DIY Exfoliating Face Scrub

As much as I am intrigued by bath and beauty products such as the bath bombs and body scrubs from Lush, I regrettably do not have the time nor money to go out to buy them. So instead of waiting for a free day to come by to go out and shop, I decided to make my own.

There are a thousand different sugar scrub combinations on the internet, some more complicated and fancy than others, but me, being the lazy person that I am, used this recipe for a very simple but effective face and body scrub.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain white sugar (if you have more sensitive skin, you can try a finer brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup oil (I used olive oil, but any type works – vegetable, almond, coconut, etc.)
• 1/2 teaspoon plain vanilla extract (optional)
• vitamin E (optional)

Directions: Add ingredients into a bowl from greatest volume (sugar) to least volume (vitamin E) and combine together with a spoon until evenly mixed. It's the easiest thing ever.

Generally, the recipe calls for two parts sugar, one part oil. This alone is a good exfoliator, but you can add a lot of different things to customize the smell and function for your own personal touch. Just remember, never put too much vanilla extract, or else it gets gross. I also added vitamin E, which apparently protects and repairs your skin; you can take softgel capsules and squeeze out the gel into the mixture. I used about 5 capsules of stuff; I don't know how effective it is, but overall my skin does feel a lot smoother. Tip: don't use a pin to poke a hole into the capsule shell. Instead, use a pair of scissors or a small knife to make a large incision on the end. That helps the gel flow out instead of beading up when you squeeze it. Other things you can add are essential oils, such lemon and lavender, which have different scents and effects on skin.

Overall, 8/10 would recommend. Make sure you don't rush when putting everything together. Mine ended up a bit too oily because I didn't use a proper measuring cup, but it was an easy fix. A few more spoonfuls of sugar and it's now good to go for next time. This amount of ingredients makes a whole bowlful of scrub, so you can tweak it after each use. You only need about 1 spoonful for an area the size of the average face, so for one bath, I'd say I used about 4 spoonfuls total for the face, neck, and shoulders. The sugar also melts quite quickly if you're in a warm bath, but at least I smell like vanilla bean and my face is as soft as a baby's butt. ◊