Category: DIY

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DIY coconut sugar scrub feels like you’re on vacation

Three ingredient DIY coconut sugar scrub

What was the first thing I did on vacation? Made this DIY coconut sugar scrub! My all-natural, homemade scrub for face and body uses only three ingredients to keep your skin soft and exfoliated.

Every December my dad, husband, kids and I fly to the Florida Keys. We love the swimming, restaurants, dive bars (this one’s kid friendly), and surprisingly rich history of Key West. Did you know the tiny island has three Civil War era forts? But, sun, fun, salt water, chlorine, a/c and long walks on sandy beaches can dry out your skin. Especially, delicate New Englander skin that has been protected under layers of clothing for three months.

Benefits of a sugar scrub

Sugar scrubs are all-natural and work better than just constantly slathering yourself in store-bought lotions. They can be used in the shower to help lock in all-day moisture. It depends on your skin and climate, but for some people, a sugar scrub in the shower replaces the need for face cream and body lotion. It could be an all-in-one.

My DIY coconut sugar scrub is vacation-themed and uses three simple ingredients you can pick up at the corner drugstore, small market or grocery on the first day of vacation. I did! Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, you can easily pack these ingredients in a carry-on or pre-make the DIY coconut sugar scrub before you travel.

Most of us have used body lotions without reading the ingredient list. Well, even if we stopped to read the ingredients, would we understand them? I am an avid reader of skin care ingredients, and I am always encountering some chemical or preservative that’s new to me. DIY body scrubs are made with simple ingredients you can pronounce…and probably already have on hand.

Is coconut oil safe?

Great question. If you have never used coconut oil in your skin care routine or are unsure if you have an allergy to it, test a patch of skin before you slather yourself in coconut oil.

For the vast majority of people, coconut oil is safe and wonderful for your skin. However, there are some people who develop a skin allergy to coconut oil. I know several of them personally, which is why I wrote this other post to encourage people to be mindful even when using natural ingredients in their skin care routine. Test before you slather.

Is coconut oil safer than a lotion that’s full of chemicals? I think so. There’s always one person in a group who says something to the effect of “chemicals are delicious” or “I prefer the chemicals.” But, most of the people who spend time at natural lifestyle blogs are not ‘that person’.

Three ingredient DIY coconut sugar scrub

DIY coconut sugar scrub recipe

Ingredients:
60% granulated cane sugar
40% unrefined, organic coconut oil
(optional) squeeze of real lime juice

Why am I showing the recipe as a 60:40 ratio of sugar to coconut oil? If you are on vacation, you might not be able to measure exactly. I want to emphasize that it’s more sugar than coconut oil. That’s key to any sugar scrub. It’s usually a lot less oil than people imagine.

Unrefined coconut oil is less processed, which is why I recommend it. With less processing, more of the original properties of the coconut meal are retained, including a bit more of the sweet scent of coconut.

The acid in the citrus adds a little extra exfoliating, helping to clear away old, dead skin cells and bring out fresh cells underneath. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to skip the lime. As always, test your skin’s response before you rub your whole face with the scrub.

Need some ingredients? Want them delivered conveniently to your house while you are out living your life? Consider using my affiliate links for even more convenience. When you click on these links, you support this blog at no additional cost to you:

Safe storage

If you are going to keep a sugar scrub in your shower, please use a plastic container. I know glass is more eco-friendly, but reusing plastic containers is a smart way to store your sugar scrubs in the shower. Glass is dangerous in a tiled bathroom. Broken glass in a shower – with all those tiny, invisible shards – is a nightmare. Be careful.

Any other warnings?

Hummm, I’m guess I’m a cautious person. Just looking out for you.

Let’s review:

1) Test coconut oil on your skin first
2) Use plastic, not glass for safer storage
3) Be careful, the shower floor could get slippery

On that last point, in our old house, my shower floor used to get slippery all the time when I used homemade sugar scrubs. For some reason, my shower floor doesn’t get slippery in our current home. Maybe it’s different tile surfaces?

