Home spa - salt scrub for the body

This is a quick, invigorating treatment that can be done in the morning. A gentle scrubbing with salt sloughs away dead skin; the oatmeal wash that follows softens the skin. Mindy Creen likes this scrub because it stimulates circulation of the lymphatic system, a critical player in immunity that has no internal pump to keep it moving, like the heart does for the circulatory system.

What you need:

1/4 to 1/2 cup table salt
2 medium-size bowls
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
12- by 12-inch square of muslin, the
thinner the better
Rubber band
1 quart hot water
1 drop grapefruit essential oil
1 drop rosemary essential oil
Place the salt in one bowl and set it near the shower. Pour the oatmeal in the center of the muslin square; then, pull the edges of the fabric together and close tightly with a rubber band. Pour the hot water and essential oil or oils in the second bowl; then, submerge the bundle of oatmeal. Place this bowl near the shower too.

Wet yourself down in the shower; then, turn off water. Using your hands, a loofah, or a washcloth, rub the salt all over your body. Do not scrub hard. Use gentle, circular motions and scrub from the extremities toward your torso, following the natural pattern of blood and lymph circulation toward the heart. Rinse off the salt. Then, wash with the pouch of oatmeal and rinse. When you get out of the shower, pat--don't rub--yourself dry, and follow with moisturizer.

NOTE: Be sure to use quick-cooking oats, which produce more liquid than long-cooking ones. Also, the thinner the muslin, the easier it is for the liquid to seep out onto your skin.

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