Make It: Spa-Worthy Shower Essentials

Or you can raid your refrigerator… I haven’t thrown out my shampoo yet, and you don’t have to either; but you could try something new and fresh and different. Here are a few simple options, perfect for getting your skin to summer-glow status and your hair ready for the beach.

• Hair. The simplest way to wash your hair is with warm water and your own two hands. You don’t need soap or detergent unless you have product build-up on your hair or you just really want to smell like a floral wonderland. It’s also commonly understood by beauty professionals that washing every day with shampoo is too much. When you do need something stronger than water (every couple of days for dry hair, every other day for oily hair, or after using products), try simple. I used this combination today and it was awesome: Combine 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or squeeze a whole lemon), and 1 tablespoon oil (jojoba, almond, coconut; vegetable will do in a pinch). Mix it with a fork or whisk until the egg gets a bit foamy, then just take it to the shower with you and use like shampoo. It’s a little runny, so pour on a little at a time and rub in with you hand. Rinse well.
  I have short hair, so if you have medium to long hair, double or triple the amounts. I also have dryer hair; the oil worked as a conditioner for me and I didn’t need anything else. If I had long, dryer hair, I would apply a bit of straight oil to the ends. If I had oily hair, I would just cut down or eliminate the oil in the recipe.
• Body. Dirt and grime come off under pressure from water or scrubbing unless they are extremely attached to you via built-up oils. The purpose of a soap or detergent is to remove that kind of dirt, as well as the built-up oils. Contrary to most consumer opinion, however, soap or detergent is not the only thing that can accomplish this. Here’s what I used today, and like the shampoo, it was a spa-worthy experience: Combine 1/2 cup sugar with about 3 tablespoons of oil (light olive, jojoba, coconut, sunflower, plain old vegetable). Grab a small handful at a time and rub in circular motions over your skin. Use common sense here. Don’t rub it on your eyelids or other sensitive areas. Rinse off as you go. You’ll notice the water beading up because of the oil left on your skin. You have a choice here. If you have dryer skin, like me, you can just rinse and go your merry way. You won’t need to apply a moisturizer. If your skin is oily and you don’t like the thought of more oil, use a body brush and a teeeeeeeny bit of soap all over. Really, though, even oilier skin can handle this kind of moisture.

Other notes: you can add essential oil for fragrance, as long as you know your skin won’t react to it. I didn’t use any this time; my hair had a slight residual smell of the vinegar, but only noticeable when I held it right under my nose! My skin just smelled kind of sweet. Fancy that.
Organic is best, of course, when it comes to what you put on your skin. However, for this experiment I just used what I had, which happened to be white sugar and vegetable oil. For regular use, I would definitely advise organic sugar and organic almond or coconut or extra-light olive oil.

Resources: A great natural hair care primer.
A compilation of DIY hair recipes.
Instructions for six easy skin care recipes.

Image Credits: samberdoo.

Annie | My Bio & Articles

I love bare feet, Dr. Bronner's, cotton skirts, summer rain, winter snow, new places, open-minded people, deep conversations. I had a (short-lived) natural products company while I was in college: The Full Nelson Natural Products...