Sugar Scrub - Attack the Rough Skin!!

I am a sucker for sugar and salt scrubs. I cannot pass it up! There is nothing like the way your skin feels right after you have scrubbed the fire out of it with a good, smelly, abrasive scrub.

You can get salt or sugar scrubs at any store really. I have not figured out what the difference really is between salt vs sugar but when I do I'll let you know!

I needed to scrub some really annoying skin off my left elbow. It had apparently taken refuge there because I tend to lean on my left elbow when I am at a table. Sadly, my left elbow is probably the darkest patch of skin I have considering I am a pretty pale chic! So, as you can imagine it had to go and quick.

I ran out of my Israeli, Dead Sea Salt scrub stuff (not it's real name but I forget) and I needed a quick fix. So what does the modern wife/mom do? I GOOGLED it!! Ooooh Google I love you!

I found what could possibly be the most simple recipe ever! Below you will find the recipe and please dont be discouraged at how difficult it is to mix the two ingredients together LoL!

Basic Sugar Scrub Recipe:
Regular, good ol' sugar
Olive Oil

Instructions: Put sugar in an airtight bowl - add olive oil to the sugar to make it the consistency of a paste. DONE

This recipe is genius! I did it just this morning on both elbows and my hands and it was amazing. The sugar scrubs very effectively and the olive oil is a natural moisturizer.

Now you could probably get real fancy with this basic recipe and I plan on trying some new things out soon.

You could use almond oil, canola oil, sunflower oil or some other speciality oil. You could try different grades of sugar to get a finer scrub on that stubborn skin.

You could add essential oils to your mixture to specialize it to your liking. This is the one I really look forward to trying for myself.

As an afterthought, you could use sea salt instead of sugar I would think. Dunno, will have to test that out so stay tuned or try it out and post your results.

Recommended by Mar: YES!!

Advice: Experiment and have fun! Dont think that you have to spend upwards of $5 on a name brand scrub to get amazing results.

You Should Know: I will be posting more info on my experiments with the sugar scrubs

Mar

Melatonin - Natural Sleep Aid

As one who struggles with occasional bouts of insomnia I am always on the look out for something to help me out in those instances.

I do not want to walk down the path of prescribed medications because I have a history with those. Instead I have tried varied things that are OTC.  Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) has always worked to a degree. BTW you should know that diphenhydramine is the active ingredient in alot of OTC sleep aids. If you want to use this then definately buy the generic brands of Benadryl and save yourself some moolah!

Anyway back to Melatonin. Read up on it for awhile via our trusty internet and decided I would try it out.

First night dosage was the basic 3mg. I have to say that it worked very well. I fell off to sleep very easily and not with a heavy medicated feeling. I've taken it for about 3 weeks now and I still get the benefits but I have noticed a set back for me personally: break outs!!

Hello 1984 when I was 13!! For some reason I have broken out on my chin and not anywhere else. Very odd. I can attribute this to the melatonin because it's the only new thing I've been taking lately. I do not have skin that normally breaks out so I can safely deduce that it's from the melatonin.

Now I've researched it and apparently break outs happen with Melatonin users but don't seem to be the norm.

Recommended by Mar:  Yes

Advice: Keep your dosage at the recommended dosage. You dont want to increase it and mess up the hormone levels in your body.

You Should Know: From what I have found, if you expose yourself to at least 30 min of sunlight each day and properly darken your sleeping area at night you will level out your melatonin without the use of herbal supplements. This takes a bit of time so the choice is yours.

Here We Go!

I believe the key to really enjoying your life is contentment. Being content with what you have been blessed with and not looking around wanting more.

I spend alot of money needlessly for simple things I want. These aren't things I truly need. Now, splurging on things here and there is a great thing! Sometimes it just makes more sense to try and find a way around spending your hard earned money on the fancy packaging and boastful claims that products tend to have.

So, I decided to try things and then post the results here. I promise to try everything I blog about so that you know if it's really worth it. If you have ideas and would like to share then by all means do so!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mar