Anti Cellulite Lotion Bar

There's nothing better than having fresh, hydrated and clean skin (at least not for me). I can't remember a night, where I didn't take my make up off before bed (not even after one glass too many) or not putting lotion on after a shower. I just love spending time in the bathroom and pampering myself. But when times get busy and I have to cut my beauty routine short, I appreciate good All-in-One products.

I've been wanting to test a DIY recipe that would combine the exfoliating and circulation-boosting properties of a scrub and the moisturizing goodness of a body butter for quite some time now. I decided to give it a try with an exfoliating lotion bar. Yes, there are plenty of similar recipes out there inspired by LUSH products and so is this. These kind of companies are great for inspiration. You just have to find a way to make it your own.

I'm so happy how this lotion bar came out!!! Especially because of it's skin toning and invigorating effect.

I decided to use caffeine for this recipe, because it exfoliates and gets lymph and blood flow moving. Caffeine also has a tightening effect and provides antioxidants to the skin when applied topically. I used a mix of lemongrass and grapefruit essential oil, as fruity oils are said to have an anti-cellulite effect. Rice and almonds seem to be the main ingredients in most recipes I've found, but the possibilities are endless. 

If you don't have any of the dry ingredients at hand, get creative and just replace them with other things. For example whole wheat or spelled grains. The important thing is that the dry ingredients are relatively coarse. It shouldn't be as fine as flour and remain a bit grainy for that peeling effect. I used a blender to grind the rice and oats and it worked just fine.

The finished bar can be used wonderfully while you shower. In circular motions gently exfoliate and moisturize your skin at the same time!

If you have any suggestions or want to share your recipes, please don't hesitate and comment below. Here's my version:

Butters:
- 2/3 cup cocoa butter
- 1/3 cup shea butter
Dry ingredients 1 cup total : or 1 1/2
- ground rice
- ground coffee
- ground oats
-15 - 20 drops of (fruity) essential oil 

And you will also need soap molds

1. Use a double boiler to melt the cocoa butter and shea butter on low heat. You won't have to do much stirring, since the butters should melt and blend easily on their own.

2. Once the butters have become liquid, remove the pot from the heat. Add the dry ingredients and the essential oils and mix. Thanks to gravity the ground ingredients will settle relatively quickly. So make sure to keep stirring until it solidifies. This can take a while. If you don't have the patience, you can speed up the process by putting the mixture in the fridge. But make sure to keep stirring every 4-5 minutes.

3. The mixture should be cooled, but still soft enough to scoop it in your molds. Put them in the freezer to let them harden completely. Once they're ready, they should pop out easily!