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Towards the end of spring, it’s time to switch over to lighter makeup and veer towards the natural, sun-kissed look. The best way to get your skin ready for that summer, au-naturel look is by exfoliating your skin.
But what is skin exfoliation and what does exfoliating do to the skin? Here’s how it works.
What is skin exfoliation? What are the Benefits of Exfoliating the Skin?
Skin exfoliation involves removing dead skin cells from the topmost layer of the skin using a grainy exfoliating cream.
Our skin sheds thousands of dead cells every single day. This is a good thing because those dead cells are replaced by newer cells, which keeps your skin looking young and fresh.
However, unless these dead skin cells are removed, they just accumulate on the skin, resulting in the skin looking rough and tired.
Exposure to sun, pollutants, and sweat adds to the tired look by layering the skin with greasy residue and clogging the pores. This oily skin with clogged pores acts as a breeding ground for bacteria and germs that cause inflammation, acne, and other skin issues.
If you just use a regular foam cleanser every day, it will clean your skin, but these skin cells remain on the surface. You need to gently scrub them away with an exfoliating product.
This is where exfoliating the skin helps. When you rub your skin gently with a grainy skin scrub, it exfoliates the topmost layer of dead skin cells along with the accumulated grease and grime. This helps to refresh the skin without stripping it of its natural moisture.
Exfoliating the skin is particularly important in summer when we tend to sweat a lot and our skin looks and feels greasy, tired, and dull.
Should You Make Your Own Skin Exfoliating Cream Or Buy A Readymade Product?
The choice is yours. If you like the idea of making your own skincare products, I’ve included instructions for making 5 different skincare exfoliators using all natural ingredients. As you will see they are all very easy to make and require ingredients that are easily available.
Not everyone likes or has the time to go the DIY route. If you prefer to buy a skin exfoliator but are not sure which one to choose, I’ve included a few products. All are by reputed brands and contain all natural ingredients.
Whether you choose to buy or make your own skin care exfoliator, the most important thing to ensure is that you’re using all natural ingredients only. Avoid using any type of skincare product that contains any types of additives, dyes, fragrances, or toxins. You want your skin to be naturally healthy, without anything added that can cause irritation or breakouts.
5 DIY Summer Skincare Exfoliators
1. Honey Sugar Exfoliating Scrub
This first exfoliating scrub is super simple to make and will only take you a few minutes. You probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen.
You can make a small amount just for one use, or make a little more to add to a container and use whenever you need to.
Benefits of Honey and Sugar for the skin
The main benefits of this honey-sugar exfoliating scrub have to do with the honey and sugar that you use.
Raw honey has powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that help to reduce bacteria in your skin.
Sugar provides the coarseness you need to exfoliate your skin and get rid of the dead cells naturally. You can use white or brown sugar for this homemade summer skincare exfoliator.
I prefer to use finer-grained sugar when making a face scrub and larger grains when making a body scrub for use on arms and legs. This is because the large grains may damage the more delicate skin on the face but it’s necessary for the tougher skin on other parts of the body.
Honey and sugar also brighten your skin, which is often desired during the summer.
Ingredients
White or brown sugar
Raw honey
Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
Essential oil – Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Frankincense, and Helichrysum are the best essential oils for skin
To make this honey sugar scrub, you’ll need equal amounts of sugar and raw honey. If you’re making a scrub only for the face, you’ll need about a tablespoon each of raw honey and sugar. To this add half tablespoon of your preferred carrier oil and 1-2 drops of your chosen essential oil.
Increase the quantities if you’re going to use the scrub over the arms, legs, and other parts of the body.
How to Make Your Own Honey-Sugar Scrub
In a glass bowl, add the sugar and honey. Using a dropper, add 1-2 drops of your chosen essential oil to the sugar-honey mixture. Then add your chosen carrier oil and stair all ingredients till they are properly blended.
The honey is a bit thick, so it might take quite a bit of mixing until all the sugar is coated evenly. Make sure you keep mixing until there are no more clumps.
Store the exfoliating scrubs in an airtight container. When you are ready to use it, scoop a small amount from the container and gently rub it on your skin. You want to scrub your skin and you can leave it on for a few minutes if you like. Rinse with cool or warm water.
2. Rose and Lavender Exfoliating Scrub
This rose and lavender sugar scrub is another great exfoliator for summer. It is a pretty sugar scrub that looks just as good as it smells! Plus of course, it provides some excellent exfoliating power for your skin.
Benefits of Rose and Lavender for the skin
Rose and lavender are among the best essential oils for the skin and make wonderful additions to your summer skincare exfoliator. They help to nourish and moisturize the skin and keep it looking smooth and youthful.
Lavender has a soothing and relaxing aroma and is a great choice to use in a skin scrub before going to sleep. Rose is one of the best aphrodisiac essential oils and is a great choice for skin that looks and smells sexy and alluring.
Both essential oils have light, fresh, and floral aromas that are not too overpowering.
Ingredients
To make your own rose and lavender sugar scrub, you’ll need:
Lavender essential oil
Rose essential oil
Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
Fine-grain white sugar
You can use any carrier oil you like, but sweet almond oil and jojoba oil are best for this combination. Coconut oil will add moisture to your skin, which is why it is also added. You can also add some rose petals as well.
How to Make This Rose-Lavender Skincare Exfoliator
To make this lavender-rose exfoliating scrub, start with the sugar again, then add in your carrier oil and essential oils. This should mix very easily since there are no thick ingredients.