Either way, be careful to check and see of your shower floor gets slippery from the oil in the sugar scrub. If it does, just put a little soap in your hand and rub it over the floor to clean it a bit after you use the scrub. Warn anyone who might go into the shower after you that the floor could be a bit slippery.

Enjoy your soft skin

In a few quick steps, you’ve made an all-natural DIY coconut sugar scrub that should make an instant difference in your skin.

With daily use, your skin should be softer and better moisturized. And, your wallet should be healthier too. No need to spend any additional money on expensive, store-bought lotions!

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Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

Once. I admit it. I bought all the stuff, designated a hand mixer and a stainless steel pot, and made soap from scratch with my sister, just once. Now the soap-making equipment sits in my basement. But, after reading this post on hot process soap making, I’m starting to feel inspired to get another batch going. It’s really a fun bonding experience, as long as you have patience. Homemade soap takes about a month to cure before you can use it. We did not use a crockpot, but I really like the idea. A professional soap maker on Twitter assures me she uses a crockpot. It’s not cheating.

Check out this pressed article from Natural Beauty Workshop for more about hot process soap. Source: Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

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DIY dry shampoo for red hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy recipe for DIY dry shampoo for red hair that worked.

Looking for a different color?

for brown or auburn hair click here
for blonde hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

My personal test of homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I would be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some spices and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked great! Read on for the full recipe and my review.

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp or bloodstream
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

Will tomorrow be second-day hair? Try my DIY dry shampoo recipe for homemade hair care right from your kitchen. Only three simple ingredients blend right into your red or auburn hair!

DIY dry shampoo recipe for red hair

for brown or auburn hair click here
for blonde hair click here
working on a recipe for black hair
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to restock your spice cabinet? I partnered with spicesforless.com to make it easy. Their site is so pretty to click through. It’s like an art gallery for spice lovers. They will have any color or flavor spice you might need.

Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger together.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more cinnamon for darker shades or a little more ginger for strawberry blonde or lighter hair tones. If your hair is more auburn than red, click here for a dry shampoo recipe for brown/auburn hair. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.

Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should now be lightly coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
Do not get the powder in your eyes. It might burn.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a light fragrance of cinnamon and ginger.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.
Be careful if you are wearing a white shirt. Like any hair product with color in it, you might get a dusting of reddish specks on you if you are wearing a bright white shirt. As an alternative, just put a towel over your shoulders.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of cinnamon and ginger root in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses right out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

Done with DIY for the time being? Then, I will share with you a convenient place to buy other people’s DIY’s. It only takes a few clicks to search verified handcrafted sellers on the Handmade Marketplace. Click the banner below. See what you think.

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DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for blonde hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy recipe for DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair that worked.

My personal test of homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I would be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some spices and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked great! Read on for the full recipe and my review.

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp or bloodstream
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

DIY dry shampoo for blonde hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for blonde hair

for brown or auburn hair click here
for red hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 to 1 tablespoon ground ginger root
(optional) a little bit of cocoa powder for a slightly different dark blonde tone
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to replenish your spice cabinet? I’ve partnered with spicesforless.com to make it easy for you to find ginger and arrowroot and all kinds of other spices in a convenient click:


Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, ground ginger root and optional cocoa powder.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more ginger root for darker or a little less for lighter hair tones. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.
Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should now be lightly coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
Do not get ginger root powder in your eyes. It might burn.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a faint scent of ginger.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of ginger root in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses right out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

 

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DIY dry shampoo for brown or auburn hair

DIY dry shampoo recipe for brown hair

One of my coworkers confessed to me that she tried a store-bought dry shampoo and just didn’t feel like she used it right. It either left white residue in her dark hair or wore off midway through her day. Meanwhile, she had to breathe in a dust cloud of aerosol spray just to use it. There has to be a better way. As a lover of all things natural, including hair care, I felt inspired to find an easy DIY dry shampoo recipe that worked.

Testing out homemade dry shampoo

On Thanksgiving morning, I got up early to finish making a blueberry pie. This is a true story. The rolling, mixing and baking took longer than I thought it would. By the time I finished the pie and looked at the clock, I only had 20 minutes left before we had to leave.

