I've never been a keen user of body scrubs before I started to make my own scrubs. And since I started to make them on my own and give them as gifts for birthdays, I get calls and messages from people asking for more!
I guess the first body scrub for giving away was made just because I hadn't thought about getting a gift in advance, so I had to make something fast.... When your friends already have got from you homemade soaps, candles and handpicked herb sachets you need to think a bit more... And bingo! Friends of friends of my friends are already asking for them and the circle of happy ladies is growing! So, I hope this post will help more people to get skincare products that really will make them happy. You don't need to choose a recipe if you can make your own!
Body scrubs made me to discover the next level of kitchen magic: you can always make a body scrub. Yes, absolutely always! And you also don't need to follow twisted recipes, because you can invent your own recipes putting together ingredients that are available to you and especially beneficial to you. It means, you can make whitening scrubs, scrubs that make your skin smoother, protect from sun or treat acne, scrubs that will tone up your skin or help to get rid of stretch marks, calming, cooling, warming or energizing. And all of them will rejuvenate, moisturize and feed your skin while removing dead skin cells.
Just 2 Main Ingredients: Exfoliant and Oil
Exfoliant: a sandy, grainy substance that will remove dead cells when scrubbing.
Sugar, salt, oatmeal, coffee grains, poppy seeds, bees pollen and many others. Basically, go to your kitchen and check what you have there.
Salt and sugar are popular exfoliants because after using them your bathtub won't be messy - you can simply wash them away with water and they will also melt in water. Simple table salt or sugar is fine, but you can also use sea salt, Epsom salts, Himalayan pink salt and others that are less processed and have more minerals and vitamins in them adding more nutritional benefits. You can also chose brown sugar, reed sugar or any other.
Salt is a nice muscle relaxant, but coarse salt can be too sharp, so, before mixing it into your body scrub, use a mortar to grind it. Also, remember that salt doesn't feel nice on cuts and wounds. When it comes to making facial scrubs I would choose sugar instead of salt because it feels gentler on skin. And when we talk about facial masks that you leave on face for a few minutes before washing off, I would use everything else mentioned here, except salt, sugar and hot spices.
Oatmeal is one of my favorites. It feels gentle and moisturizes skin, it gently heals dry skin, helps to maintain skin's natural protective layer, cleanses and relieves itchiness. Many sources advice oatmeal for skin lightening. I personally haven't observed these effects on my skin, probably because my skin naturally already is quite white.
Oats can be used in facial masks or gentle scrubs. You can even use them just adding a bit of water to oats and no oil at all. I usually use rolled oats and grind them a bit in mortar before adding to scrubs.
Coffee grounds. Brew a cup of coffee, drink it and use leftovers for a scrub - how cool is that! Coffee grounds come as a skin tonic, often advised also for cellulite treatments (although I would add some exercising to cellulite affected areas before relying on coffee grounds alone) and dark circles under eyes. It can also reduce skin inflammations and redness. Coffee grounds are great for the entire body. Sometimes I also don't mix used coffee grounds with anything else, just apply them directly on skin, lightly massage into skin, let them sit there for a few minutes and then wash them off.
Salt, sugar, oatmeal and coffee grounds are the most popular exfoliants used in body scrubs, although you are free to experiment and discover more. For example,
Bees pollen: gentle and truly nurturing exfoliant with specifically sweet scent. Some researches show that bees pollen has anti-aging properties, it moisturizes dry skin, helps to stay away from aging signs appearing on your body. I guess I'm not that old yet to say if bees pollen has helped me to escape aging signs, but it smells really nice and feels gentle on skin (and I got to discover it as a great body scrub ingredient just because it was siting in my kitchen unused).
