Kick Your Severely Dry Skin (And Eczema!) to the Curb with Ucuuba Butter!
This post is sponsored by Paris Fragrances. All opinions are my own.
This homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe is a natural holistic solution to dry, itchy skin and eczema. Learn what makes this winter skin care recipe so special and how to craft your own.
Cold weather is on the way. And typically, that means you can expect dry skin in your near future. However, if you already suffer from dry skin, or if you have eczema, winter can seem a little unbearable. There’s nothing worse than fighting with your skin and not being to find a product that brings relief. If this scenario seems familiar to you, don’t worry. There is a way to save your skin this winter. All you need are a few simple ingredients from Paris Fragrances.
Ever Feel Like Your Moisturizer Is Irritating Your Dry, Itchy Skin Even More?
I’m one of those people that loathes putting on lotion. Often times, when my skin is especially dry, it feels like I’m applying lotion every hour. While it’s amazing when first applied, a short time later I’m wondering if it’s actually making my skin’s condition worse. So I’m always particular about knowing exactly what I’m putting on my skin – and especially what the ingredients are.
Ingredients matter. And it’s not just the ingredients that you find in a product. It’s also about the ingredients NOT in a product. That’s part of the reason I prefer making my own natural skin care products. Not only is it easy to keep my own products simple, I often find that they are also more effective than store bought brands. Plus, because I know exactly what’s going into my skin care recipes, I don’t have to worry about being surprised by an allergy to a product.
My homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe is the perfect skin care solution for winter. This multi-use product works like an in-shower moisturizer as well as a gentle body scrub. However, it can also be used as a conditioning salt bath in warm bath water. Using this ucuuba butter salt scrub in your shower locks in the moisture from the water while your pores are open. So skin feels moisturized longer. And it also feels protected against the elements.
What Is Ucuuba Butter?
Ucuuba butter is an exotic butter native to Central and South America. Like other exotic body butters, ucuuba butter is cold pressed from the seeds of the tree its sourced from. In this case, that would be the Ucuuba tree. As the seeds of the ucuuba tree are rich in fats, extracts of the oil is often as high as 50% of the weight of the dry seeds.
The ucuuba tree is a fast growing tree found in the Brazilian Amazon Forest. As these trees can grow as much as ten feet over the course of just two years, it makes ucuuba butter a highly sustainable product.
The natural unrefined butter from this tree’s seeds is typically yellow to brown in color and has a natural odor reminiscent of nutmeg. Like cocoa butter, ucuuba butter is solid at room temperature. However it has a somewhat higher melting point of 127°F, whereas cocoa butter melts between 93°-100°F. Similarly to cocoa butter, ucuuba makes a wonderful addition to homemade soaps, hair care products and skin care recipes.
Skin Care Benefits of Ucuuba Butter.
Ucuuba butter has natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. This makes it an ideal addition to skin care recipes formulated for dry skin, acne and eczema. Additionally, this natural butter is also rich in essential fatty acids that can help to replenish and moisturize dry or maturing skin. It also contains both vitamin C and vitamin A (retinol) commonly found in natural anti-aging products. These proponents can help to reduce the visible signs of aging as well as replenish and reverse skin damage.
Where to Purchase Ingredients.
I used ingredients from Paris Fragrances to craft my homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe. Paris Fragrances offers quality products with great prices. As a partner with HSCG, Paris Fragrances works with ethical suppliers to help create a sustainable and environmentally friendly economy with the communities living in the Amazon Forest. Additionally, Paris Fragrances is also a member of The Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild.
All of the products from Paris Fragrances are imported from Europe and South America, with emphasis on exotic Brazilian fragrances. The oils and butters, which are sustainably sourced from the Brazilian Amazon Forest, are cold pressed and left unrefined so they retain their natural benefits when use in skin care formulations.
About My Ucuuba Butter Salt Scrub Recipe.
I’ll be honest. If you are one of those people that likes exiting your shower squeaky clean, my homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe is probably not going to be your cup of tea. While this homemade scrub is similar in ways to most salt scrubs, it’s also very different.
Rather than using sea salt for my homemade ucubba butter salt scrub recipe, I use Dead Sea salt instead. A luxury cosmetic salt, Dead Sea salt is extracted from the marshes of the Dead Sea then solar dried. Its fine grain and moisture content make it especially suited for bath salt and body scrub recipes.
Considered to be the best therapeutic salts available, Dead Sea salt is rich in natural minerals that include magnesium, potassium, sulfur and calcium. These minerals work to help improve blood circulation as well as cleanse, disinfect and exfoliate skin. As a home remedy, Dead Sea salt has shown to benefit those who suffer from a variety of skin ailments including acne, eczema and psoriasis as well as dry, itchy skin and atopic dermatitis.
Unlike traditional sea salt, such as the type of salt you may use for cooking, Dead Sea salt is incredibly hydrating. And, similar to Epsom salt, it is able to soothe sore muscles and calm inflammation that is often associated with both rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Another key difference in my ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe lies with ucuuba butter’s hydrating properties. As ucuuba butter, along with the combination of the other natural ingredients included in this recipe, are such rich moisturizers, the oils and butters don’t fully rinse off in the shower. So, once you step out of the shower and towel off, remnants of these ingredients are left on your skin reducing, or eliminating, the need to apply an after shower moisturizer. Your skin will not only feel soft and smooth, it will also look healthier with each use.
In addition to ucuuba butter, this recipe is also crafted using andiroba oil. Renowned by native Indians for its healing properties, andriroba oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties that can help to soothe skin inflammation, itching and rashes. (Learn more about andriroba oil here.)
This homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe has a rich natural fragrance that is lovely solo. However, if a fragrance oil is desired, this scrub pairs well with both Paris Fragrances sandalwood fragrance oil and their seasonal Halloween pumpkin fragrance oil.
Ucuuba Butter Salt Scrub Recipe
© Rebecca D. Dillon
Ingredients:
1 oz. ucuuba butter
2 oz. andiroba oil
.5 oz. vegetable based emulsifying wax
.25 oz. unscented liquid Castile soap
.25 oz. cupuacu butter
12 oz. Dead Sea salt
.1 oz. fragrance oil, optional
Instructions:
Begin by using a digital scale to weigh out the ucuuba butter, capuaca butter, andiroba oil and emulsifying wax. Gently heat in a double boiler until melted.
While the butters, oil and wax are melting, weigh out the Dead Sea salt into a medium glass bowl.
Then weigh out the fragrance oil, if desired. Mix the fragrance oil into the salt until the fragrance is evenly distributed throughout the salt.
Once the butters, oil and wax have melted, remove from heat. Now weigh out and add the liquid Castile soap.
Then add the salt mixture to the melted ingredients, mixing well to combine.
Once the ucuuba butter salt scrub has cooled, mix the scrub again to break up the salt grains. Then spoon the scrub into your desired container(s.)
You can use your homemade ucuuba butter salt scrub recipe in two ways. You can either massage the salt scrub onto damp skin in a warm shower. Or, you can add the desired amount of the scrub to warm, running bath water. Once you finish bathing, simply pat dry.
For extremely dry skin, I recommend applying my bacuri butter body balm or my simple 3-ingredient bacuri body butter prior to getting dressed for an extra layer of skin protection and nourishment. Also be sure to try my natural bacuri butter & murumuru soap recipe!
You can also make a travel worthy solid lotion bar to take with you on the go. Simply melt, combine and mold 2 oz. beeswax, 1.75 oz. ucuuba butter, 2 oz. capuaca butter and 3 oz. andiroba oil using ingredients from Paris Fragrances.
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