Natural Gifts for the Holidays

We at The Natural Gait would like to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. Here is a free gift idea "Herbal Sea Salt Scrub".

Herbal Sea Salt Scrub.To make it you will need:1 large handful of a dried herb of your choice2-3 Tablespoons of sea salt½ teaspoon olive oilabout 4 Tablespoons of waterA note about choosing herbs:I chose chamomile. It is relaxing and astringent. Falconi also says it is great for “healing nervous and inflamed skin conditions.” You might also choose comfrey roots or leaves.Both are mucilaginous and so will be good for dry or irritated skin. Rose flowers would make a beautiful gift scrub and they are stringent and toning for the skin.Choosing a mint would create a refreshing, stimulating quality to your scrub. You get the idea. A little bit of research on the properties of the herb will help you choose the right one for each person on your gift list.To make the scrub, put one large handful of your herb of choice into a mortar and grind it into a powder with the pestle. Add the sea salt, and grind a bit more. Add the water and stir. Finally add the olive oil. This makes enough for one treatment. Use it by massaging it into the skin and allowing it to stay on for 10 minutes before rinsing. It will have a crumbly texture. If bits of herb fall off in the application, simply reapply.I imagine the shelf life of this scrub is fairly short, so you probably want to make it just before sending it off and include instructions to use it fairly soon.Another possibility is to make a basic salt clay scrub by mixing 3 tablespoons of clay with 2 tablespoons of sea salt. Include instructions to mix it with 4 tablespoons of water before massaging it into the skin. For this one, leave it on for 5 minutes or until the skin feels tight. Without the water, the shelf life will be longer.You might also leave the liquid out of the herbal combination and just include instructions with your gift if you would like to make it further in advance.Buying supplies...Of course you can get Sea Salt at the market, but Mountain Rose Herbs DOES carry salts carry herbs and they even have herbal gifts already made up. If you dont have the time to make your own you can purchase a gift there. You can also get containers there. Enjoy!