Bath Time Scrubs - Then and Now

About a decade or so ago, exfoliating oil scrubs were all the rage. They were available in every self-respecting beauty department or shop in an array of colors and scents with every imaginable type of exfoliating grain. 

Every beauty brand had their own line of scrubs. People couldn't seem to get enough of them. 

I 'raged' right alongside everyone else and could be seen scouring ingredients lists of the different shop versions to find inspiration for my own numerous versions – one of which you see pictured above.

The scrubs of yore were fun and easy to make and the ingredients were inexpensive and easily available. The formula was so simple, it was a challenge to get anything wrong: a simple mix of oil with exfoliating grains of one type or another, a dash of essential oils or fragrance oils, and Bob's your uncle. 

But there were, of course, a few downsides. 

When it's This Easy, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Whether they were salt or sugar, the exfoliating grains would (inevitably) settle at the bottom of the jar leaving a thick layer of oil floating on top. 

It was impossible to use the product without stirring it first. 

But before you could even get to the stirring part, you needed to get the jar open without spilling. And since the makers and sellers of the oil scrubs weren't interested in seeping, the lids were always very very difficult to get off.  

To alleviate the annoyance of having to stir the product before use, many scrubs were sold with a cute wooden spoon to make it less of a bother to use, and that gave lots of shelf appeal, but there were additional downsides.

If you've ever tried an 'old-fashioned' scrub, you might have decided it was too messy to use.

You might also have discovered it left you feeling greasier than you expected.

And you might have gotten utterly and thoroughly fed up with the amount of clean-up required after use.

I mean, there's no getting around it: pouring oil into a shower area and imagining it will all rinse away and magically disappear only happens in dreams.

There must be something better...

There is!

Enter the emulsified scrub.

Although an emulsified scrub is a little more complicated to make than the old 'oil-and-grains' versions, there are so many advantages, I think you might agree they are worth the effort.

Coming Up

Stay tuned for a peek at the basics of composing your own emulsified scrub.