A little pampering...

I usually preach to take care of yourself from the inside out, but I recently discovered a simple, homemade body scrub that is simply awesome. The benefits of a body scrub are numerous- they scrub away dead skin and impurities, giving your skin a healthy glow and a super smooth feel. And if it smells great, that's an added bonus! With the cold winter months dry skin is inevitable, and it feels so good exfoliate it away!

To make a coffee body scrub, you will need:

• About a cup of coffee grounds. It should be ground a little on the coarse side to ensure maximum exfoliation. I've used both fresh grounds and "used" grounds, both work!
• About 1/3 cup sugar, which is also a good exfoliator.
• About 1/4 cup olive oil which will leave your skin as soft as a baby's bottom.
• A container with a tight lid.

Simply mix the coffee grounds and sugar together, then stir in the olive oil. It shouldn't be particularly runny- you should be able to grab a handful of it without it seeping out between your fingers. You may want to play with the ratios a little bit, perhaps adding a smaller amount of olive oil at first, and gradually adding more as you see fit.

That's it! It only takes a small amount to exfoliate a significant area of skin, and I use it everywhere except my face (although sugar by itself is a great face exfoliator, and less rough.) You won't want to use it every day because of how coarse it is, and you won't need to for the same reason! It's excellent for a weekly pampering session, and my husband will vouch for how delightfully smooth my skin is, especially when I follow up with a nice moisturizing lotion.

As a side note- you may notice that using this scrub leaves a thin film on the skin. Don't fret- it comes off easily with a little body wash on a loofah or sponge.

You will want to use it up quickly, so if you don't think that you will use it all within a few weeks, plan on not making very much at a time. If you leave it for too long, the delicious coffee scent will disappear. (That's one reason for making sure your container has a good, tight-fitting lid). The simplicity of the recipe allows for dividing it by half or more if you need to. You could even just make enough for one use.