Make This Simple Homemade Face Scrub For Every Skin Type
This homemade face scrub recipe is customizable by mixing in the wet ingredients that work best for your skin type or skin conditions.
Question: You know exfoliation is important for your skin health, but how can you find a face scrub that works for your specific skin type that is affordable too?
Answer: You make your own homemade face scrub!
We did some experimenting to come up with a DIY face scrub recipe that is easy, cheap and best of all is customizable to your skin type!
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Benefits of a Face Scrub Powder
When I set about creating this face scrub, I had two goals in mind. First, to make a scrub that could be customized to any skin type or skin condition. To do that, I needed the basic ingredients to be simple, soothing and non-irritating.
My second goal was to make a scrub that doesn’t have to be refrigerated or used up within a week like most homemade beauty products without preservatives. To accomplish that, I went with a scrub powder. The powder is mixed with wet ingredients only when you are about to use it.
Face Scrub Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients used in our face scrub powder:
- Rolled Oats – known for soothing itchy, dry skin
- Almonds or Almond Meal – contains nourishing oils to help soften skin
- Lavender Buds – naturally soothing to skin (you can buy lavender buds online if you can’t find them at a local store)
Keep reading to find out how to make the face scrub powder and to learn about the mix-in options to make the best homemade face scrub for every skin type!
Related: Homemade Lavender Calendula Balm
How to Make Face Scrub Powder
Have I told you how simple this scrub is to make? Super duper simple!
You will need either a blender, a food processor or a repurposed coffee grinder. A Vitamix blender rocks for this job, but you don’t necessarily need anything that fancy.
Place the oats, almonds and lavender buds in the blender and PULVERIZE them! You want the powder to be very fine since it is used on your face. If you use almond meal in place of whole almonds, you can blend the oats and lavender first and then mix in the almond meal later.
At this point, feel free to add in the lavender essential oil and mix well. This will give the scrub an extra burst of calming lavender that smells fantastic!
When you are ready to use the scrub, mix it with the liquid that works best for your skin type or skin condition.
For one application I recommend up to 1 tablespoon of scrub powder and a little less than that amount of wet ingredients. The “recipe” is not set in stone – you’ll figure out the consistency that works best for you.
Customizable Face Scrub Mix-ins
Mix these ingredients into the scrub powder to create a thick paste. I typically use 2 teaspoons of liquid for each tablespoon of dry powder.
- Oily skin – water
- Dry skin – oil (I prefer a lightweight oil like apricot kernal, grapeseed or sweet almond)
- Dull skin – plain yogurt
- Acne – honey
Other possible scrub mix-ins include aloe vera gel, floral hydrosol, herbal tea or apple cider vinegar.
Experiment and see what works best for you!
My dry skin loves the oil version – especially in the winter!
When I make the scrub with yogurt, I leave it on my skin for about 5 minutes as a face mask to let the lactic acid do its magic. Lactic acid helps break down dead skin cells, leaving skin brighter looking.
Once the facial scrub has been rinsed off, follow with a spritz of toner and an organic moisturizer or facial oil to seal in the moisture.
One final bonus about this homemade facial scrub powder is that it makes a fantastic gift! Find a cute jar, add a ribbon and include instructions for mixing. It’s a great gift for friends, sisters, teachers – anyone!
Homemade Face Scrub Recipe
Equipment
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup almonds or almond meal
- 1 tablespoon lavender buds
- 8 drops lavender essential oil optional
Instructions
- Mix oats, almonds and lavender buds in a blender or food processor and blend until very fine.
- Add lavender essential oil if using and mix well.
- For scrub application, mix 1 tablespoon dry powder with 2 teaspoons liquid of choice (water, oil, yogurt or honey).
- Apply to face, scrub lightly and rinse off with warm water.
Notes
- Oily skin – water
- Dry skin – oil (apricot kernel, grapeseed or sweet almond)
- Dull skin – plain yogurt
- Acne – honey
Benefits of Exfoliation
The main benefit of a face scrub is to exfoliate your skin, which means removing dry or dead skin cells. But wait – exfoliation does much more than that! Using a facial scrub will also help with:
- increased blood circulation
- removing toxins from the skin
- growth of new skin cells
- minimizing pores
- reduced breakouts
- absorption of nourishing ingredients
Bottom line – a face scrub can lead to smoother, brighter looking skin (which helps with anti-aging goals). So let’s get exfoliating!
Are you ready to add a face scrub to your skin care routine? What would you mix it with?
This post comes at the perfect time! Among the many flights I’ve been on recently, along with big temperature changes, my face is dry and needs a mask scrub RN! This is perfect. I think I’ll invite the girls over for an evening holiday movie night and face scrub!
Awwwww….love the idea of doing scrubs at a girls night! Everyone can do their own mix-ins – maybe a bit messy but so much fun!
This looks awesome!
Thanks Christina! Hope you have a chance to make it sometime!
Sounds like a great gift idea. I’m a soap and water girl myself (and sometimes only water), but I’m pretty sure I know a ton of people that would love this.
Yes, this scrub can fit into even the simplest of skin care routines!
This is amazing and oh so simple. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! Hope you are able to try it soon!
Love, Love, Love THIS! I have dry sensitive skin and it’s so hard to find products that actually work. I’ll have to experiment with making some. They products I like from Whole Foods or the Co-op are super expensive.
I hope you can try this Holly! I think with dry, sensitive skin either the oil or the yogurt version would work well for you! And yes you can’t beat the price!
If I mix the dry good with honey or water, do you know how long it will last before it expires?
What I recommend is to mix only the amount of scrub you are using at that time. I usually do it in the palm of my hand – but you could use a bowl. Once you add water, the product will only be good for about a week. With honey, it might be longer because honey is shelf stable and does not attract bacteria the way water does – although I don’t know for sure. And if you mix with yogurt, you’ll definitely want to use it up the same day! Hope that helps!
Do the lavender buds have a strong lavender scent? I know I won’t be able to add the lavender oil. It irritates my eyes, so putting it in a scrub would probably be a bad idea.
Do you have any recommendations for what I can substitute for the lavender?
Everyone is so different when it comes to sensitivities so I don’t have a suggestion for a substitute that would work for sure – maybe rose? Lavender buds are pretty subtle – not as strong as the oil. Hope that works for you!
For how much time can store this scrub powder?
Up to 2 months.
I am definitely trying this !!! So excited I found you! Thank you!
Awesome! Let me know what you think!
What brand of rolled oats and almonds do you uses for do you have a link for purchasing those on Amazon for me soyouget credit
Appreciate it
You can use any brand – it really doesn’t matter.
This looks so good! What a great gift to make for friends or to enjoy yourself!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
The shelf life should be about 2-3 months.
Can I use peppermint oil instead of lavender?
Yes, you can substitute any essential oil that you prefer.