Monkey see, monkey exfoliate.

As I was browsing through Pinterest today through the beauty section, I found a recipe for an exfoliant and method for your legs.  The post came originally from Gluten Free Navy Wife on blogspot.  The recipe reminded me of another sugar scrub I have tried that works really well and is super simple.  So why not give this a try for my legs.  Especially since it is winter and my legs are starting to look a little bit like teen wolf.  I was a little hesitant to give it a try at first because I just got back from Colombia and have a nice (although unintentional) tan.  But, once again, it is winter and showing off my tan is something my face and neck are responsible for.  Sooo... here goes nothing.

The Process

First things first, gather the ingredients,

• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of oil (Any old kind, I used vegetable oil because that's what I had, but I would much rather prefer coconut, almond, or almost anything else with a nice scent to it.)
• 5 tablespoons of citrus juice (I used lemon.)
• A few drops of some kind of essential oil (Optional, but I used Tea Tree Oil)

Next mix 'em up in a bowl.  

Get the bath ready, make sure you have your razor blade ready because it's about to get some exercise.  

When you are in the bath, enjoy a nice soak for about five minutes (which is as long as I find baths enjoyable anyway).  After that, use the sugar scrub on one leg, use circular massaging motions and make sure to spend some time on your knees where skin tends to get dull.  If you feel like it, get your feet too, they will thank you later.

After rinsing, shave the leg.  Exfoliate again. Yes, that's right, again.  Then, shave it again.  Excessive, nope.  The first shave gets rid of the hair and skin you sloughed off the first time, the second shave gets rid of even more skin your sugar scrub just removed.  Repeat with the other leg.

When I filled the bath tub up, I put some bath salt and shower gel for bubbles in the tub.  I really didn't want to smell like olive oil when I was done and I might as well make this bath enjoyable.  One Republic channel on Pandora? Check.  Even with the music and the bubbles, I still got impatient waiting for my five minute soak to be over.

Then the scrubbing and shaving happened.  It took a good ten minutes.

The Result

After doing this, my legs felt so silky and I had so much of the sugar scrub left over that I decided to do the rest of my body (without the shaving step...).  Now my whole body feels super smooth and the peeling burn/tan I had on my shoulders and back is more evened out, but there was a whole lot of dead skin just pouring off my body.  It was really quite gross.

Afterward, I felt pretty oily and the bathwater was absolutely disgusting, so I drained it at the same time as taking a shower and washing with my regular body wash to get some of the oil off.  Pampering myself like this felt so good I continued the fun to my face with a charcoal mask.  The multitasker that I am did my nails as well while I waited for the mask to dry.  I also lotioned my entire body.  Back, chest, and neck with pure aloe vera gel and the rest of me with my favorite lotion, Curel Ultra Healing Intensive Lotion.  I am now fighting the urge to drive around to hair salons and find someone to cut my hair and wax my eyebrows.

Overall, I loved it.  I would do it again, but cut the recipe in half so that I don't have to find a way to con my husband into using what's left again.  In the beginning I was worried about scrubbing my tan away, but it turns out my tan just looks better, more even, and glows nicely.

Edit: I tried this again with coconut oil and I loved it!  It is thicker so it makes it easier to use the scrub and smells so much better.