Sugar Scrub

I used to really love the facial scrubs that had those little plastic beads in them, except little plastic beads are not so environmentally sound. They eventually break down to be small enough to get into the food chain and that can't be good... so! I've switched to a sugar scrub for my face. It works just as well (if not better) then any spendy store bought stuff and can easily be made of ingredients found at home. I tinkered with a lot of recipes and finally came up with this one. It has a shelf life of about two weeks.

BASE:
1 cup of sugar
2 TBL Baking Soda
2-3 TBL Aloe Vera Gel (be sure to get one that's not heavily perfumed as it will interfere with the scents added later)
Add any of the following....

VARIATIONS:
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp thyme
1 drop yellow food coloring (optional)

OR

1 tsp lemon extract
see sugar above - add lavender buds to sugar for a week or two prior to making for a lemon-lavendar scent. Be sure to remove buds before making, it's just an infusion you're after.

OR

1 tsp orange extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of dried orange peel

OR

1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp coco baking powder

OR

1 tsp chocolate extract
1/8 tsp peppermint extract

The possibilities are endless! Make something up and add it in.