Dried herbs and small seeds can be great exfoliants as well and also can bring additional benefits. For example, lavender flowers or chamomile flowers will have relaxing effects, they both have gorgeous aromas and skin soothing, healing benefits. You can also add meadowsweet or common yarrow flowers, powdered green tea, poppy seeds or dried, grind peppermint leaves that come with cooling and refreshing effects making you to wake up. If you add dried herbs and seeds to your body scrubs, let your freshly made body scrub sit for a while - it will make those dried bits soak oil into them and also extract some of their active ingredients into oil.
One important thing to remember here: you will lightly rub body scrub on your skin and the rubbing process will exfoliate it. Don't choose too rough, coarse and sharp exfoliants - your skin needs gentle treatment not additional stress. It's for your health, but applying it has to be pleasure not a torture.
Oil: a substance that keeps your mixture together also moisturizing skin.
There is a great variety of different oils with great benefits for skin you can choose from. The main thing here - get oil that is as natural as it can be and choose one that better suits your needs. My personal favorite is grapeseed oil firstly because it's own aroma is very light and it doesn't oppress essential oil aromas, secondly because I can get it relatively cheap, thirdly because of its skin benefits. I previously already wrote about it here: Grapeseed Oil for Health and Beauty Care (opens in a new window).
If you do some basic online research you will find oil that suits you the best, because many of them really come with great health benefits. For example, olive oil can help to get rid of stretch marks, almond oil can lighten skin, jojoba oil can help to treat oily skin removing excess sebum, but coconut and rose hip oils can help protecting your skin from environmental stressors like harsh winds - and that's just the beginning. Many oils offer also skin soothing and anti-aging benefits.
Take in account that coconut oil has a solid consistency and you will have to melt it in a water bath to mix it with other ingredients.
Basically, oil and exfoliant is all you need to make a moisturizing body scrub, but it doesn't mean you have to stop here. There are many other things you can add for more benefits.
You can also use infused oils that already have benefits of plants the oil has been infused with, for example, calendula infused oil, pine needle infused oil, vanilla been, lilac or plantain infused oil. Infused oil means that a plant material is covered in oil and has soaked into oil for 1-3 months. When the plant material is removed it's active ingredients, healing properties and aromas remain extracted into oil.
Honey is one more great substance to keep your body scrub together. I truly am in love with honey skin treatments, it kind of makes me to feel royal! It's a moisturizer that cleanses, softens skin and lightens hair. It has anti-aging and antibacterial properties so it treats and helps to prevent acne and wrinkles. And at the end of honey skin treatment your skin is soft, glowing and smells nicely.
Additional body scrub ingredients
Essential Oils
Your body scrubs can be made without essential oils as well, but they do add some more benefits and healing properties aromatherapy brings. Essential oils can also add a character to your scrubs and set your mood, not talking about gorgeous aromas!
Here again I want to encourage you to make some basic online research to discover the benefits of specific essential oils. I'll mention just a few of them here.
Orange essential oil - anti-cellulite properties, good for dry skin, relieves muscle pain, it's antidepressant with warming and mood uplifting properties. Sunlight sensitive, so it's not advised to use it less than 12 hours before displaying skin on direct sunlight.
Lavender essential oil has antiseptic, antidepressant and calming properties, muscle relaxant, suitable for dry and oily skin, good for soothing skin after sunbathing, treats mosquito bites, fights insomnia, tumors, burns, skin irritations, excessive sweating and menstrual pain.
Peppermint essential oil - refreshing, cooling and energizing. Helps to alleviate headache and control appetite, treats varicose veins, alleviates muscle pain and cramps, mood uplifting antidepressant that helps to get rid of tiredness.
Patchouli essential oil has antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-cellulite properties, especially advised for dry skin, alleviates sleepiness, mood swings, helps to treat acne and protects skin for UV rays. Can also work as aphrodisiac.
Cinnamon essential oil - warming, blood circulation improving antidepressant with anti-fungal properties. Alleviates tiredness and menstrual pain. Aphrodisiac. Never use in big amounts as it can irritate skin!
Tea Tree essential oil - heals acne and is advised for oily skin, alleviates muscle pain, treats different skin issues including fungi, sunburns, tumors, Athlete's feet and psoriasis.
