I Tried A Cheap DIY Recipe Instead Of Expensive Exfoliators

I’m an exfoliator addict. I rarely wash my face outside of the shower. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve had very intense, lengthy skin care regimes and my skin is over the threshold of “good enough” so it just doesn’t make a big difference one way or another. However — I am always a stickler about exfoliation. You only have to do it a few times a week and it’s a nice deep clean whether or not you’re washing your face every morning and night like you’re supposed to.

It’s more than just a physical thing, there’s something emotionally cathartic about scrubbing the dead skin and dirt off of your face. Sometimes after a good scrub I’m just like Damn, how can I do this with my whole life?

Anyways, I tend to use high-end exfoliators because I need to get a deeper clean than the drugstore ones offer. My favorites are Origins Modern Friction and Laura Mercier Face Polish. Both of these are very gritty. Whenever you’re deciding to buy an exfoliator look for this texture, if it’s more of a gel/liquid texture or it’s meant to be used every single day — it’s not going to give you a deep clean.

I decided to take a break and see if these were really worth the money by trying a cheapie at home recipe and comparing it to my usual results.

All you need is brown sugar (white sugar is too coarse), honey, and a little bit of olive oil.

Put 1/3 cup of the sugar, and 2 tbsp each of the honey and olive oil in a bowl and mix it until it’s smooth. I improved the recipe by squeezing half a lemon into it. I’m obsessed with lemons, they have so many beneficial qualities to them — the vainest of which being that it’s a natural skin brightener.

It will look like this:

If it’s not the right texture, add more sugar or a bit more oil.

The point of using honey is that it can heal inflammation and prevent infection as well as moisturize so put it on your skin and leave it for a few minutes before you scrub it off.

When you’re ready, scrub it around and then rinse off. Pay special attention to the places on your face where dirt naturally settles (the base of your nostrils, your chin, etc). The texture of this is honestly perfect, it’s way closer to a high-end exfoliator than a drugstore version is, and I like that it only has natural (and edible) ingredients, so I don’t have to worry about what chemicals I’m putting in my skin.

If you’re looking for something that’s convenient, you may want to stick with store bought, high-end products since this one you have to make yourself when you want to use it. However, if you want to save money this is a much more effective and skin-friendly route to go than drugstore brands.

Do you have any DIY recipes you’ve tried or want to try? Share in the comments, and I’ll try a new one next week!