As I’m writing this post I am enjoying the amazing smell of honey and cinnamon this face scrub has left on my face, and it makes me happy.
Last weekend we had a picnic for my boyfriend’s brother’s birthday. It was a lovely time and the food was delicious. Lars’s mom is a great cook/baker and she made an incredible gluten free red velvet cake. Anyways, when I read the terrible ingredients in my sunscreen, I decided not to wear it. I stayed in the shade a lot. Well, that didn’t work out and I got a sunburnt nose anyways. (Meaning it’s time to make a homemade sunscreen, but that will be another post).
My nose was starting to peel so I figured it was time to come up with a new exfoliator. I love my coconut lavender face exfoliator, but coconut oil on my face has been making me break out lately, so I figured I would make a more acne-friendly version. And I’m in love with the results.
Oh, and it only costs 75 cents to make one batch of it.
You’re also doing a favor to the environment if you make your own exfoliator. Most of the exfoliators you can buy in stores contain microbeads- which are made of plastic! I don’t want to wash my face with plastic! Let alone send it down my drain every day. These microbeads are becoming an epidemic in our waterways and Illinois just banned them in personal care products. So do yourself a favor and use an exfoliator that exfoliates with something other than plastic.
All you need to make this scrub are a few simple ingredients:
- Honey: Naturally anti-bacterial, good for acne, natural humectant (attracts moisture to the skin)
- Baking Soda: Gentle natural exfoliator
- Cinnamon: Natural acne treatment, antiseptic, cleanses pores, stimulates blood vessels on surface of the skin
- Lemon Essential Oil (optional): astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, natural acne treatment
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup honey (use a raw, organic honey to get the benefits listed above)
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 5 drops lemon essential oil (optional- you can buy it here)
Instructions:
- Mix the honey, baking soda, and cinnamon until they form a thick paste
- Add the essential oil and mix well
- Store in a container with a tight lid
- Wet your face with warm water
- Apply scrub to face rubbing in small circles
- Wash off with hot water
- Follow up with a good moisturizer (I recommend my Aloe Vera Moisturizer)
I need to warn you: you will need to resist the desire to eat this face scrub. Especially if you love honey anywhere as much as me. The honey and cinnamon together smell amazing. And if you use lemon essential oil it will smell even MORE amazing. Like snickerdoodle cookies.
You could eat it and be just fine- but I don’t think it would taste good with the baking soda in it. But that’s the beauty of these homemade recipes. You literally could eat them with no worries.
My skin feels so fresh and amazing after using this scrub. The cinnamon definitely added a tingly-ness that lasted about 10 minutes after. I love that feeling. And the scrub took off all my peely sunburnt skin.
Don’t you love the fresh feeling after you’ve exfoliated? Well, with this scrub you get that feeling PLUS the amazing, natural, scents.
Just looking at this picture I feel like I can still smell it. Is it bad to exfoliate multiple times a day? Probably. I will have to use restraint not to use this all the time because it smells so incredibly amazing.
Try making this incredibly easy exfoliator- and let me know how it goes for you!
Mari says
Will be sure to add this to my must try and do at home scrubs!!! Looks great can’t wait to try:)
Rach @ EazyPeazyMealz says
This looks awesome. And only 75 cents. That is a price tag I like. Thanks for linking up at Tips and Tricks Link Party. Pinned.
Katie says
Thanks for the homemade scrub recipe! So simple!! I would love it if you linked this up to my Motivate Me Monday linky party at IT’S A ginger SNAP.
Erlene says
Wow what a simple recipe. I have all those ingredients to make this. Pinned. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.
Andie says
Hi, great post!
In the 1st pic next to the lemon essential oil there’s another little red bottle, what is it?
Thanks
Susie says
That’s the cinnamon essential oil. I used it in my recipe but I ended up taking it out of the post recipe because the cinnamon itself was enough and when I let this exfoliator sit out for a while the cinnamon oil rose to the top and it was too much for my skin. So I decided it wasn’t necessary. You can use it if you like an extra cinnamon scent- but be sure to stir the exfoliator every time you use it if you do.
Erin says
Hi Susie, great recipe! Just wanted to ask if you need to keep it stored in the fridge?
Thanks
Susie says
Hi Erin! I don’t store mine in the fridge. All the ingredients keep well at room temperature. I’m sure it would feel nice and cool and refreshing if you wanted to!
Armenda says
Hi wow this looks amazing! I’m currently on my way to a whole foods for the supplies as we speak. I was just wondering how long do you keep what you made? Do u throw it away after a day or can it last a couple days. Thank you for posting this by the way!
Susie says
I’ve kept mine for over two months now and it is still great. I just stir it every time I use it.
Mart says
How often can this be used?
Susie says
It depends on your skin! I used it about once a week. You can use it as much as you like but if it is irritating your skin it’s a sign you should use it less often. Generally I only use an exfoliator once a week or so.
Brandy @ Pimples Tap says
hey, Susie. i’m trying it right now, can i leave it for overnight?
Brandy
Susie says
I wouldn’t, because it could definitely inflame your skin if left on for too long.
keibah says
Hi Susie,
Just curious that the last picture is lighter in consistency. When I made mine, it looked darker like the other photo.
Susie says
Hi Keibah,
It was probably just the lighting in the room, or I may have lightened the picture while editing it. The in-process pictures are darker because they were taking in my very dim kitchen, while the last two photos were taken next to a window. When making natural products the ingredient colors will vary so your results may not always look the same as tutorial pictures.
Lisa Hill says
This face scrub is a combination of great natural ingredients which can provide a real and lasting change to the skin. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.