Restorative Tamanu Salt Scrub (& tamanu benefits!)

Scrubs are probably some of the most popular diy skincare products out there. They’re super fast and easy to whip up, make great gifts, and you’d have to try really hard to mess them up. This skin restorative tamanu salt scrub though really takes things up a notch, creating what I think is truly the ultimate scrub!

Not Your Average Scrub

Since body scrubs are so common, it’s easy to just dismiss them and head on over to something that seems more luxurious, like this DIY dandelion-infused lotion. A little sugar, a little oil, a few drops of essential oil and…bam. That’s it.

Well, let me tell you something. While simple scrubs are fun, easy, and also great for exfoliating your skin, there’s so much more you can put into a scrub!

For this restorative tamanu salt scrub, you see that I have decided to use salt instead of sugar. They both exfoliate the skin, however salt has additional trace minerals and healing properties that sugar doesn’t. The Epsom salts are actually magnesium sulfate, so they’ll enrich your skin with the soothing benefits of magnesium. And the sea salt has about 60 trace minerals to nourish your skin.

I’ve also added essential oils in this DIY restorative tamanu salt scrub to help the scrub smell fabulous, but also for their skin restoring benefits. Frankincense resin has been used for thousands of years, and was even used by the Egyptians to help embalm mummies. The essential oil has many of the same properties and is great for restoring aging skin, and helping to prevent wrinkles and signs of aging. Adding a bit of lavender essential oil helps balance the scent profile, and provides additional skin healing benefits.

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Super Hero Tamanu!

The real star of the show here though is tamanu oil. This thick, nutty carrier oil has an impressive list of benefits! It’s naturally antibacterial and has been shown to fight against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria for a wider spectrum of germ busting properties. This makes it great for acne prone skin, or anytime there’s a wound. It can safely kill bacteria, without having a negative impact on your skin.1

“Interestingly, the needed concentrations of CIO (tamanu oil) to inhibit bacteria growth and to promote wound healing are lower than concentrations exhibiting cytotoxic (toxic to cells) effects on keratinocyte (skin) cells.”2

Tamanu oil helps speed wound healing, has high amounts of cancer fighting polyphenols, and has even been shown to fight HIV infections. In this study, wounds healed 1.3- 2.1 times faster when tamanu was used. Tamanu oil helps skin to regenerate better, and even boosts collagen and glycosaminoglycan production for reduced wrinkles and firmer skin.

As if that wasn’t enough, tamanu is even being studied for use as an alternative fuel source. Though personally I’d rather just ride a bike and save this precious tamanu oil for my skin. It can also be used as part of a bug repellant blend. When combined with a blend of essential oils, including patchouli, it works just as well as DEET to repel barn flies. When just the patchouli was used, it did help some, but adding tamanu oil really amplified the effects.

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Scratch Mommy Founder Jess uses certified organic tamanu oil in a couple of products in her handcrafted skincare line, Pronounce Skincare. Tamanu oil is featured in her nourishing Skin Salve and also in her DeFunkifying Deodorant.

Jess also sells certified organic tamanu oil in the Pronounce Herbal Boutique, so you can create this Restorative Tamanu Salt Scrub at home. When you search here in the blog you’ll find several other DIY recipes that utilize tamanu oil…so you’ll have plenty of ways to utilize this restorative, nourishing carrier oil.

• In a glass bowl combine your sweet almond oil, tamanu oil, and essential oils. Stir to combine.
• Add the salts to your bowl, and stir everything to mix.
• Store your scrub in a 6 oz glass jar and use liberally all over your skin!