Now we’re all in a rush, and my second-day hair was in need of some attention. All day, I’ll be hugging relatives and taking family photos. My hair should at least look and smell fresh.

In the past, I’ve used trial-sized, store-bought dry shampoos, but we didn’t have any in the house. What I did have was some cinnamon and cornstarch I bought for the pie filling. How skeptical are you right now? Probably about as skeptical as I was. But, with limited options, I took a risk and tried a DIY dry shampoo recipe for my brown hair. Read on for the full recipe and my review.

DIY dry shampoo recipe for brown hair

It turns out, homemade dry shampoo is fantastic! You can make dry shampoo with just a couple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen pantry. For a lot of reasons, homemade dry shampoo is better than store-bought dry shampoo. Another great discovery…by just tweaking one or two ingredients, you can change the color of the dry shampoo. No more white dusty roots!

It is really shampoo?

Not really. It’s not foamy. It’s not liquid. It’s not washing your hair. You don’t rinse it out, but it’s not a leave-in conditioner.

Dry shampoo is a powder that you use to absorb oil, make your hair look fresh and add a pleasant fragrance to your hair.

Five reasons to use DIY dry shampoo

  1. Works great, absorbing oils and leaving hair looking fresh
  2. No chemicals harming your scalp
  3. No aerosol deteriorating the ozone layer
  4. Inexpensive, whip up one batch and store it (pretty much) forever
  5. Easy to make with stuff you probably already have

When to use dry shampoo

It might be that your hair is clean, but you used an oily sunscreen and just want to get rid of the greasy look that’s built up around your hairline. Maybe you didn’t have time to wash your hair or just don’t wash your hair that often, rub a little dry shampoo through it so it doesn’t look greasy or flat.

You can use dry shampoo whenever your hair feels a little oily or not quite fresh enough. As a bonus, the dry blend helps lift your hair at the roots and adds volume.

I tend to use dry shampoo before I style it, but it doesn’t matter if you wait until after you’ve styled your hair. You just want to make sure you can still rub the powder into the hair a little bit, which might depend on the style.

If your hair is in an updo or a tight bun, you will probably have a hard time rubbing the dry shampoo through and getting the powder to blend evenly.  In this case, you can try using a make-up brush to dust the dry shampoo onto your hair. On the other hand, if you just straightened or curled your hair, you shouldn’t have much trouble using dry shampoo after styling it, especially my recipe.

DIY dry shampoo for brown or auburn hair

for blonde hair click here
for red hair click here
for black hair click here
for white hair just use the cornstarch alone

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 to 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
(optional) cocoa powder for a slightly different brown tone
(optional) arrowroot (can be used instead of or to complement the cornstarch)

Need to replenish your spice cabinet? I’ve partnered with spicesforless.com so you can find any spice you want – including arrowroot – and order online for less than you’d pay at most grocery stores! Click here to check out their beautiful gallery of spices.

Directions:
Mix together the cornstarch, cinnamon and optional cocoa powder.
Since we all have different hair colors, you might have to play with the color a little bit by adding a little more cinnamon for darker brown or a little less for lighter brown. Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to match your hair exactly.
Store in almost any convenient container or baggie.

To use:
Dip your fingers into the DIY dry shampoo.
Dust off any excess powder.
Your fingers should be coated in dry shampoo.
Rub shampoo dust through your hair at or within 2-3 inches of the roots.
Use the same motion you would if you just took your hair out of a ponytail and are trying to loosen up the roots.
Repeat all over your head. Pay special attention along the hairline, above and behind your ears.
The shampoo should absorb oil and blend into your hair in seconds.
Your hair will have a faint scent of cinnamon.
Do not get ground cinnamon in your eyes. It might burn.
The cornstarch will help add lift and volume.
It should last all day and night.

What happens when I rinse it out?

When you do go to wash or rinse your hair again, there is the faint scent of cinnamon in the shower. Nothing else really happens. It rinses out of your hair.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you’ve tried DIY dry shampoo. What do you think?

Looking for more DIY skin and hair care? You’ll find more of it here. I love this stuff.

