Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

DIY Honey Sugar Scrub with Frankincense

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Affiliate links may be included. I only promote what I love! 

This DIY gift idea is so darn indulgent. It’s also a little sticky (just being honest) so you’ll want to make sure that you let the person you are making this Honey Sugar Scrub for know that ample opportunity will be needed to rinse it off! 🙂

I added Young Living’s Frankincense oil to this honey sugar scrub because it is an oil that is well-known for how kind it is to the skin! I personally use it for the banishment of fine lines. I also use it for overall wellness. It’s such a precious, fantastic, oh-so-good-for-you oil, and a little really goes a long way.

honey sugar scrub with frankincense

Here’s what you’ll need to make this amazing scrub!

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup sugar (I used cane sugar for a more coarse effect, but refined white sugar is fine)
  • 1 Tbsp avocado oil (or other carrier oil of choice)
  • 3 drops Frankincense essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass container (one with a lid is ideal!). To use, apply small amounts to areas of the skin that need more intense TLC (for example, rough elbows, calloused heels and hands). Allow to soak into the skin for a minute or two before rinsing off thoroughly.

Since Young Living is a referral-based business, you have to go through a distributor to get this great product. I’d love to help you get all set up with your own bottle of frankincense (and give you tons of other ideas about how to use it!). I can help you get signed up as a retail customer, a wholesale customer, or I can take an order from you that I’ll place with my next monthly wholesale order (you can try an oil or two that way for the wholesale price!). Reach out to me at stuffparentsneed (at) gmail (dot) com and let me know how I can help!

Celebrate National Coffee Day and Friends 20th Anniversary with a Central Perk Body Scrub

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Thanks to Eight O’Clock Coffee and Mom It Forward for partnering with Stuff Parents Need to make this post possible. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own, as always. 

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate all things coffee. Did you know that today is National Coffee Day?! To be honest, I thought that every day was National Coffee Day, but it turns out, it does have one day when we are to honor our favoite beans even more than every other day. So…5 cups instead of 4? 😉

If you happen to be in the NYC area between now and October 18th, you can head to 199 Lafayette Street and treat yourself to a free cup of Eight O’Clock Coffee at a fun pop up coffee shop. But this isn’t just any pop-up shop, friends. It’s a recreation of Central Perk, the beloved coffee shop frequented by Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler and Joey on the “loved by pretty much everyone” show, Friends. It was 20 years ago this fall that season 1 debuted!

And now that you feel extra old, go ahead and make yourself another cup of coffee. I’ll wait, no worries. You’ll feel better in a few minutes. 🙂

To celebrate all things coffee and all things Friends, I thought it would be fun to put together a Central Perk-inspired gift for a friend. This would be a really fun “no reason” gift to surprise someone with, or it can just be a nice little treat you make for yourself.

coffee-sugar-scrub-7
Some of you shower before you have your coffee (how do you do that? seriously?) but you can change that and have some coffee WHILE you shower. Best. Idea. Ever. 🙂

Central Perk Roast, which is a limited edition roast out right now, has a medium flavor which makes it a roast that will please a lot of people. It is made with 100% Arabica beans, smells divine and is a great choice for a scrub. While this particular roast is new, the brand has been around for over 150 years, so that means it’s doing something right and is definitely worth trying if you aren’t already a fan! Ok, so let’s start by gathering our ingredients:

coffee sugar scrub

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Eight O’Clock Central Perk Roast coffee grounds
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Add your coffee grounds to a large mixing bowl. Isn’t the color of this roast lovely? It smells great, too!

coffee sugar scrub 2

Now it’s time to add your brown sugar.

coffee sugar scrub 3

And now you need to add your oil. You can opt to just add 1/2 cup of coconut oil or 1/2 cup of grapeseed oil, but I like to mix things up. I also wanted to let the coffee scent shine as much as possible, so I used grapeseed oil for half of what I needed to help dilute that coconut scent. But I didn’t personally want to do all grapeseed oil because coconut oil is so good for your skin! So just know that you have options here and can do as you see fit.

coffee sugar scrub 4

All that’s left to do now is to mix it together. You may need to use your hands just a bit toward the end to help break up any smaller lumps of coconut oil or brown sugar. Now add it to a cute container of some sort (mason jars are perfect) and you are all set!

coffee sugar scrub 6

I did a quick test on my arm yesterday when I made the scrub and instantly loved it. It feels SO good, and it smells incredible. My arm was really soft after I washed the scrub off, too.

coffee sugar scrub 5

So naturally I couldn’t resist using the scrub in the shower this morning (I know…I’m a terrible role model of how to be a great friend because I stole this gift for myself!). But y’all. It. Was. AWESOME!!! It woke me up and made me feel so soft and smooth. I’ll be making this again for my friends, and yeah, also for me. If you like coffee, this is a little DIY you need to try immediately!

You can get more information on where to find the Central Perk Roast blend at www.EightOClock.com/friends. The bags are a very reasonable $6.99! And you most definitely will want to go to the Eight O’Clock Coffee Facebook page today for a chance to win coffee prizes and even a trip to LA to visit the Warner Brothers studios. You can also hang out with the brand on Twitter!

