DIY Herbal Facial Scrub–Replace Microbeads
A few years ago (maybe even a decade ago now) facial exfoliators with “microbeads” were all the rage. However it was discovered that they synthetic beads do not dissolve in water and in many cases do not biodegrade. But never fear, there are many other options that will exfoliate and nourish your skin, plus be completely biodegradable and in many cases even food grade. In this post I will share my DIY herbal facial scrub so that you can ditch the microbeads.
It’s All About Water
Water is fast becoming a very precious commodity. Modern living is creating all sorts of products that are beneficial for human life. Sometimes (oftentimes) these convenience items actually end up being bad news for our global water supply. I am thinking of the realization that disposable straws are actually huge polluters in our oceans.
Those little synthetic beads don’t biodegrade and get washed down the drain and into our water supply. I live in an area where septic tanks are the norm. This has made me really conscious about what goes down my drain. Our property has a tank and drain field. The idea of those microbeads in my drain field really brings the global water crisis right to my backyard.
One Easy Action Step
Sometimes when we are faced with a big (huge) problem we want big action. We think we need to do something equally as big before we feel like we are making a difference. But actually small actionable steps that can be repeated regularly is a great place to start.
One simple action step is making your own DIY facial scrub.
The Ingredients
These ingredients are almost all food-grade, completely natural and biodegradable.
- Rolled oats
- Brown rice
- Almond meal
- Lavender flowers
- Calendula flowers
- Poppy seeds
- Cosmetic clay
This is based off of Rosemary Gladstar’s Basic scrub, also called “Miracle Grains” in some sources. Gladstar’s original recipe has spread far and wide, and I am not sure what the original looked like, but here is the recipe I came up with using what I have on hand.
Sourcing Your Ingredients
Sourcing is becoming a huge issue for a lot of items. Finding sources that are ethical let alone have the supplies that you need can be very tricky. I grow many of my own herbs but for the items that I don’t grow or that I need a larger quantity of I often source from Mountain Rose Herbs.
The flowers might be the hardest items to source but our natural food coop has these in the bulk herb/spice section. You can use whatever your favorites are (rose would be really nice) and even dry some flowers that will soon be coming up.
Clay can also be hard to find. I got mine from Mountain Rose Herbs. But your coop would probably have some as well.
The Process
I have a vitamix with a dry/grain attachment I used to grind this up.
Begin with the oatmeal and brown rice first, then add in the other ingredients and pulse to mix.
I store the dry mix in a quart jar, but keep a smaller 1/2 pint jar in the shower (use a plastic lid). For the smaller jar I mix 4-5 TBSP of the mix with 1 1/2 Tbsp honey and enough filtered water to make a paste.
This is what I use to wash my face–no soap. When I was younger I was very acne prone. I don’t know if I would have felt comfortable only using this scrub on a daily basis then but now I love it, it is not so drying and is beautifully exfoliating. Plus not only is it biodegradable but you could eat it if you really wanted to, though the clay is a bit yucky.
DIY Herbal Face Scrub
Materials
- 3/4 Cup Rolled Oats
- 1/4 Cup Brown Rice
- 1/4 Cup Almond Meal
- 1/8 Cup Dried Lavender Flowers
- 1/8 Cup Dried Calendula Flowers
- 1/8 Cup Poppy Seeds
- 2 Cups Cosmetic Clay
Instructions
- Place the Oatmeal and Brown Rice in a high powered blender, grind until a course meal.
- Add the other ingredients except the clay and pulse mix.
- Stir in the clay.
- Store in a dry container
- To make a smaller container for regular use, mix 4-5 Tbsp off the mixture with 1 Tbsp of honey and enough distilled water to make a paste.
