By Abigail Funk-Gifford of Rasa Spa
Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to practice better self-care? Did another happen to be cleaning out or downsizing your pantry? We have you covered! If you know Rasa Spa, you know we’re all about self-care—and while we’d love to see you, we understand that a lot of folks are staying home right now. So we figured we’d give you some at-home self-care ideas. Chances are, you already even have these ingredients in your kitchen pantry and a trip to the grocery store won’t be necessary.
For some extra exfoliation, try an at-home sugar or salt scrub. Sugar is a finer grain, and safe for use on both your body and face. Try mixing a half-cup of organic sugar with a quarter-cup coconut oil and 2+ drops of lavender (or any!) essential oil. How much and which kind of essential oil is a purely personal preference. We love lavender, rose, or a citrus-like sweet orange in a sugar scrub.
For a more coarse body scrub, we suggest using refined sea salt like we do in our house-made lavender sea salt and Immune Boost scrubs. Salt also has a number of detoxifying properties in addition to excellent exfoliating abilities. Using the same 2:1 ratio as in the sugar scrub, we suggest a cup of refined organic sea salt and a half-cup of olive oil. You might find that you need more essential oils with salt versus sugar. Again, it’s up to your nose what you might like to use. No essential oils at home? Try chopping up an herb like rosemary to mix in!
Take your scrub in the shower before turning on the water. Spend at least a minute or two on your face if using a facial sugar scrub. And several minutes on your body if using a salt body scrub. Circular motions toward the heart is always our recommendation for application.
An at-home face masque is one more simple self-care option using what you likely already have in the kitchen. Most people have honey in their pantry – which we love for its healing and moisturizing properties. Try mixing a tablespoon with half an avocado or a quarter-cup of yogurt and a tablespoon of turmeric. Ever incorporated turmeric into a cleanse? The anti-inflammatory properties in turmeric are hard to beat! Leave your face masque on for at least 10 minutes before rinsing and moisturizing.
This year and always, we wish you health and happiness! Happy New Year, from Rasa Spa.
Abigail Funk-Gifford is the Spa Director at Rasa Spa, where she has been working on the management team since 2013. Originally from Vermont, Abby attended Ithaca College for a degree in sports information and never left the area after falling in love with the Finger Lakes. She loves calling both the Finger Lakes area and Rasa home.