DIY coffee scrub
3 reasons I just cannot get into coffee-based body scrubs
Top 5 handmade soaps – inexpensive!
Skincare advice from 80 years of glowing skin

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Posted on by — 5 Comments

DIY coffee scrub

Coconut and coffee body scrub

A few days ago, I wrote about how I feel about coffee scrubs. In the post, I suggested that you make your own, try it out and decide for yourself what your feelings are about coffee scrubs. It’s only fair that I give you some directions about how to make a DIY coffee scrub if I’m going to suggest you try it!

Body scrubs, in general

Scrubs like these can be made with a sugar, salt or coffee base and are blended with natural oils to exfoliate and soften the skin. It’s basically food for the skin, as all good natural skincare should be.

I make body scrubs for my friends – both men and women – on a regular basis. My kids like them so much, I use the promise of a shower scrub as a way to talk them into taking a shower.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Not really a DIY-er? No problem. You can skip to the punchline here by just buying a ready-made coffee scrub from a verified handcrafter. It is a great gift idea for the coffee lover in your life!

But, if you want to put in the effort, it should be pretty easy to make your own scrub. I recommend you use it in the shower. As I have written before, coffee scrubs can be messy, and it’s best to keep it contained.

One major caveat: some people are allergic to coconut. If you are not sure if you have a coconut allergy, don’t slather your body in coconut oil.

If you are not allergic to coconut, check your kitchen. Do you have coffee grounds, coconut oil, sugar and vanilla? If so, let’s go.

Coconut oil on a white marble countertop

DIY coffee scrub

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coffee grounds (used or unused but why would you not get a cup of coffee out of this?)
1/2 cheap brown sugar (Cheap white sugar will do, too. Don’t use Turbinado raw sugar, it’s too rough)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
(optional) 10 drops of essential oils, like lime, wild orange or peppermint

Directions:
Dump the ingredients into a shatter-proof bowl and mix until well blended.
That’s it. Easy, like I like it.
Some directions online recommend warming the coconut oil for 20 seconds in the micro before mixing. If you do that, it’s best to add the sugar after you blend the oils and coffee together. The sugar melts a little otherwise.
There will likely be lumps of coconut oil left in your blend. Don’t worry about it. They are like little bursts of moisture.
I do not recommend you store your scrub in a glass bowl if you are going to use this near stone countertops or tile floors. Broken glass is a scary proposition for a shower.
Wet your skin and rub it with the coffee scrub.
Let it soak into your skin for a minute if you have the time.
Rinse off.

You might never look at used up coffee grounds in quite the same way after you shower together.

Coconut and coffee body scrub

How to store coffee scrubs:
In the fridge, coffee could grow mold if you don’t use it right away.
Or
In an ice cube or silicone mold in your freezer, then in your fridge in adorable little single-use cubes.

When should you use the scrub?

You can use a body scrub in the shower everyday. If your skin seems irritated, it might be too much exfoliation for you. Just skip a few days. My skin is pretty average, and I am able to use body scrubs in the shower everyday with incredible, skin-smoothing results.

My review of coffee scrubs is controversial. I love that they are natural and reuse coffee grounds that would otherwise go into the trash or compost pile. But, overall I think they are just ok.

How often do I use coffee scrubs?

I do make them on occasion, but most of the time, I use sugar scrubs.

Olive oil and sugar scrubs are not as messy as coffee scrubs and are easier to use on your face. I don’t recommend using coffee scrubs near your eyes. Sometimes those rough little coffee grounds end up inside your eyelid. It’s an unpleasant experience.

Do I have to use it in the shower?

You can use it in any sink, if you are just looking to use it on your hands to counteract the drying effects of soap; however, coffee grounds can be sludgy and messy. I only use it in the shower. A sugar-based scrub is likely a better choice to keep near your bathroom or kitchen sink for after-soap skincare.

Please scroll down a bit and leave a comment to let us know what you think about coffee scrubs. How do they work for you?

Looking for holiday gifts? Amazon has a secret marketplace dedicated to handcrafted items all designed by small business sellers. Here’s a link.