Pinterest Tested: DIY Natural Face Scrub

In keeping with our chat yesterday (ya know, about my journey to all things natural?), I've got a great guest blog for you today. My niece has been on a journey of her own, looking for natural solutions to basic beauty issues. And she's sharing some of those tips with us, yay!

So here's Ivy and her all-natural facial scrub:

… I started looking on Pinterest for some great face scrubs, and I was immediately inspired by Homemade For Elle's honey and oatmeal facial scrub. I tried this scrub first, and ouch! It totally dried my skin out, and I hated how the whole oats felt.

From there I started researching different ingredients for natural facial cleansers, mud masks, etc. I liked the idea of oats because they exfoliate, but I definitely needed them ground up more. Crunchy Betty had a similar facial cleanser, yet totally different in several ways. On a side note she talked about giving the scrub a turbo charge with neem powder. I was like.... what is neem?! I have to know about this basic ingredient! It's amazing for your skin.

I began to look into neem powder, which is available no where near me. I substituted neem oil, which is one of the worst smelling things in the world. So I'll definitely be ordering neem powder at some point in hopes that it won't stink SO bad! The lavender, tea tree, and lemon oils I added did cut the smell though.

I was hooked by then, so I kept looking for more way to improve my scrub. I wanted a super scrub that would help with my black heads too. So I researched calcium bentonite clay. It's main function is to pull toxins from your skin and replace them with the nutrients in the clay, such as calcium. Once I tried a basic bentonite clay/apple cider vinegar mask I knew I was on to something, it rocks! So hippie problems, on my day off or in my free time I roam around natural grocers for hours looking at everything, googling it and seeing what I can do to use it in my everyday life. Crazy right? It's my new hobby.

After a couple weeks of trying to perfect my scrub, I posted on my page what I came up with! I added the lemon essential oil for anti-bacterial reasons, and because I have semi acne prone skin. This scrub is soooooo good for me personally that when I got 3 minor pimples, I was shocked! Then, my time of the month started and I realized why… normally I get big neck pimples (so gross), and this time they were just minor blemishes.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself:

5 drops lemon essential oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops tea tree essential oil
5-10 drops neem oil (this stuff is thick, smells awful and is amazing for your skin)
1 tablespoon bentonite clay
1 tablespoon honey (Raw is best, but I'm using up what I have and it works great)
1/2 cup oats coarsely ground (I put them in the food processor)

Oats in the food processor

Mix up all the ingredients (I do this in my food processor). I use the scrub every morning. Pour about a half dollar size amount in your hand, get it wet, and squeeze it in your palm to get a ballish clump. Then I scrub it all over my face and rinse. Using oil on your face sounds scary but after my adjustment (a few days) it made a HUGE difference. My skin is brighter, more even, and way less breakouts! If you try it out, please let me know how it works for you.

Finished scrub, waiting for use

I'm a natural mama when it comes to skincare and makeup now. I night moisturize with a combo of rose hemp seed oil and apricot kernel oil. Moisturizing with oil sounds scary, but it rocks! My face didn't have to work so hard to produce it anymore and it evens and brightens my tone. My daily moisturizer for morning is Brilliant by Younique, which is one of the products I sell through my Younique website. My skin has never looked better! It took a week or two (and a few mud masks) to detox from everything I've used previously, but that adjustment period was WORTH IT! No more spending a ton of money on cleansers that don't work for my troubled skin.



I hope y'all enjoyed this guest post today! I'm excited to try out Ivy's facial scrub as soon as I can. If you want to keep up with Ivy and her natural beauty tips, you can also follow her on Facebook. Until next time, my friends!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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