Here’s something you don’t know about me… I have VERY rough hands. Rough as in, sandpaper meets construction worker rough. Coupled with a very firm grip, in a blind handshake test, people would undoubtedly mistake my hands for those of an older man who places bricks on walls. Or a teen gator.
That’s how rough my hands are. The rest of me? Is soft and supple.
Sorry… TMI…
I blame my rough hands entirely on the HOURS spent souring pots and pans in my youth. My teens were spent brillo pad in hand, ensuring I could see my reflection on our pots. Its Dominican old school shiz. I have since learned that baking soda and heat work better.
In addition to that I wash my hands countless times a day – Bathroom breaks, cooking, baking, etc. I can’t even tell you how many hours my hands spend submerged in water. As such, it becomes very difficult to retain moisture for these dry-ass oven mitts I call hands.
Winter months are the worst. My hands look like I shovel ash for a living. It’s horrible, not to mention embarrassing. Do you have rough hands? Tell me you have rough hands. Otherwise you’ll need to skip onto the next post.
Now, for those of you who do… I got you, boo!
Have you ever heard of Zulka Pure Cane Sugar?
Zulka Pure Cane Sugar is a Non-GMO Project verified “Morena” sugar – basically that’s a term used to describe granulated sugars that do not undergo conventional refining processes, which remove the complexity and flavor in raw sugar cane after it has been pressed. It reminds me very much of the sugar sold in Dominican Republic. The type of sugar whose buttery caramel notes are prevalent in the flavor profile. Luscious. I love it. If I were five years old I’d probably eat it by the spoonful.
OK, fine – I had a couple spoonfuls.
But we’re not talking about desserts or the amount of sugar I consumed as a child. Or last week, even. We’re talking about mojito body scrubs.
I could have made countless desserts with my last 2 cups of Zulka sugar; However, the holidays are here – Hello! I’m all about DIY holiday gift giving – and this is perfect. No, really – Perfect!
Flow with me…
So we have our large granule sugar, right? OK – Now we’re infusing mojito scents. I used lime zest and very finely diced fresh mint leaves, along with some essential oils.
Pro Tip & Video: To finely dice mint leaves quickly roll and slice them in a chiffenaud. This will slice them into ribbons which paves the way for a fine dice.
Once that’s done, work the mint leaves and lime zest into the sugar to release their oils. I used my construction worker hands for this and was left with a very scented sugar; so scented I was tempted to bake a cake.
I didn’t… I wanted to, though…
I added my coconut and essential flavor oils, I mixed a bit, and filled up a couple jars. This took all of 5 minutes. And that’s with tying a ribbon around the jar to make it look purty.
I took it for a test run on my hands and was so pleased. The large sugar granules in this scrub helped exfoliate dead skin cells, the coconut oil helped moisturize my gator skin. Not far behind – The peppermint and lime oils along with the lemon zest gave my skin scented zing. It was glorious. And guess what? My hands were soft! It bought the feel down to “Baby gator”.
Progress…
The real test was when I pushed a jar to Mr. M.O.B. and urged him to use it in the shower. At first he was skeptical. What do I know about sugar scrubs, right? However, he ran out of the shower (wearing a towel!) praising my scrub and begging me to make a few jars to gift his friends.
Win…
Now you win. And your friends win. And your rough hands win.
It’s a win all up in this piece.
Legal Mumbo Jumbo: I was provided with a sample retail size bag of Zulka sugar for review. All opinions are my own.
[purerecipe]
DIY: Mojito Sugar Scrub
Ingredients
- 3/4 to 1 Cup Zulka Sugar or any sugar with large granules
- Zest of 3 limes
- 10-12 Finely diced mint leaves
- 1/2 cup Fluid coconut oil - Either melted in microwave or left in a warm place
- 3-4 drops Essential lime oil
- 1-2 drops Essential peppermint oil
- 8-10 drops Coconut flavoring
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and lime zest. With the back of a spoon (or very clean hands), work the zest into the sugar for about 15 seconds or so. This will release the oils in the lime zest and create a very fragrant lime scented sugar. Add the mint leaves and work them into the sugar for about 10 seconds to release the oils from the leaves as well.
- Add coconut oil, lime oil, peppermint oil, and coconut flavoring. Stir well to combine. You can add more or less coconut and essential oils until you reach desired consistency and scent needs.
- Spoon or scoop into spice jars or preferred container.
- To use on hands: Wash your hands with your soap of choice. Rinse. Scoop out about 1-2 teaspoons of the scrub and massage onto your skin, concentrating on the roughest part of your hands. Rinse out and pat your hands dry.
- To use in the shower: After your shower, scoop about 2 tablespoons of sugar scrub and gently massage the scrub over your body in a circular motion. Rinse your body thoroughly to remove any remnants of sugar. Pat yourself dry with a towel.
- Note: Coconut oil tends to solidify in colder temperatures. If you prefer your scrub a bit more fluid, I suggest leaving this scrub in the shower - Or if you're using the scrub to exfoliate your hands, run container under hot water for about a minute or so.
