How to Make an At-Home Body Exfoliator

Scrub away tough, dead skin.

There's nothing quite so soothing as an exfoliating body scrub. It eliminates dead, dry skin cells, moisturizes and soothes; all while providing an invigorating sensory experience. High-quality body scrubs often come with a heavy price tag. It's easy to see why; they use all-natural ingredients that provide a boost to your suffering skin. Lucky for you, a lot of these ingredients are probably lying around in your kitchen or bathroom already. Skip the expensive beauty supply stores, and make your own exfoliating scrub at home.

Things You'll Need

• Sugar, salt, coffee or oatmeal
• Oil
• Essential oil (optional)
• Aloe vera (optional)
• Honey (optional)
• Baking soda (optional)

Instructions

1. Select a gritty exfoliant from your kitchen; salt, sugar and ground coffee all work wonderfully. Coffee has the added benefit of caffeine, which some people think works to decrease the appearance of cellulite and varicose veins. As far as sugar and salt are concerned, go with one of the coarser options, like Kosher salt or turbinando (raw) sugar. Ground oatmeal is another effective exfoliant -- and it soothes dry or itchy skin particularly well.

2. Choose a naturally moisturizing oil for your scrub. You don't need to look far; some of the best oils are common kitchen ingredients. Olive, sesame, grape seed, safflower and coconut oils are all available at most grocery stores. Jojoba, vitamin E, almond, apricot and avocado oils are less common, but they're readily available at health food stores. Steer clear of mineral or baby oil though, because it doesn't penetrate the skin very well and can actually clog pores.

3. Combine two parts exfoliant and one part oil in a bowl; stirring gently, until you can form the mixture into a loose ball.

4. Add a few drops of essential oil for an uplifting scent. If you don't have any essential oils on-hand, opt for fragrant ingredients from your own kitchen. Fresh herbs, citrus juice and ginger root will all add a pleasant scent to your body scrub. Steer clear of fragrance oils, however. They're often artificially produced and packed with potentially irritating chemicals.

5. Add a few extra soothing ingredients, depending on your needs. Aloe vera soothes irritated skin, tea tree oil reduces inflammation; Honey improves the texture of a dry exfoliating mixture. Even baking soda adds an unexpected effervescence to your homemade scrubs.

References

• Free Beauty Tips: Exfoliating Homemade Body Scrubs with Simple Sugar & Salt Recipes for the Home Kitchen
• Cancer Lynx; Yummy Body Scrub Recipes; Jennifer Tanner
• Tipnut: Homemade Sugar Scrub Recipes