Store this skin exfoliator in a dark-colored glass container to protect the essential oils from deteriorating and to extend the life of the scrub.
3. Coffee Grounds Body Exfoliating Scrub
This interesting and skin-friendly exfoliating scrub uses coffee grounds. Yes, freshly ground coffee!
Coffee has been hitting the news recently not just as one of the most popular beverages but also for the skin.
Why Use Coffee for a Scrub
Finely-ground coffee is the perfect consistency for an exfoliator. It is coarse enough to slough off the dead skin cells but fine enough that it won’t damage the skin.
It is completely natural, always available, and easy to use. Plus, coffee has some other health benefits too. It is really wonderful for helping with dry skin, can nourish your skin, and is super convenient.
Ingredients
You’ll need 3 simple ingredients to make your own coffee body scrub:
Finely-ground coffee
Fine-grained Sugar
Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
At this point, you have a few decisions to make. You can use either brown sugar or white sugar, though brown sugar generally goes well with coffee scrubs. You can also choose to replace coconut oil with another type of oil if you want but a solidified oil works better than a liquid oil. It is best to use fresh coffee grounds.
Avoid using coffee grounds that are too old. Instant coffee is also not a good option as it is generally too finely ground to be effective as a scrub.
How to Make Your Own Coffee Skincare Scrub
To make this scrub, you first need to prepare the coffee grounds. It is best to grind them yourself, but at the very least, use ground coffee and not instant.
Brew a pot of coffee in a regular coffee pot. Don’t use a Keurig machine for this. Once it is brewed, remove the coffee grounds from the pot and let them sit out to cool. When the grounds are completely cool, pour them into a container, adding in your sugar and oil. Mix well and close the container tightly.
As with all these scrubs, it should be in an airtight glass container with a lid and left at room temperature.
4. Healthy Green Tea Scrub
How about trying out an exfoliating scrub that uses green tea? You probably know about the health benefits of green tea, but it also happens to be excellent for your skin.
Benefits of Green Tea for the skin
Green tea is wonderful for your skin. It contains antioxidants and other ingredients that are naturally anti-aging and help smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. When used as a face scrub, green tea can help reduce the signs of age spots and sun damage.
Ingredients
For the healthy green tea body scrub, you want to use the following ingredients:
Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder
Green tea bag
Essential oils – Lightly scented Lavender or Chamomile is best for this scrub
Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
White sugar
Like many of these scrubs, you are going to add in oils to the scrub. It adds more scent and some added benefits. For the green tea scrub, use a light-scented essential oil, like chamomile or lavender. You don’t want it to be too strong.
The matcha green tea adds even more health benefits, and the green tea bag or loose-leaf tea just adds overall to the power of this scrub.
How to Make Your Own Green Tea Skincare Scrub
As with the coffee skin scrub, you want to first brew your tea, since the tea bag is going to add to the scrub. Once the tea is done, remove the bag and let it cool.
Open it up and add the leaves to a bowl with matcha powder, sugar, carrier oil, and essential oils. Mix it well and add it to an airtight container.
5. Vanilla Skin Scrub With Rose & Lavender Scent
This final skin care exfoliator has a lovely feminine aroma that is luxurious and relaxing. It is perfect for the entire body. The rose and lavender essential oils give the scrub its lovely floral scent while the vanilla gives it a luxurious touch.
Benefits of Vanilla, Rose, and Lavender for skin
These are some of the best ingredients for a scrub. They are easy to find, provide relaxation and stress-relief, and are wonderful for your skin. The vanilla is added mostly for scent, while rose and lavender oils nourish and moisturize your.
Ingredients
Here is a list of the required ingredients for the lavender, rose, and vanilla exfoliating body scrub:
Lavender essential oil
Rose essential oil
Organic Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil
Fine-grain Sugar
How to Make This Scrub
Combine all of these ingredients in a bowl, mixing them well. Transfer it to an airtight container and use as you would any other body scrub.
Important things to remember when making your summer skincare exfoliators:
Essential oils are not a mandatory ingredient in skin exfoliators. They do add some skincare benefits and give the scrub a lovely scent but you can they are not necessary.
If you do decide to use essential oils in your skin scrub, choose from lavender, rose, ylang-ylang, helichrysum, and Roman chamomile. Regardless of which essential oil you choose, you absolutely must also add carrier oil. Never use essential oils directly on your skin as they are very strong and can cause an adverse reaction. The carrier oil helps to dilute the essential oil and acts as a barrier between it and the skin.
All skin-care products with essential oils must be stored in a dark-colored glass container in a cool, dark place.
These scrubs are so easy to make so as far as possible try and make small quantities at a time. It reduces the risk of the scrub losing its properties due to over-exposure to light. Make larger quantities only when you’re making skincare scrubs to be given as gifts.
Related Reads:
How To Get Clear Skin Naturally – 12 Daily Habits That Help
Top 10 Essential Summer Skincare Tips For Healthy Glowing Skin
How To Make Orange Peel Powder + Benefits & Uses For Skincare
Sugar Scrub Recipes For Smooth Skin
Christmas Scented Sugar Scrubs
How Often Should You Reapply Sunscreen?
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to serve as medical advice. Please consult your doctor before using any natural medication or if you experience any unusual symptoms. See Full Disclaimer here.
