Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant

Strawberries are amazing...not only are they delicious (especially when dipped in chocolate..yummy!) but also contain several polyphenols that are jam packed with high levels of antioxidants. Strawberries contain a natural fruit acid which helps in exfoliation. I have yet to meet anyone who does not love strawberries (my favourite fruit!). With high levels of Vitamin C they are popular for their antioxidant potency but I would say are an "undercover" ingredient when it comes to homemade beauty recipes--you barely ever hear of them being used in homemade beauty receipes. Since it's summer now, it's also the time of open toe high heels so why not give this exfoliant a try on your tired, aching feet to make them smooth, refresed and not to mention smell great? Furthermore, our we put our hands through so much abuse, so I tried the recipe on both my hands and feet and the refreshing and soothing benefits were amazing. I'll admit though, it was very hard to make this beauty receipe without taking a few bites of the main ingredient (which is another natural and organic way to add some colour to one's lips--organic red lipstick! lol). This is no doubt one of my favourite recipes!

Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant
8-10 strawberries
2 tablespoons of apriot oil (I used olive oil instead)
1 teaspoon of coarse salt (I used Sea Salt but you can also use Kosher Salt)

Before making this receipe, I'd highly recommend to use this when you know you will not be leaving the house for some time. Strawberries to have a tendency to stain (nothing permanent, just temporarily), so I often do use this receipe on my Sundays when I'm going to be relaxing at home all day or when I'm having a low-key Friday night and I know I am not going out for the evening. The key to stay away from any staining is not to keep the receipe on your hands and feet for too long. Put it on, enjoy it and then rinse it off. To begin, I put all the strawberries into a bowl and mash them up (not too pureed but just to a nice pulp). I then add the olive oil (you can use apriot oil if you prefer but I like olive oil and it's easier to find in the kitchen than apriot oil which I would have to go out and make a special purchase of) and then finally the coarse salt (I like using Sea Salt but any type of coarse salt is acceptable). I mix all the ingredients together and then place the mixture on my feet first, massage for a few minutes and then rinse off with cold water (I find it helps my aching feet after a long week of wearing high heels! poor toes!). I then place the mixture on my hands, massage and rinse off with cold water.