Star Wars DIY: Jakku-Inspired Sugar Scrub

Posted by Margaret Dunham

May the Fourth is here again, and we’re happy to be celebrating all things Star Wars! This year The Force Awakens has fans excited for the future of the franchise. The movie brought us back to a desert planet on the edge of nowhere to meet a brand new hero—a scavenger living off the tech left behind by the epic space battles we all know and love. Want to start your day fresh-faced, gazing out over the dune sea, ready for The Force to call to you?

It all starts with a simple morning routine. This whipped sugar scrub is made from stuff you probably already have in your pantry, and makes roughly 16 exfoliating portions.

Gather your materials:

  1. ¼ cup solid coconut oil

  2. ¼ cup brown sugar

  3. 1-5 drops essential oil of your choice (we used tea tree oil in this example)

  4. Small mixing bowl

  5. Hand mixer (or standing mixer)

  6. Small pretty jar for storage

 

Directions:

Spoon out and whip your coconut oil

Seems like everything calls for coconut oil these days! Because coconut oil stays solid at room temperature, it handles the whipping process well and holds its form in the finished scrub. Spoon your coconut oil into your mixing bowl and whip it into shape by gradually increasing your mixer’s speed. Once your oil as the consistency of paste, you’re ready to add the sugar.

 

Add your brown sugar slowly

Sugar is your exfoliant in this scrub – it agitates and removes dead skin and grime, leaving soft, smooth skin behind. Add your sugar slowly as you run the mixer, allowing it to blend in with the whipped oil. Test the texture between your fingers and add as much sugar as you like. One part sugar to one part coconut oil is a good estimate, but the blend you make can be as unique as your destiny. Keep blending until all the lumps are gone and your scrub is as uniform in texture as the dunes on Jakku were after Poe’s TIE fighter sank and exploded (too soon?).

 

Blend in your essential oils

Once your sugar and oil are well blended and you are happy with the consistency (seriously though, sorry about the Poe joke, he lives and all but not cool), you can go ahead and add a few drops of essential oils. You can choose any oils you like – lavender, citrus, herbal. For this example we chose tea tree oil as it has astringent properties and a clean herbal scent the perfect thing for freshening up before taking your scavenged parts in for trade.

Pro-tip: pouring essential oils straight from the bottle is a risky game. Make it easy on yourself by buying oils that have a built in dropper or, simpler still, pour a few drops into the cap of the bottle and use that to pour oils into your mix.

 

Scoop your scrub into your storage jar

Once your scrub is blended scoop it into a small airtight container, write a label on it, and you’re ready to go! You can keep your scrub for yourself, or whip up a large batch and send it out as gifts to all your rebel pals. Use your scrub a couple of times a week or as-needed, and you’ll have a fresh face that’s ready to take on any world you decide to land on.

Exfoliate, moisturize, wear that sunscreen, and when The Force calls to you: let it in!