I took a candle making class today. “So much fun.” I think now I can call myself a Chandler🏆. One interesting fact I learned was that the first time you burn your candle, let the wax melt to the edge to prevent tunneling. This is the sign of a good, quality candle. Expense does not always guarantee quality. And trim the wick after each burn for a cleaner and safer subsequent burn.
It only takes five minutes and 1-cup of coconut oil to make an organic, all natural moisturizer. Use a solid form of coconut oil and blend with a hand or stand mixer for five minutes and voila, you have whipped coconut oil.
Use as is for a hydrating lotion for your dry areas such as elbows and heels. Be warned that it is very hydrating, so use sparingly over your body. I added 15 drops of Frankincense essential oil and one teaspoon of Vitamin E oil.
The Frankincense helps regenerate cells and Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant. Additionally, you could add equal parts shea butter and make a body butter. It will be thicker than the moisturizer. It all depends on what you want.
*A pea sized amount will go a long way.
Our skin regenerates approximately every 27 days. You can help it along by exfoliating the top layer of dry, dead skin. You should exfoliate no more than twice a week to prevent damaging new growth. Although there are many physical and chemical options for exfoliating, I like to make my own. This week I put together a couple of great smelling scrubs.
I’m not a coffee drinker but the smell of coffee makes me happy. So I made a coffee scrub made of organic coffee grounds, coconut oil, Epsom, Sea and Himalayan salts, and Cappuccino fragrance oil. It was so invigorating, and the recipe yielded two 8-oz jars. I kept one and gifted the other. My little jar should last for quite a while.
Later in the week I made a lemon sugar scrub that is simply made of organic sugar, lemon zest, lemon essential oil and almond and coconut oils. The coconut oil took over as the prominent scent, but hey, who doesn’t love the sweet smell of coconut.
The Himalayan salt in the coffee scrub gives a deeper scrub than the sugar. I don’t recommend using it on your face. On the other hand, the sugar lemon scrub is great as a 
face scrub because the granules of the sugar are very fine. And the oils in both scrubs are very moisturizing. My skin feels soft and hydrated.
If you can’t make it to the spa or chemical peels aren’t your thing, then make your own scrubs. There are dozens upon dozens of recipes online or you could experiment and make your own. At least, you will know what you’re exposing your skin to.
I found these little gems last night at Barnes & Noble for under $30. The set came with eight bottles of essential oils, and a beautiful wooden storage box and travel bag that both have eight compartments. But that’s not all. It also came with a dropper and a guide with recipes for DIY scrubs, salts, and all that jazz. They even threw in stickers for easy identification of each bottle. It’s produced by Gurunanda with the promise of 100% pure oils, “nothing added and nothing removed, straight from the farm.”
As I am a DIY kind of girl (a mid-50’s kind of girl at that), how could I resist? I am excited to try some of these recipes right away.
*Note – One would think I was being paid for advertising this product, but rest assured, I am not. I just know a great deal when I see one, and this is a great deal!
