Gourmet glamour — Spa-style gifts from the kitchen hold a certain cachet

Beauty may be only skin deep, but it's also as close as your kitchen pantry.

Homemade beauty concoctions have likely been around since the first cave women rubbed mastodon blubber on their skin to keep it from chapping. Oh, sure, today's stores are full of fabulous cosmetics and treatments. But a gift of lip balm, body scrub or bath salts that's been thoughtfully prepared holds a certain cachet.

The idea of spa-style gifts from the kitchen has inspired a few local classes. A "Chocolate Spa Body Care" class at the Utah Chocolate Show Nov. 18 attracted about 40 women — and one brave man. Angel Shannon of KODJ led the group through the hands-on experience of making lip gloss with vaseline and chocolate chips, and a brown sugar-cocoa body scrub. They also made effervescent "bath bombs," a formula with baking soda and citric acid that fizzes when dropped in bath water.

"After the body scrub sits awhile, it turns into a really rich aroma, almost like pumpkin pie," Shannon told the class. "I'd keep it next to the kitchen sink and use it after doing the dishes, so you have soft, lovely hands."

Shannon, who appears on ABC4's "Good Things Utah," a local TV show, said she found ideas on the Internet and then worked with them (and tried them out on her daughter) to come up with her recipes.

Christine Jensen and Teresa Hunsaker of the Utah State University Extension in Weber County taught a couple of "Lotions & Potions" classes earlier this year, where participants made hand lotions, lip balms and bath salts.

"Most are easy to make, use ingredients relatively easy to find and cost less than the commercial version," said Hunsaker.

Some of the concoctions may require a trip outside the grocery store. Citric acid can be bought in powdered form at some pharmacies and stores that sell candymaking supplies. It sells for about $4 per pound at the Orson H. Gygi store at 3500 S. 300 West.

Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate, is often used in bath potions because it's thought to flush toxins from the body and ease muscle aches, according to the Epsom Salt Council. Look for it in grocery or drugstores where you'd find aspirin or Ace bandages, or in the laxative section (when taken internally, magnesium sulfate is a natural laxative).

Witch hazel is an astringent liquid made from the leaves and bark of the witch hazel shrub. It's been around since the early 1800s and is used to soothe minor skin irritations or insect bites. You'll find it in drugstores.

Oils, such as peppermint and cinnamon, can be found at candymaking supply stores or some pharmacies.