Hello!
Thank you all so much for the positive feedback on Part 1 of the Zero Waste Mini Holiday Gift Guide. Last week I mentioned some tips for giving zero waste gifts that are low or no cost and have little or no impact on the planet (re-gifting, and giving second-hand items) along with a recipe for Preserved Lemons.
This week, I'm featuring a recipe that a friend shared with me years ago and is still a favorite to give and to make for myself on occasion. It always feels so luxurious and decadent when I use it and can be made entirely organically and almost entirely waste-free. Plus, it's one of the easiest products to make and although it's a beauty product, it's food-grade: Sugar Scrub.
Sugar contains naturally occurring glycolic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, which helps to breakdown old skin cells and encourages new cell turnover. Coconut oil is not only extremely moisturizing but also antifungal and antibacterial. In addition, you can add essential oils to give it a scent, which will also add extra benefits depending on the oil you use (If you do use an essential oil, the scrub will no longer be food-grade. You can't consume essential oils.).
This time around I used lavender essential oil to go with a themed gift I'm giving this season, but lemon, orange, grapefruit, and vanilla also work extremely well (be careful with the vanilla, you'll want to eat it and you can't!). I like to create a label (and pretend I remember how to write in cursive) to explain what this little jar contains and all of the extra benefits beyond just a great exfoliator like so:
Adorable, isn't it?
Sugar Scrub:
1. Create a double boiler by filling a pot with a few inches of water and placing jar inside to melt down coconut oil if not already in a liquid state:
2. Select Your Jar: I scrubbed an old tahini jar because I love the shape but mason jars or any wide-mouthed glass jars will work well. You want to make sure your hand fits in there so you can scoop out the scrub:
3. Pour in Your Organic, Bulk Cane Sugar and Start Layering in Essential Oil if Using: I can find bulk, organic sugar in my local health food market most of the time but sometimes all they have is the bigger granulated, conventional kind. The bigger granules actually work better because there is more scrubby action, but I also eat this sugar so I always go organic. You decide what is best for you:
(I gave the sugar a stir with a spoon after I layered in the oils to make sure it was as homogeneous as possible. You can also add the oils to the melted coconut oil but there will be oil leftover in this particular jar and I intend on using it for cooking).
4. Fill with Melted Coconut Oil:
Then create a label from scratch paper if you so choose and tie with compostable bow. The gift is almost zero waste but not entirely as I can't find coconut oil in bulk. The best I can do is find it in a glass gar that often comes with that annoying plastic shrink band around the lid that, best to my knowledge, is not recyclable.
Thanks always for reading and happy gifting.