Let me know if you try the scrub and the Central Perk roast! I hope you like them as much as I do! 

My Skin Condition and How I’m Changing It (DIY Sugar Scrub Tutorial)

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I was diagnosed with Keratosis Pilaris at the age of 6. This is a very common skin condition that is also called “chicken skin” (and by the way, if anyone ever calls my epidermis “chicken skin” it will be ugly…what a horrible nickname for this condition!). I’m sure you know someone who has this, and perhaps you have it, too. It usually manifests on the arms and legs, and looks like really bumpy skin that is also quite blotchy.

I’m 33 years old now, so it has been a part of my life for 27 years. And I can tell you already that little Layah is going to have it. Not sure yet about Darah. It’s very normal for me, and it doesn’t cause me too much grief. I mean, it is what it is. I can’t remember what it is like to have smooth skin on my arms and legs. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t REALLY like to have smooth skin again! So when I heard folks on a oils facebook group talking about how using essential oils is helping with Keratosis Pilaris, I was ALL OVER IT. Treating the condition with oils typically involves two steps: using an exfoliating scrub, followed by a moisturizing cream. I made both of these concoctions about 10 days ago.

keratosis pilaris remedy

My Results After 6 Uses

So I’ve used these products about 6 times now, and I will say this: visually, my skin doesn’t look any different. Still splotchy. Still bumpy in appearance. Again, I’ve only used this combo 6 times, so it is too early to determine what the final result is going to be. But was I hoping for a miracle? Of course I was. And so, it was a bummer not to be able to look at my arms and tell a difference.

BUT…my skin feels VERY different! I have been touching my arms so often over the last week, because I just can’t get over how smooth they feel. Do they feel like the arms of someone who DOESN’T have KP? No, at least not yet. But do they feel like the arms of someone who DOES have KP? No,  not anymore! They are in this in-between place. And I for one absolutely love it!!  And even if you don’t have KP, this is a great scrub for dry skin, too! 

DIY Sugar Scrub for Keratosis Pilaris

diy sugar scrub 5

So the first step is to exfoliate. And you need to exfoliate with the right stuff, friends! I’ve bought TONS of exfoliating over the years, and none have come anywhere close to working as well as this homemade version.

Ingredients

diy sugar scrub 1

I cut the recipe in half for my first attempt (just in case I didn’t like it…but I LOVED it, so go ahead and make the whole thing!). Use a medium sized glass bowl. DON’T use plastic, as essential oils will eat plastic! True story.

diy sugar scrub 2

Add the sugar, and then the coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temp. I microwaved it for 8 seconds to soften it a bit. That’ll all you need for it to work with you…it melts very quickly. Do not fully melt your coconut oil before making this, ‘k?

diy sugar scrub for keratosis pilaris

Now it’s time to add your lavender. Friends, I implore you, DO NOT purchase lavender from the health food store, or through a Groupon deal, or on Ebay. The FDA doesn’t regulate the production of essential oils, and so the quality varies HUGELY from brand to brand. I trust Young Living because of their rigorous oversight from seed to seal. They are not afraid to toss a batch of product at any point in the process if it fails their tests for maximum therapeutic benefit. Lavender has over 200 chemical constituents, and laboratories can mimic the top dozen or so, which can produce an identical scent, but the therapeutic benefits aren’t there. I added lavender not because it smells good (although, hey, bonus!) but because it is soothing. Your skin goes through quite an ordeal when it is being exfoliated, and the lavender is there to soothe. It is important to get the good stuff so that the impact you are seeking is there, and not just the scent.

Mix all of your ingredients together with a fork until well combined. Then transfer to a glass container with a lid. I picked mine up at Home Goods! The glass is important; essential oils will “eat” through plastic!

diy sugar scrub for keratosis pilaris

If you are thinking about trying this out for yourself, I’d be happy to order lavender for you using my wholesale member discount. A 15 ml bottle is $23.50 plus tax and shipping. A bottle of that size has about 300 drops in it, just to give you a sense for how long it will last you. Need other ideas about how to use lavender? It’s a favorite around here!

uses for lavender essential oils

And if this whole oils thing is all new to you, I’ve got some other great articles you can check out to learn more. I got into the whole thing as a skeptic, myself, so if you have your doubts about it, I TOTALLY relate!

Trying Essential Oils as a Skeptic

How to Get Started with Essential Oils

Natural Allergy Relief

My TV segment on natural allergy relief and Young Living

DIY Shower Disks for Congestion

Essential Oils for Weight Loss

How to Get Free Essential Oils Without Starting a Business (It’s EASY!!!)

Use Lemon Essential Oil to Safely Remove Crayon Marks

How to Get Rid of Hiccups with Peppermint Oil

How to Strengthen Brittle Nails with Essential Oils

Back-to-School Germ Relief with Thieves

How to Neutralize Bathroom Odors in a Flash