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How to Make Homemade Body Scrubs

By Tiffany Moore

If you are anything like me and totally addicted to body scrubs, you can probably relate to what I am talking about now. The shower rountine somehow doesn’t complete and you just don’t feel clean without scrubbing the skin raw.

Exfoliating the body on a regular basis is a big part of skin care and a brillantly simple way to get naturally glowing skin from head to toe. A body scrub or polish can a whole lot of good to maintain good skin health by sloughing off rough skin and accumulated dead cells on the skin outermost layer to reveal newer and softer skin beneath.

In addition, removing dead skin also allows nutrients that are in body lotions and moisturizers to be better absorbed, leaving your skin intensely hydrated and feeling as smooth as baby’s bottom.

And if you use an oil-based body exfoliator such as Mango Body Scrub (The Body Shop) and Pepperland Oil Based Body Scrub (Bomb Cosmetics), the skin-smoothing benefits of scrubbing are further enhanced as the oil will moisturize and soothe your skin as it gently exfoliates and cleanses.

Hate your spongy thighs and dimply butt? Body scrubs, especially one that contain coffee grounds, can be an extremely valuable tool to reduce cellulite, improve overall skin tone and help you get fabulous-looking legs without breaking a sweat.

This is because when you vigorously rub the scrub into your wet skin with your finger tips in an upward circular motion towards the heart, you not only break up fat molecules underneath the skin but also stimulate blood and lymph circulation to allow trapped toxins plus excess water in tissues to be released from your body. In case you didn’t know, cellulite is a symptom of inefficient lymph flow and caffeine found in coffee is known to increase circulation, thereby reducing the orange peel appearance of cellulite.

If your oily skin seem to break out a lot due to frequent perspiration, once-a-week body scrubbing will pay off big time to prevent body acne. Dead skin cells, excess sebum and impurities if not removed can block pores, which often lead to pimples or zits on the body.

While there is a huge plethora of scrubs from grains, crushed seeds to granules, some store-bought varieties may contain harsh micro beads and damaging apricot kernels that often scratch and abrade the skin, leaving it stripped and damaged.

Ultra luxurious, high end brands – La Mer The Body Refiner, La Prairie Essential Exfoliator and Chanel Body Excellence Revitalizing Smoothing Scrub – contain a wide kaleidoscope of technologically advanced skin-retexturizing ingredients for allover softness and smoothness. They are always a pleasure to use after hours and hours slogging away in the office, but the biggest problem is, these pampering treats are freaking expensive to budget-conscious beautinistas.

The purse-friendly alternative is of course, raid your kitchen pantry for natural exfoliating agents and make homemade body scrubs to suit your skin’s needs. For example, sea salt for acne-prone skin, oatmeal or brown sugar for dry skin, coffee grounds for cellulite-afflicted skin.

Homemade body scrubs alo make impressive gifts for family and friends, but I would suggest you stay clear off recipes that use sea salt as you don’t really know if there are minor cuts or wounds on your recipient’s body. Salt can really sting and cause pain.

Make Homemade Body Scrub Guidelines
1. The first step to making your own scrub is to decide on the exfoliating ingredient depending on your skin's sensitivity. As a general rule of thumb, you can choose to use oatmeal, ground almonds, raw sugar and coffee grinds for some good exfoliating properties. Keep in mind that the coarser you grind them, the more effective the exfoliating properties.

2. Next, choose a natural moisturizing ingredient (liqiuid base). Jojoba oil , olive oil, Vitamin E oil and virgin coconut oil are the best as they are easily absorbed into the skin without leaving a greasy residue.

3. The last step is to choose your favourite essential oil to perfume your homemade body polish with a lovely fragrance. You may want to add lavender, rosemary, vanilla, lemon, sandalwood oil or even mix a couple of compatible oils for a “uniquely yours” experience.

Find a pretty jar and fill with ⅔ full of exfoliating ingredient of your choice. Then add enough of your desired oil to make a thick paste. Add in essential oil and mix well. Seal and store in a dry cool place.

Lemon and Orange Peel Body Scrub Recipe

My husband loves the invigorating zesty scent of lemon without smelling like a fruit. This is an ideal body scrub for the man in your life.

How to make homemade body scrubs:

Save your orange, lime or lemon peels and dry them thoroughly till they are brittle in a cool place, away from direct sunlight.

Grind them coarsely and keep in a container.

To use, mix 2 tablespoons of the dried peel powder, 2 tablespoons of wheat bran, ½ tablespoon of honey and a enough milk to make a coarse paste.

Wet your body in a shower, using circular motions, massage the scrub onto your body, pay close attention to rough elbows and knees.

Rinse off and wash as usual.

Oatmeal Scrub Recipe

If you are looking for a really quick and easy body scrub in less than one minute, try this one using oats. Oatmeal is non-drying, great for soothing dry itchy skin and will also help fight body acne.

For an immediate natural and gentle scrub, simply combine it with some super mositurizing oils like olive, grapseed or sunflower.

Since it is possible to over exfoliate and irritate skin, my advice is only scrub gently once a week if you have oily skin, and twice a month if your skin is dry.

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