Lemongrass essential oil has antiseptic and disinfectant properties, helps to control appetite, alleviates headache, helps to treat varicose veins, alleviates emotional overload, has mood uplifting properties.
Ylang-Ylang essential oil - alleviates headache, has calming and aphrodisiac properties, fights acne, excessive sweating, psoriasis and wrinkles, helps to keep hormonal balance. Can set you into romantic mood!
Do not overdose with essential oils, especially if you are not sure of your skins reaction!
Fresh Fruits, Berries and Vegetables
Mash a banana and add to your scrub. Mash strawberries and exfoliate your skin with tiny strawberry seeds. Cleanse and moisturize your skin with mashed cucumber or melon. Add a bit of lemon juice to your body scrub to brighten skin or get rid of blackheads. The world is wide and full of opportunities. My advice here, if in your kitchen is a ripe banana nobody wants to eat, google its' benefits for skin and if it suits you, make out of it a facial mask or add it to your body scrub!
One thing to remember: if you make a mask or a scrub with fresh fruits, berries or veggies, you have to use it all and can't store it for longer time. Probably just a few days in refrigerator, so don't make big amounts!
Other ingredients for body scrubs:
Aloe Vera gel or just a slimy part of Aloe Vera leave from a plant growing on your windowsill, spirulina algae powder, dried orange peels, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, grated chocolate and so on... Your fantasy, creativity and knowledge gained in researching specific ingredients can lead to amazing and absolutely unrivaled body scrubs!
Here is one easy hand-scrub recipe I published some time ago: All-Natural Homemade Handscrub - it features just sugar, bees pollen and grapeseed oil.
Making Your Body Scrubs: Tips and Warnings
- Put together all ingredients, add oil to cover all dry ingredients, mix them well and that's it!
- If you are using coconut oil or solid honey, melt them in water bath before adding to other ingredients - it will be easier to mix them.
- If you are not sure of your skins reaction to any of ingredients or their combinations, don't mix big amounts of body scrub and firstly apply it gently massaging on a small area, wash it off and wait a few hours to make sure your skin is pleased not stressed with the treatment.
- On one tablespoon of body scrub it's totally enough with just a drop of essential oil. If you are not experienced using essential oils, less is better than more!
- Remember that your body scrubs and masks will be as natural, clean and organic as the ingredients you are putting in. If you choose chemically processed ingredients, those chemicals will be in your homemade skincare products as well.
Using and Storing Homemade Skincare Products
- If you are using natural ingredients, your homemade skincare products aren't made to last for years! They breathe and they also can go moldy. If it's spoiled, doesn't smell and look good, it's not usable on your skin! No, you can't just remove mold from the upper part of your body scrub in a jar and use the rest - if mold is there, it's everywhere and the product is unusable.
- Skincare products that are made with fresh fruits and vegetables have to be used the same day you make them. The most you can store them is just a day or two storing in refrigerator.
- A body scrub made with oil that fully covers other dry ingredients can be stored and used for several weeks and for months if you keep them in refrigerator.
- A body scrub with oil, honey, essential oils, salt and sugar (any combination of these ingredients without other natural additives) can be stored for the longest time as none of these go bad for long time. They can last for up to one year.
- The best option is storing you body scrubs in glass containers, always covered with a tight fitting lid.
- Body scrubs aren't skincare products for everyday use! The can be gentle, smell gorgeously and feel good, but still they are scrubs. They help your body to get rid of dead body cells, but it's not necessary everyday. Your skin has it's own protective system and excessive scrubbing can be too stressful for skin. Let your skin do it's own work and help it using body scrubs not more than 2-3 times per week.
- Apply body scrub gently massaging it into your skin with circular motion. Don't rub it and press it into your skin! Be nice to yourself! Love yourself. :)
I hope this article gives you the whole picture of making body scrubs. Comments, experiences and questions are welcome!
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