If you have never experienced microdermabrasion or are unaware exactly what it means, I'll tell you briefly so we can get to the good stuff!
Microdermabrasion is basically a fancy word for a very fine exfoliant, much finer than your typical face scrubs which can have pretty large grains. The finer grains slough off more dead and dying skin cells to reveal the newer, more vibrant layer of skin below. It's this fresh new skin that tends to 'glow'.
Normal face scrubs achieve the same thing, to an extent, but the difference is much like the comparison between using very rough and very fine sandpaper. The rough stuff certainly works to scratch up the surface, but the finer stuff achieves a nice, smooth, polished finish.
One problem with these microdermabrasion productss is that they can be pretty expensive ($50 and way up for an average of 2.5 oz), and the other is that they can contain a lot of chemicals and toxic ingredients!
So I'm going to share my secret all natural DIY microdermabrasion recipe with you! Ok, it's not really a secret, and it's not really a recipe. It's too easy for that!
I like to call this stuff my "Face Polish," and after you try it for the first time you'll see why! Let me put it this way....when I first tried it and I asked my fiancé to touch my face and see if he could feel a difference, I ended up
yelling at him to "STOP TOUCHING MY FACE!!!! later that same evening. Of course, I couldn't stop it either, but still. LOL!
Jessica's All-Natural Homemade Face Polish
INGREDIENTS:
• organic coconut oil***
• baking soda
I keep these ingredients separate until I'm ready to use them. I have never mixed them ahead of time, though I'm sure that you probably could. I keep a little container of each in the shower and when I'm ready to polish, I wet my clean face and put a pea-sized amount of baking soda in the palm of my hand and then mix in the same amount of coconut oil. (So if you try mixing ahead of time use equal parts of each).
Using my fingertips, I rub gently all over my face in a circular motion, everywhere but my eyes. Then rinse off, pat dry and get ready to fight off the face gropers!
* If you're not crazy about the smell of coconuts, try to find coconut oil that ISN'T extra virgin. Regular coconut oil has almost no scent at all but the extra virgin stuff is definitely noticeable.
* If you don't want to use coconut oil or are allergic to it, use olive oil instead. I always recommend organic oils so you don't get the toxins from chemicals and pesticides that may be residual in the oil.
* If you're just straight up not crazy about the idea of using oil on your face at all, then don't! Another reason I keep the ingredients separate is because I don't always use the oil. You can actually just use baking soda and water and get the same exfoliating effect. Obviously you won't get the awesome moisture, anti-aging, and wrinkle-fighting benefits of the coconut oil (or olive oil), but still pretty great! I would really suggest trying it at least once with the oil to see how it feels.
You only want to exfoliate 2-3 times per week. Most days in between, I just use coconut oil to moisturize and nourish my skin and maintain that awesome freshly polished glow. I have been using just coconut oil as my daily moisturizer for 6 months now and am loving every minute of it!
Using oil on your face may not be for everyone but it really works well for me and I am happy to say I don't think I'll ever spend another penny on expensive exfoliating beauty products as long as I live!! I would love to hear what you think if you try this Homemade Skin Polish for yourself!
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love coconut oil! use it for so many things here! love your blog too, so many great tutorials. i feel a pinning frenzy coming on.... :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha! I use coconut oil for everything too! Have a bunch more posts planned for it - it's like the super beauty ingredient! Well, so is baking soda actually :) Thanks so much for stopping by!
Delete~ Jessica
Wow. What an informative, easy to understand, and most of all inspiring beauty post. I can't wait to pin this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Amy, and for the kind words! I love how easy this recipe is, and how effective for being so simple. I am loving all your star crafts, by the way! Think I may have to put together a star-inspired craft roundup :)
DeleteFinally home and FINALLY pinning :)
DeleteI love this tutorial!!Will try coconut oil, sounds great and effective!Pinned:-)
ReplyDelete~Aniko @PlaceofMytaste.blogspot.com
This works so well!! I use coconut oil for everything lol, & I've found using baking soda on its own too harsh. So this was perfect for me. I noticed healthy, glowy skin immediately. My make-up went on better afterwards too. Love it!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it! I am still using this a couple of times a week - it's been about a year now - and the results are still an amazing glow every time. I agree, make-up goes on great after this luxury DIY spa treatment :) Thanks for sharing your results!
DeleteJessica
Is it possible to replace coconut oil with sweet almond oil?
ReplyDeleteHi Shen Lan! Great question. I personally have never tried almond oil on my face but I have used it in other body products with great results!
DeleteI don't see why it would hurt to try (unless you're allergic to almonds, obviously) but you may want to try a little spot test on your cheek a day or two before you try it all over your face, just to check for irritation.
If the almond oil does cause a breakout, then olive oil os a great alternative as I mentioned above. It's great for your face! I have also tried grape seed oil but it made my face break out (although it was fine on the rest of my body) but coconut oil and olive oil don't cause me any facial troubles at all. I'm sure the results will be different for everyone so try out the sweet almond oil and see what works for you!
No matter what the oil, be sure you are only using organic products so that you aren't letting any chemicals (pesticide residues, etc.) soak into your delicate facial skin.
I'd love to hear how the sweet almond oil works out for you :)
~ Jessica