Olive Oil Continued – Salt Scrub

rec

One of my favorite things to have handy in the bathroom all year-round is a salt scrub.  So simple to make and so useful to exfoliate dry hands, feet, elbows, knees and more!  Here is a great go-to recipe for personal use and gift giving!

post1

1.  First I gather all my ingredients together.  For this recipe, I used:

  • 16 oz – Fine Ground Salt
  • 1 oz – Olive Oil
  • ½ oz – Essential Oil

2.  The salt I used is a beautiful Velvet Ground Breton Organic Grey Sea Salt (that was a mouth full!) Its texture is similar to sand, but lighter and softer.  There are a ton of different salts out there, so work within your budget and needs.  If you only have coarse salt around, grind it down to a fine consistency that will work well in a scrub.  Weigh out your salt and olive oil in a large bowl and mix together.  Find an essential oil or blend of oils to add to your salt.  I added my favorite blend of lemon verbena, sweet orange, and honeysuckle.  The way I always describe this blend is bright, but homey.  This is your part to get creative.  Let me know what blend you would use with this recipe!

3.  You can leave the recipe at that or you can add something to make it a little more special.  I decided to go with ground rose petals.  Other great additives are ground oats, lavender petals, ground seaweed, or orange powder.  Keep in mind what essential or fragrance oil you are using and how it all fits together.

4.  As you can see I only added a few pinches of rose petals.  I didn’t want it to overpower the blend, or be too messy in the sink when I use it.  It adds some little specks of color in my salt as well.

5.  If you’re making this for yourself, put it in a zip lock bag or mason jar and store in a dry place.  Or find a cute jar and gift this salt scrub!

6.  We always have cute jars and containers around our Abbey Brown shop.  I found this mini milk jar that was the perfect size for my 16oz salt scrub.  Tie a cute tag on with twine or wraphia and these make the perfect wedding favors or hostess gift!

- Kristina

Olive Oil in Skincare: Where Quality Trumps Novelty

We believe in using olive oil because it is an awesome beneficial remedy for skincare. Olive oil comes from the fruit of olive trees, which are mainly grown in the Mediterranean. They produce an incredible fat that is high in oleic acid, with a balance of omega-6 fats and omega-3 fats, vitamin E and oleuropein, a powerful antioxidant.  The ingestion and topical application of olive oil is good for skin and health. Grecians use olive oil for everything including, massage, preventive for sports injuries, to relieve muscle fatigue, and eliminate lactic acid buildup.

At my company, Abbey Brown, we use olive oil in every bar of soap.  In fact, each bar is 58% olive oil. We want to share a few of our favorite olive oil recipes.  I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to leave feedback!

~Deb

rec

Olive Oil in Haircare

We all know that olive oil makes a great salad dressing, a heart healthy cooking oil, and a drizzle over some hummus makes the perfect snack, but did you know that olive oil is also beneficial for you on the outside? When used in haircare, olive oil can strengthen, moisturize, and smooth your hair, preventing breakage, increasing shine, and stimulating flexibility.

So you don’t want to look, or smell, like you are massaging your scalp with cooking oil? No problem! Follow this recipe for a quick at home Conditioning Hair Treatment that smells great with the added benefits of essential oils.

Start with…

¼ cup of Olive Oil

Add in…

3-6 drops of essential oil

Dry hair? Try Lavender essential oil. “Normal” hair (whatever that means!), try Rosemary. If your hair is naturally oily, you might not find this treatment necessary, but an olive oil cleanse can be beneficial for even your hair type. Try a few drops of Lemon essential oil to balance out the oiliness of the olive oil. Not sure what hair type you have or does it seem to change? Rosemary essential oil is perfect for all hair types, and works great for scalp conditions and dandruff as well.

Use about two tablespoons of your scented olive oil on damp to wet hair. Start at the scalp, using massage to stimulate blood flow. Work through the roots and lastly through the ends of your hair. Leave on hair for at least 5 minutes, longer is better. Shampoo twice to remove oil. Still oily? Enjoy this extra hydration as the conditioning treatment continues to work, maybe a day or two, until washing out entirely! Everyone’s hair is different and more porous hair types might soak up the oil better than others.

Save the extra 2 tablespoons of oil in a small airtight container in the refrigerator and use within two weeks for a follow-up treatment.

~Randi