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Epsom salt scrub has so many amazing benefits for your face & body - including acne relief!
DIY Lavender Epsom Salt Scrub for Face & Body
I love making my own scrubs for several reasons:
- The items are usually already in your home
- MUCH cheaper than fancy store bought scrubs
- You can control the ingredients & their quality
- It's SO easy to do
Bonus reason: I just enjoy DIYing (can we make that a word even though it really doesn't make much sense?) everything! Like these bentonite clay deodorant bars - so FUN.
Benefits of Epsom Salts
If you don't always have Epsom salts in your house, I definitely recommend adding them to your shopping list frequently - or order it on Amazon. They are wonderful for many common ailments and issues you may face (read more benefits here). Just last week, actually, I bathed my dog in them several times to help relieve her dermatitis - my poor Jade has a grass pollen allergy! She's adorable though, isn't she?
Oops, sorry - so easy to get off track with that sweet pup around. 😉
Anyway!
Epsom salt is actually magnesium sulfate. Did you know that most of us (approximately 90%!) are deficient in magnesium? Magnesium deficiency can cause so many issues - including skin problems like acne.
Acne is basically the bane of my existence. It's something I've struggled with since puberty. If I get it under control, eat a clean diet, and then cheat a little or go outside of routine - it's back with a vengeance.
Taking a magnesium supplement, however, has seriously improved my skin. If I do have an acne breakout, it's less severe.
I decided to experiment with washing my face with water + Epsom salts and loved the results. Since I love making my own scrubs, epsom salt scrub only made sense to test out! And I seriously LOVE it.
This Lavender Epsom Salt Face & Body Scrub:
- Moisturizes
- Exfoliates
- Helps prevent/relieve acne
- Makes your skin soft
- May help relax tense muscles
Of course, Epsom salts are the star ingredient, but this body scrub also contains: Lavender, vitamin E oil, and argan oil.
Lavender is very calming, helping to reduce redness and inflammation. It also adds a lovely scent to the scrub. Vitamin E oil has many properties that are super beneficial for your skin (like reducing wrinkles). Argan oil is another beneficial oil for skin, and also helps to bring all of the ingredients together in cohesive "scrub form".
If you don't have argan oil, I recommend using another non-comedogenic oil like hemp seed oil or grapeseed oil - I find both at Whole Foods. A "non-comedogenic" oil is one that will not clog up your pores. Unfortunately, coconut oil is an oil that will clog your pores (learned that the hard way!)
To whip this up, you will simply grind the dried lavender (I used a spice grinder and just pulsed a few times) and then mix it in with the remaining ingredients. Simple as that!
How to Use Epsom Salt Scrub
This scrub will be beneficial to use on both your face & body - though my personal preference is just using it on my face to help prevent & relieve acne (and then using coffee scrub for my body!) If you have back or chest acne, this scrub may help relieve that as well.
Simply scoop a palmful of scrub at a time and massage into your skin in circular motions. I recommend using exfoliating with this scrub once or twice a week.
You can store it right on your countertop in an airtight container.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Epsom salts
- 3 tablespoons argan oil*
- 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender - - ground slightly with mortal & pestle, spice grinder, or blender
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Store in airtight container.
- Use 1-2 times a week.