Recently, I decided it would be wise to try and find a facial scrub DIY. With 4 members of the family now using facial scrub several times a week, it’s something we go through at a solid rate. I love the idea of self-sufficiency around the home and wanted something without the dreaded “fragrance” or “parfum” (a cover word for goodness’ knows what) so set to work researching options and playing around with recipes.
While there is no shortage of body scrub recipes, it’s surprisingly hard to find facial scrub DIYs so I had to look at each ingredient individually to see if it would be a valuable addition to a face cleansing scrub. I’ve been using this current recipe for about a month now and am really happy with the result. It exfoliates well without being harsh, cleanses without leaving residue and has kept well in the shower for a month so far.
Here’s a quick break-down of the ingredients and why I chose them. Below is the ingredient quantity list and I’ve done a video of this in a Facebook group – let me know if you want access to it.
Oats
There’s a substantial amount of literature surrounding the benefits of oats for skincare, but the main reason I chose this as the base ingredient is because it’s considered a mild cleanser and when I want the DIY to be used for various family members with different skin needs, it has to be mild. It has moisturising properties so is a great choice for any kind of skin care DIY. The oats are also useful if you’re creating a scrub-style cleanser that needs to do some exfoliating. These are the main source of “roughage” in my recipe.
Epsom salts
Adding Epsom salts to a facial scrub is a great way to add some magnesium through your skin care routine and while these can be kept somewhat intact to add to the roughage of the oats, I prefer a smoother scrub, so blitzed mine well. Salt is an important addition to DIYs that aren’t going to be used immediately as it is a natural preservative.
Essential oils
I added frankincense, lavender and lemon essential oils to this scrub as they have numerous benefits for skin health and healing and I love the combination of these scents. These 3 are available in the Young Living premium starter kit. You can find out more about that HERE.
Jojoba oil
I used a very small amount of jojoba oil. It has anti-inflammatory properties and helped to ensure that the scrub didn’t solidify too quickly or too dramatically. You can leave this out if you’re using fractionated coconut oil (more on that below).
Witch hazel
I also used a tiny amount of witch hazel for its astringent (skin-tightening) properties, but if you don’t have witch hazel, it’s no problem to leave it out.
Coconut oil
When using coconut oil, it’s important to choose the correct type for the purpose. I used regular coconut oil because I wanted my scrub to solidify so that I could scrape a small amount out of the jar with a finger or cloth, but if you are using a squeezy tube to keep your scrub, you’ll definitely want to use fractionated coconut oil as it won’t solidify. Fractionated coconut oil is also generally scent-free so if you don’t like the smell of coconut oil or want the essential oils to stand out more, choose fractionated.
Water
It’s best to use distilled water or cooled boiled water so that you don’t get any bacteria that might be present in your tap water in your lovely new DIY.
Ingredients
150 g oats
50 g Epsom salts
10 drops each of frankincense, lavender and lemon essential oils
5 g jojoba oil (optional if using fractionated coconut oil)
5 g witch hazel (optional)
50 g coconut oil
100 g distilled water
Method
Combine, blitz and blend to your desired consistency! So easy! I used a Thermomix to blend mine but you can use any kind of food processor or even a smoothie maker – you just need to be able to blend until you get the desired consistency and you can add a little more water if you want it to be thinner.
These quantities made 2 x 120 mL jars which are both almost finished after a month’s use by 4 people several times a week. As the recipe contains no synthetic preservatives, you may want to halve the recipe if you don’t think you’ll use it as quickly and don’t want it sitting in the cupboard untouched for weeks on end. It only takes a couple of minutes to make so isn’t a big deal if you have to make a new batch every month.
I’d love to know if you try this recipe! Let me know in the comments.
