Gardener's Hand Scrub

 A great natural exfoliator is Sugar, as the small particles work amazingly at rubbing away dead skin cells, due to their rough nature, therefore we have included Sugar in this blend. It is also a natural humectant which means that it literally draws moisture from the surroundings and channels it into the skin, helping to keep your skin much more hydrated. Summed up, it is an ingredient that offers your skin a fantastic treatment, shedding off the old skin cells and hydrating the new ones, so your hands will feel fresh as a daisy. 

We have also used a mixture of Dead Sea Salt and Sea salt. We use Sea Salt as it works rather similarly to sugar due to its consistency, and works even better with a combination of the two. We use the Dead Sea Salt as it has less Sodium Chloride than normal Sea Salt, which in turn means there is more room for other minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. This means that it has healing benefits as well as helping to exfoliate, so can help to improve the function of the skin barrier, making it stronger for next time, and reduce any roughness that gardening may have caused. Using a combination of the two means that we can get all the best bits from the minerals of the Dead Sea, but also retain the main purpose of exfoliation, through the pure salt from the Sea. The best of both worlds! Or… seas? 

Essential Oils have an extensive array of mental and physical benefits. For this particular scrub we have picked out a few that we thought would be most efficient in rejuvenating and clearing your hands of any possible nasty bacteria. 

We have used Fairtrade-certified Apricot Kernel Oil, as it has been proven to take such good care of skin. It is an emollient and therefore absorbs easily into the skin, without leaving behind an oily residue, and creates a moisture sealing barrier, therefore keeping your hands feeling moisturised for longer. It is also super rich in essential fatty acids that work wonders for keeping our skin soft and smooth. A close counterpart to this is Peach Kernel Oil, which we have chosen to include as well, which carries similar properties but carries larger amounts of calcium, which improves bone health, and phosphorus, which boosts the cellular reproduction of skin cells and therefore can help calloused hands to heal quicker. 

The others include: Lavender Essential Oil, for its calming effects on the mind and beautiful aroma; Rosemary Essential Oil, which helps to stimulate circulation, important for those cold days outside; and Peppermint Essential Oil, for that relieving cooling sensation. 

And last but not least, we have used Grapefruit Seed Extract. It is known for its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial properties, which means that it is great at fighting infections. It is high in Omega fatty acids and Vitamin E as well which are both factors that play a large role in maintaining soft skin.