating body scrub using common kitchen staples. Here’s the basic formula:

Exfoliant: Sugar, salt, and ground coffee all make excellent exfoliants to do the work of scrubbing and smoothing your skin. Consider the size and coarseness of your exfoliant to determine which you’d prefer. Sugar (brown or white) tends to be the finest texture and most gentle exfoliant – good for sensitive skin. Salt can be a bit more coarse if you’re looking for a more textured experience, but note that salt can be irritating if you have sensitive skin, any minor cuts or tears, or have just shaved. Coffee grounds (fresh or spent work great) smell heavenly and offer a higher “grit” exfoliant – more intense texture and roughness.

Oil: The oil brings the moisture, and helps your exfoliant glide smoothly over your skin while you scrub. Any common kitchen oil works great – olive oil, sunflower, canola, coconut, etc. If you opt for coconut oil, you may need to warm it up to melt it down for mixing. Add a few drops of your Waterbody body oil for extra good smells and herbal nourishment.

Special extras: Get creative with what you have around the house. You might add just a few drops of your favorite essential oil for aroma. If you have dried herbs or herbal teas like chamomile or lavender on hand, sprinkle some of the herbs into your mix. Try swirling a bit of honey into your mixture for added moisture. If you want to create a soap-scrub that cleans and rinses away more fully, add a few pumps of a castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s.

Mix it up: Start with this basic recipe and add, tweak, and customize as you go to make it your own

• ½ cup exfoliant (sugar, salt, or coffee)
• 2 Tbs oil (generally this creates a thick paste. Add more if you prefer a more runny scrub)
• Any special extras you like

Combine in a small bowl or mason jar, mix fully, and enjoy! Take your scrub to the tub and gently massage in small circles over your whole body, or use it to scrub and soften hands and feet. Rinse and enjoy soft, smooth skin.

Soothing Foot Soak

A foot soak is such a simple, easy way to relax, reset, and give some love to your hardworking feet. Here’s what you need:

A “foot bath” of some sort: use a Rubbermaid tote, a large bowl, or a pot from your kitchen. Any container that can hold enough water to dip your feet up to the ankles will do fine.

Warm water: straight from the tap or heat it over the stove. Careful not to get too hot – you don’t want to burn your toes!

Salts, oils, herbs: Use whatever you have around to add something special to your soak. A sprinkle of your favorite bath salts, or just a handful of salt from your kitchen will help soften your skin. Drizzle in a few drops of body oil, olive oil, coconut oil, whatever is on hand. Sprinkle in some aromatic herbs, add a packet of your favorite herbal tea right to the water, or mix in a few drops of essential oil.

A dry, clean towel nearby your soaking station to dry off and clean up when you’re finished.

Sit back, soak, and enjoy!

The holy grail: A full service DIY home facial

Go all in an treat yourself to this three-step home facial:

Step 1: Herbal facial steam

Its like a mini-sauna for your face. This steam feels SO GOOD, helps to open your pores, and releases the volatile compounds from the herbs you use so your skin can soak up all the good things they have to offer.

For the facial steam you’ll need:

• A bowl: regular old soup bowl or mixing bowl works great.
• A towel: large enough to drape over your head to create a small tent of sorts over top of your bowl
• Hot water: please be VERY careful here. We want warm enough to create steam (obvs.) but not so hot that the steam scalds your face. Use caution and your best judgement as you set up your steam-station.
• Herbs: Get creative and raid your spice rack and tea collection. Herbs can be dried, loose-leaf, or packaged in a tea sachet. Think aromatics and leafy plants. Find something that smells good to you. Here’s a few ideas of herbs/teas you may already have in your kitchen to get you started:
  • Peppermint
  • Lavender
  • Chamomile
  • Basil
  • Green tea
  • Bergamot/earl grey tea
  • Fresh or dried lemon peel
  • Rosemary

How to steam: Place a small amount of your herbs (a tablespoon or two, or 1-2 tea bags worth) into a bowl. Pour over with hot water. Drape the towel over your head and lower your face to hover over the bowl. Use caution here – if it feels too hot as you lower toward the steam, back off and wait until it has cooled enough to enjoy the steam without danger of burning your skin. The towel creates a miniature steam sauna around your face. Relax and enjoy a few minutes of steamy herbal rejuvenation.

Step 2: Face mask

Now that you’ve steamed your skin and opened your pores, treat yourself to a nourishing face mask. Use a favorite face mask you already have on hand – like the herb & clay Wildflower Face Mask – or play around and mix one up with fresh or dried ingredients you have at home.

Here’s a basic recipe you to start with. Use what you have one hand, get creative, and make your own!

Moisturizers: Choose a moisture-rich ingredient as your base.

• Yogurt – full fat plain yogurt offers lactic acid to help brighten skin, while milk fats moisturize
• Honey – a natural humectant that draws moisture from the air to your skin
• Avocado – filled with nourishing healthy fats, try mashing up ½ an avocado for your mask base
• Aloe vera gel – another natural humectant that will help to pull moisture to your skin as you mask

Herbal nourishment: Raid your tea cupboard or spice rack again for nourishing herbs to enhance your mask. Start by adding approx. 1 tsp herb and customize as you like.

Here are a few ideas:

• Turmeric: anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich, and may even lend a subtle glow from it’s orangey high curcumin-content (careful with turmeric around white fabrics though!)
• Ginger: similar properties as turmeric, with less of the orangey glow
• Green tea or matcha powder: soothing, anti-inflammatory
• Cocoa powder: antioxidant-rich and smells amazing
• Cucumber – blended or pureed: soothing, cooling
• Ground or powdered oats: Add a bit of exfoliation as you wash your mask off

Mix your moisturizing base with the herbal additions of your choice. Start with a 2:1 ratio, ie: 2 tbs moisture base + 1 Tbs herbs/other ingredients. Experiment and adjust the ratios until you get a texture you like. Add water a few drops at a time to thin your mask out.

Apply your mask over your face and neck. If you have sensitive skin, you might try a small patch test first to be sure you don’t experience irritation from any ingredients. Sit back and relax for a few minutes, then rinse your mask off when you’re ready.

Step 3: Lock in moisture, relish in your radiance!

After you’ve steamed, masked, and luxuriated the cherry on top of your home facial is moisturizing. Use your go-to favorite facial oil or moisturizer and apply to your freshly cleaned skin. Don’t rush this step, rather use this time to give yourself a gentle massage over the face and neck.

This video gives an excellent step by step guide to practicing your own self-massage for lymphatic drainage on the face and neck. It feels amazing, and assists your body in eliminating toxins to help keep your skin and immune system healthy and functioning their best.

Look at your glowing self in the mirror, admire your natural beauty, say something sweet about yourself, and ride the wave of relaxing, luxurious home self care through the rest of your week.