The past couple months have been a lovely whirlwind. I am such a homebody, so after spending a ton of time away from home in September and October—sleeping in the woods, spending time with plants and some very frisky elk (!), and heading south and east to visit my family—I’m so happy to be home in the pink house and getting back into my usual rhythms.
At the end of August, I made a big order to my fav Mountain Rose Herbs that included some nourishing oils to experiment with for the coming cool (well, here in the desert, it’s just cooler) weather. I made a face oil blend that I’m still perfecting, but am in love with this super-simple sea salt face scrub.
I wanted to make a limited ingredient, nourishing face wash and saw a ton of recipes out there that used oats. I had some first-time homeowner anxiety though about what wet oatmeal might do to the pipes of a 110 year old house, so I decided on a simple salt and oil combo. The trick is to find a super fine grain sea salt, but if you have something larger, you could always try grinding it finer before using. You want something about the texture of fine sand.
I mixed this up in a small bowl and transferred it to a half pint jar. You could vary the type of essential oils that you use or omit them entirely. This particular blend is spicy and complex. I put the date on the bottom of the jar that I stored this in, on a piece of painter’s tape, just to keep track of how long it had been hanging around since it is a preservative free product. I had used it up within two months and had no issues with spoilage, although I was careful to dip into it using only dry hands.
At the end of September, I was at the Traditions of Western Herbalism Conference. I had been sleeping in a tent, hadn’t showered in days, and was probably a bit frazzled. So I was caught completely off-guard when total stranger complimented my skin and asked what I used on it. This is the stuff!
Simple Sea Salt Face Scrub with Cardamom and Vetiver
adapted from Local Kitchen
1/2 cup fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons apricot kernel oil
5 drops cardamom essential oil
3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops vetiver essential oil
- Combine everything in a glass or stainless bowl and stir to combine. Avoid using a wood utensil to stir.
- Transfer the scrub to a half pint jar for storage.
Before I go, I also wanted to mention here that I am just thrilled to have a piece in the latest Remedy Quarterly. You can order the issue, which is just beautiful, here. I wrote about apricots and backyard fruit and moving from NYC to rural Arizona. I hope you’ll check it out!
About autumn
Autumn Giles is the creator of Autumn Makes & Does and the co-host of the Alphabet Soup Podcast.
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