Shea butter scrub| Quick and easy recipe to give you glowing smooth skin

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Shea butter scrub is one of the best DIY scrubs you can use on your skin, and this recipe is even better. It combines the moisturizing power of shea butter with the anti-ageing properties of rosehip oil and exfoliating benefits of sea salt to rid your skin of dead skin cells and give it the glow and moisture it deserves.

I get it; there are many scrub recipes out there to try out. This one stands out because it is not just powerful; it is also simple to make. How much do you know about shea butter? Let’s find out more.

What is shea butter?

Shea butter is one of the most, if not the most popular natural butter out there. Shea butter is the fat extracted from the nuts of the Shea tree. It is semi-solid at room temperature and melts easily on contact with the skin.

Unrefined shea butter is yellow in colour, while refined shea butter is off white. As always, I recommend you go with unrefined shea butter. It has a nutty aroma, but this dissipates as soon as you apply it to your skin or hair.

Unrefined shea butter is edible, and in the southwestern part of Nigeria, we eat yams with shea butter. It’s yummy and creamy.

How to make a Shea butter scrub

Like I said in the beginning, making a shea butter scrub is simple and easy. You can always tweak the measurements and ingredients to suit your needs and add any other natural product if you want to get fancy. I added some gold mica powder in mine to give my skin an extra glow!

Shea butter benefits

Like other natural butters, Shea butter is beneficial to the skin. Some of its benefits include

1. Moisturizing dry skin: The fat in Shea butter makes it both an emollient and a humectant. Those might seem like fancy words but they are really simple. As an emollient, Shea butter is able to form a protective film around the skin, and as a humectant it can draw moisture from the environment into the skin. Both of these abilities makes this Shea butter scrub excellent for keeping dry skin moisturized.
2. Reducing inflammation: Shea butter has some properties that make it excellent at reducing skin inflammation such as dermatitis, sunburns, rashes and more. I use Shea butter when I burn myself in the kitchen, if you want it to work even better to reduce inflammation, put your shea butter in the fridge so it is always cool when you need it for little emergencies like a mild kitchen burn.
3. Restoring skin elasticity: Shea butter supports the production of collagen in the skin. Collagen is responsible for keeping the skin firm, unfortunately as we age your body starts to produce less collagen. Rather than reach for a collagen supplement, try using natural butter like Shea butter to boost collagen in your skin. If you are not a big fan of using Shea butter as a body butter then substitute with mango butter. Read more here.
4. Controlling acne: I was just as surprised as you might be reading that  shea butter could actually control acne. Best part is that there’s actual research to confirm this, you can read about it here. Shea butter has antibacterial properties but since it’s a heavy oil, I suggest you dilute your shea butter with a lighter oil before applying to your acne prone skin and even after diluting it, make sure to only use it in small sections at a time.
5. Protecting the skin: Sunscreens aren’t cheap and over time they can burn a hole in our pockets. For added sun protection add shea butter to your skincare routine. Shea butter is in no way an alternative to sunscreen. It has an SPF of between 3 and 4 so it’s really not an alternative to sunscreen. However, layering some shea butter on your sunscreen before you step out can give you some added protection.

Rosehip oil benefits

Rosehip oil is one of my favourite oils. It’s a bit more pricey than most body oils but, it is worth the extra bucks! It is so lightweight that it absorbs into the skin really fast. It’s non-greasy and non-comedogenic too. Shea butter can be a bit heavy, so using rosehip oil or any other light oil balances out this shea butter scrub recipe. So what are the benefits of rosehip oil?

1. It moisturizes the skin: Like any other body oil, when you apply rosehip oil to your damp skin, you lock in the moisture. Unlike some body oils though, rosehip oil really shines due to its ability to sink into the skin without leaving the skin greasy. This makes it an excellent oil for those with oily or acne-prone skin.
2. It has exfoliating properties: Remember in the beginning of this post when I talked about this recipe being amazing! I hope at this point you are beginning to see why! Rosehip oil is rich in Vitamins A and C. Vitamin A aka retinol encourages cell turnover while Vitamin C aids in cell regeneration. With rosehip oil, you are left with bright smooth skin.
3. Rosehip oil reduces hyperpigmentation: Hyperpigmentation occurs when excess melanin is produced. This usually happens after prolonged sun exposure, hormonal changes or even certain medication. Rosehip oil has retinoids, beta carotene and lycopene which reduce hyperpigmentation.

Honey benefits

Using raw honey on the skin doesn’t sound as weird as it used to a few years ago. Honey has become so popular as a skincare ingredient and for good reasons too. Here are some benefits your skin enjoys when you use raw honey in your shea butter scrub

1. Moisture: Honey is a humectant so it draws moisture from the environment into the skin, keeping the skin constantly hydrated, moisturized, soft and supple.
2. Nutrients: Honey is packed with antioxidants that repair damaged skin. It also has antimicrobial properties to keep germs away from the skin.
3. Soothes: Honey soothes irritated and inflamed skin. If you have a mild kitchen burn, apply honey and it will heal your skin like magic.

Sea salt benefits

Sea salt is a great exfoliator, so naturally, it had to be part of this shea butter scrub recipe. If you have sensitive skin, then you can replace sea salt with sugar. Here are some of the benefits of sea salt

1. Antibacterial : Sea salt has antibacterial properties that discourage the growth of bacteria. This means less breakouts and acne.
2. Nourish: Sea salt is loaded with minerals that your skin needs. The magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium in sea salt keep the skin hydrated.
3. pH balance: Sea salt restores the skin’s natural ph balance. If your pH balance is off, the skin might get flaky or result in eczema and acne.

If you are not sure if you should use sugar or salt, read this blog post.

The takeaway

This Shea butter scrub is easy to make. Beyond that, the addition of rosehip oil, honey and sea salt makes it excellent for all skin types. For dry skin, shea butter, rosehip oil, and honey will keep the skin moisturized. For oily or acne-prone skin, the antibacterial properties of honey and sea salt help keep bacteria and dirt from the skin.

Have you ever used a DIY body scrub? Let me know what you think in the comment section.

More articles for you!

• Mango butter vs Shea butter: Which of these Butters is best for your skin and hair?
• Little-known Mango butter benefits: 6 miraculous uses of Mango butter for healthy skin and hair
• Surprising Benefits Of Rosehip Oil For Hair: Effective Recipes Guaranteed To Give You Healthy And Stunning Hair Instantly
• Salt scrub vs Sugar Scrub| How to choose the best scrub to give you healthy, smooth skin
• Homemade body scrub: Cheat-sheet on everything you need to make amazing body scrubs for your skin