Exfoliate! Exfoliate! Exfoliate! | Saffire Blue Inc.
Scrubs Skin Care & Shaving

Exfoliate! Exfoliate! Exfoliate!

It is undeniably true.  One of the most important things you can do to keep your skin feeling smooth and looking young, fresh and healthy is to exfoliate.   It is even more important to exfoliate during the Summer.  Spending time in the Sun means goddess looking bronzed skin, right?  Well, absolutely!  However, the skin on the outermost layer of your body is “dead” and needs to be removed by exfoliation in order to leave the healthier skin underneath looking and feeling its absolute best.

A little history of how exfoliation came to be …

We have to give credit where credit is due … so, a huge thank you to the Ancient Egyptians for bringing to light the wonderful and relaxing world of exfoliation.  Ancient Egyptians had been known to use Wine as a chemical exfoliate.  How awesome!

The word “Exfoliate” comes from the Latin word “Exfoliare.”  The translation of this word in English means “to strip of leaves.”

The Importance of Exfoliation:

New skin cells are created in the skin’s lower layer, the dermis.  Over time, cells migrate to the surface of the skin and become more acidic.  During this 30 day process, they die and become more saturated with Keratin.  Keratin is important because it protects the skin from outside elements.  Through the aging process, the natural process of skin erosion becomes uneven, which gives skin a dry and rough character.  Exfoliation removes the outer layer to reveal the new skin beneath.  This shedding of the outer layer unclogs pores, keeps skins clean, and helps to reduces acne and breakouts.  Exfoliation should always be done after cleansing the skin.  Exfoliation is especially important to men as it exposes the hair follicle and allows for a better, closer, smoother shave.

How Exfoliation is Achieved:

Exfoliation can be achieved by either Mechanical or Chemical approaches.

Mechanical: This process involves physically scrubbing the skin with an abrasive.

  • Microbead facial scrubs (ie.  Jojoba Spheres)
  • Crushed Shells (Walnut Shells, Almond Shells)
  • Sugar or Salt granular
  • Pumice
  • Fruit peels and Seeds (Lemon Peel, Orange Peel, Cranberry Seeds, Vanilla Bean Specks)

Chemical:  Chemical exfoliates include scrubs containing salicytic acid, glycolic acid, fruit enzymes, citric acid, or malic acid which may be applied in high concentrations by medical professionals or lower concentrations in over-the-counter products.

Neat Fact:  In beauty spa treatments in Europe the chemical properties of wine producing grapes are exploited in the practice of Vinotherapy … thank you Ancient Egyptians!

Another Neat Fact:  Waxing is also another method of Mechanical Exfoliation.  As the hair is being removed respectively so does the dead build up of skin cells.

 

Recipe: Whipped Shea Aloe Scrub Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Shea Aloe, whipped with your mixer
1.5 cups Sugar
Fragrance Oil
Colour

Whip the Shea Aloe and it will become a bit fluffy, Add the sugar, colour and fragrance. This scrub is lighter, slightly fluffier version when using sugar, because the sugar causes some fluffiness as it dissolves into the aloe vera gel in the shealoe.

 

Recipe: Lemon Sugar Scrub Recipe

5.0 oz E-Wax
4.0 oz Stearic   Acid
0.5 oz Cetyl   Alcohol
8.0 oz Palm   Kernel Oil
5.0 oz Apricot   Kernel Oil
4.0 oz Cocoa   Butter
3.0 oz Shea   Butter
11.0 oz Olive Oil
3.0 oz Castor   Oil
1.0 oz Lemon   Peel Fragrance Oil
0.5 oz Preservative
5.0 C Sugar
2 T Jojoba   Beads

Measurements by Weight not Volume

Method:

  1. Freeze mixing bowl and whip attachment overnight.
  2. In a microwave or double-boiler melt first 7 ingredients.
  3. Add olive oil and castor oil.
  4. Put this mixture in your frozen mixing bowl and whip on low/medium for approximately 30 minutes.
  5. Add fragrance oil.
  6. Add sugar a bit at a time while mixture continues beating until all sugar is gone.
  7. Add jojoba beads.
  8. Add preservative.

Whipping time is roughly 1 – 1.5 hours in total.

 

Recipe: Kopaa (Hawaiian Sugar) Body Scrub Recipe

3.5 oz Mango Butter
1.6 oz Macadamia Nut Oil
1.6 oz Fractionated Coconut Oil
1.5 oz Emulsifying Wax
1 oz BTMS
0.5 oz Polysorbate 20
0.2 oz Fragrance
0.1 oz Phenonip (preservative)
10 oz Kopaa (Hawaiian Sugar, or use regular white or brown sugar).

Measurements by Weight not Volume

Method:

  1. In a double boiler, melt the mango butter, emulsifying wax and BTMS. Be sure to use a heat proof bowl for this step. Stir well.
  2. Remove from heat and add the macadamia nut oil, coconut oil and Polysorbate 20. Stir well to combine.
  3. Add Phenonip and stir well.
  4. Put the bowl in an ice cube bath (this is why you need to use a heat proof bowl) with continued stirring. Add sugar and stir well and quickly, scraping downs the sides of the bowl regularly. Do not wait until the entire bowl of mixture has cooled to start stirring or else you will not be able to easily pour the mixture into containers and it will become crumbly.
  5. Pour the mixture into jars and allow to cool before capping.
  6. To use, stand in the shower and apply the scrub, one large scoop at a time, to the skin and massage gently. Do not use on face or on sensitive skin. Although this is an emulsifying scrub, it does contain oils which can make your tub slippery so be careful not to slip.

Recipe: Exfoliating Bath Scrubs with Foaming Bath Butter Recipe

Ingredients:

1lb Foaming Bath Butter
Sugar or Salt (Dead sea or Sea salt)

Instructions:

Add sugar or salt just to the point of saturation. Don’t worry if you’ve added a tad too much! It will stay in crystal form and give a bit more exfoliation.

Packaging this product in wide mouth jars provides the best presentation. If you whip batches in different colors and layer them into the jars, it gives the appearance of a dessert parfait.

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