Homemade Salt Scrub (helps me with acne)

Recently my good friend Willa and I were discussing how in the last 3 years our skin has gotten worse. I have always struggled with light acne but suddenly when I turned 22 it took a seriously bad turn, especially on my back. After trying all the chemical options I decided to go a whole new direction.

When it comes to using chemicals in my house I am a bit of "hippie" (for lack of a better word). So as my acne got worse I thought "why not be diligent about not using chemicals on my face and back too?" You see I was a believer and constant user of benzyl peroxide but recently it just hasn't been making any difference. So I began to try different things. The first thing that really helped was switching to an all natural lavender body wash (Lavender helps with inflammation). I since have also switched to a natural SPF and only use it when I know I'll be outside. The rest of the time I use Trader Joe's Nourish Oil-Free Antioxidant Facial Moisturizer mixed with a few drops of rose-hip oil. My skin so far has responded pretty well!

One thing I really like to do for my back and for my face is exfoliate 1-2 times a week and to do so I combining three different ideas/theories into my homemade salt scrub... the Oil Cleansing Method, sea salt and essential oils. I wanted to share it with you all especially because so many others are struggling with the same issue of adult acne.

Besides even if you don't have acne its refreshing and gives your skin a nice glow. I will give you two variations one for body scrub and one for a face scrub.

I just use the ingredients I can find from the grocery store here. But when we move I hope to transition to all organic ingredients.

Body Scrub Version





Ingredients:
Sea Salt : 1 1/2 Tablespoons of course and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of fine ground mixed. (It gives the exfoliating process a bit of an edge)
Olive Oil: 1 tsp
Grape seed Oil: 1 tsp
Lavender Essential Oil: 4 drops
Lemon Juice: 1/2 lemon squeezed (drain the juice before you add to mixture)
Jar with lid for storage (the one shown above is a simple ramekin I use for mixing.)

Directions:
~Mix all of these ingredients together in a jar with a lid. I use the same jar each week when I make it just make sure to rinse well with soap and hot water before your new batch.

~Once your skin is good and wet (either in shower or tub) step out of the water and really rub the mixture all over the desired area of your body. (it may sting a bit when exfoliating you want pressure but not so much that your causing real pain)

~Once its rubbed in well  Let it stand on your skin for 20-30 seconds, I wait until I start to feel a slight burn from the lemon and salt.

~Rinse well under warm water.

*DO THIS LAST BEFORE GETTING OUT OF THE SHOWER. DO NOT RINSE IT AWAY WITH ANOTHER SOAP OR YOU WONT GET THE WONDERFUL SILKY SKIN*

This is what the final product will look like. It should be a nice mix of liquid and lots of salt to exfoliate with. ENJOY!

Face Scrub Version

Ingredients:
Sea Salt: 1/8 tsp fine ground
Olive Oil: (or grape seed if you prefer but not both): 1/2 tsp
Lemon: 1/4 tsp
*I eye ball all of this you want a nice mixture of oil and salt and just a touch of lemon juice*

Directions:
~Rinse face well with warm water
~Pat with towel (do not completely dry)
~Very gently rub in some of the salt mixture, focusing on problem areas for about 1 min.
~Rinse hands in warm water (it will help dissolve the salt when you start to rub your face again)
~Dip fingers into only the oil sitting on top of the container (salt will have fallen to bottom)
~Massage entire face with oil for another minute (face should have ample oil really being worked in)
~Turn water on to a nice warm temp ( DO NOT burn your face)
~Moisten a wash cloth and hold on your face for 10 seconds then wipe off excess oil (repeat about 2-3 times)

NOTE: After your face and body may seem kind of red...it is just because you exfoliated it. Give it 10 minutes and it should calm down and be silky smooth.

DISCLAIMER: I am not, by any means, a doctor. I am simply sharing what has worked for me in hopes that it will work for you. My recipe comes from reading about sea salt therapy for acne and is combined with my general knowledge on essential oils and what I have learned from the oil cleansing method. Please do your own research as well and only use ingredients your not allergic to and that you are comfortable using. If an amount of something is too high for you or you want to try a different essential oil go ahead and play round with it. Have fun and good luck!

Creatively Yours,
Christina Marie