Sunday, November 16, 2014

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub

All of a sudden it feels like winter here.  The temperature is dropping, and we had our first snow today (fluffy flakes that stuck to the grass and trees but not the street).  Since the cold weather's hit I've been having a problem keeping my hands hydrated.  I've tried all of the hand lotions and creams I have in the house, but nothing's worked more than a couple of minutes. Yesterday when I was folding laundry, my fingers felt annoyingly rough against anything made out of polyester.  It was time to take action!

This afternoon I exfoliated the dry skin off my hands and moisturized them at the same time with a homemade almond hand scrub.  It was easy to make, and made my skin feel great. The steps:
  • Grind up a couple of almonds in a spice mill until they're the consistency of coarse meal.  
  • Pour in a drizzle of olive oil.  
  • Mix everything together. 
  •  Massage it into your hands and let it set for several minutes.  
  • Rinse it off with warm water.
  • Enjoy the softness
Since I've treated my hands I've washed them multiple times and they still feel soft.  The natural ingredients are working much better than anything else I've used. Thanks goodness for smooth hands!

16 comments:

  1. Very nice! I'm just about to that stage, too! Need some tlc.

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  2. We had snow flurries here today and it's freezing cold outside. My hands get so dry they get little cuts all over. But lotion really helps so I make a point of liberally using the lotion at night.

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    1. When my hands get REALLY bad I have to start slathering on the lotion and wearing gloves at night. I'm almost to that point :-)

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  3. I have been reading for years now that olive oil is all one needs to keep ones face smooth and wrinkle free. I just can't seem to make myself use it. I have a neutragena hand care cream (sort of like petroleum jelly) that I slather on at night and it makes a world of difference for my dry cracked fingers.

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    1. If my hands get bad enough I move to straight petroleum jelly, and don't care about the grease factor!

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  4. I'll have to give this a shot. We're just back from the Great Frozen North (MN & ND) and my hands are wrecked.

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  5. Hi Kathy - Question for you, what kind of spice mill do you have? I am in the market for either a spice mill or a coffee grinder. How fine does your spice mill ground your almonds?

    Any help you can point my way would be great, thanks.

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    1. I actually use a coffee grinder that's just used for spices and nuts (to keep the coffee taste out). Mine is a Mr. Coffee brand. It does an acceptable job as long as you pulse it. Otherwise the nuts turn into butter

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    2. Yeah, I'm with you on the keeping the taste out. How does it wash up and do you recall the model number? I've got a coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond.

      Also, have you tried to ground flax seed?

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    3. Duh, I was thinking thanks, but forgot to say it.

      Thanks!

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    4. The cord is integrated into the grinder so you can't take it out, and you have to be careful when you wash it, but it's a small well (enough for one pot of coffee) and easy to reach. Looking at the Mr. Coffee website mine is probably comparable to the cheap blade grinder.

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    5. And I have done flax seed in it. Worked just fine, but we go through a lot of ground flax seed and I got tired of pulling out the grinder all the time. Now I buy the large bag of Bob's

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    6. I don't like Bob's though I love his stuff (and how he gave his company to his workers), but flax I gotta do at home.

      There's a mill I want to get my paws on but I have to get the one that can handle oily seeds as well as dry. And gosh knows where I'd store the bugger.

      Someday ... someday.

      I used to be able to make a wonderful flax flour in my blender. But I tossed a part out for it. Think I'll go to the tool shoppe and see if they can help me find a rubber thing to go around.

      Was out yesterday and no grinder at the store. Thanks for the information. Sounds like doing the flours will be too much a pain in such a small area.

      Good to know.

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    7. And you'll let us know when you're in the flour-making business?

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