How to Make an Apricot Facial Scrub

Apricots are a tasty treat and they have a wonderful kernel inside the pit that, that once ground up, makes a great facial scrub. Apricot scrubs can be found all over the place, from high end department stores to money saving dollar stores. The thing about the pre-made scrub is, I had a hard time finding a scrub with a cleanser that worked well with my skin. I found the best solution is to make my own, using my own cleanser that I have used and loved for decades.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 3-5 Apricot Kernels from Inside an Apricot Pit.
• Your Favorite Facial Cleanser.
• Hammer
• Coffee Grinder (optional)

1. It is time for a snack, so enjoy a sweet treat and eat an apricot or two. You will need a total of 3-5 to add to your favorite cleanser.

2. Set the pits aside and let them dry out for a few days until they are no longer moist on the outside. When the pits are dried out, it is easier to break them open.

3. To open the apricot pit and get the kernel out, loosely wrap a towel around the pit and place on a cutting board or other hard surface. Hit the pit with a hammer several times until it cracks open and the kernel comes out. The kernel will look like a short, fat little almond.

4. Let your kernels dry out for a few more days, they might need up to a week.

5. Once the kernels have dried out you can process them one of two ways. You can pop them into a coffee grinder until they are ground to about the same size as ground coffee or smaller, or you can put them in a heavy duty freezer bag and hammer them until they are ground up. I have never tried a food processor, but if you have one small enough, that might work as well.

6. Once it is ground up, you can add as much or as little to your favorite facial cleanser. This can be done one of two ways.
   
   First you could keep the ground kernels in a container and sprinkle a little bit of it in your hand with your facial cleanser whenever you feel like using it. This is a good idea if you have sensitive skin or don't want or need a daily scrub.
   
   Another option is that you can add an amount that is comfortable to you directly into your container of cleanser for a daily polishing scrub.

7. The only thing left to do is wash your face and enjoy a nice exfoliating scrub. The waiting is the hardest part about making this scrub, but it is well worth waiting for those little kernels to dry out. The great thing about it, is that you get to eat a few tasty apricots, and that makes the wait so much easier.

8. Enjoy your apricots and enjoy your homemade apricot facial scrub.

Tips & Warnings

• If you add the grounds to your container of cleanser, start with a small amount first and see how you like it before adding too much.
• If you store it in a container, try to keep it dry.
• If you have sensitive skin, you might want to use smaller amounts in the container of cleanser or sprinkle it on your hand with your cleanser a few times a week.

[tracier]

on 7/17/2009 Wow! I'll try this! Thx! 5*

[LisaSmegal]

on 3/21/2009 Great article!