Those who know me well know that I’ve been giving up most of my commercial beauty and health products and making my own cheaper and healthier alternatives. So far I’ve been successful in giving up commercial face wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hair products, and even some makeup! (I’m sure I’ll post more on these soon!) Its such a neat feeling knowing that I can easily and cheaply make (or do without) things I was spending so much money on before. Even better when these things contain a fraction of the ingredients, and I actually know what they are, and that they’re great for me. Its a win-win. And its been fun for me too. Ryan has been calling me potion lady as I experiment creating my own things. 🙂
He’s been asking me to make him a face wash lately and tonight I came up with this! He likes face washes to be really scrubby, so I did what I normally do…went straight to Pinterest to read over a dozen DIY face wash recipes and then used all those ideas to come up with my own. The result is a super scrubby scrub that is also super moisturizing so you don’t even need to put moisturizer on afterward. Your face is left feeling exfoliated and super smooth. He liked it!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through the links earn me a small commission, but I only link to things I actually use and recommend myself!
The ingredients you’ll need are:
-1/3 C. Coconut Oil
-1/4 C. Sugar
-1 Tbs. Aloe Vera Gelly (I use this one!)
-2 Green Tea Bags
-3-4 drops Vitamin E Oil (optional- just really good for your skin!)
-5-6 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil (optional- great for keeping acne away!) (My Favorite Brand!)
Directions:
Cut open tea bags and add the dry tea to the rest of the ingredients, and mix! Super quick and easy. Very customizable too. Add more or less sugar for more or less scrubby-ness, or just adjust the coconut oil. And you’re done!
Looks awesome! I think when my face stuff runs out I’m going to be going with this!
Thanks Mandi!
Looks awesome! When you get time you will have to post some shampoo recipes! Super interested! 🙂
Thanks Ashley! I’m definitely planning a hair related blog post in the future. 🙂
Do you use white sugar? If I sub brown sugar, would it still do the trick?
Thanks!
Hi! Yes I just used white table sugar. Any sugar will do, its just for the gritty texture!
Thanks for this, its lovely. Whats the shelf life? thanks
If you keep it in a cool area or the fridge it should last a long time-longer than it would take to use it up! My husband just kept it in the shower, and it lasted about 1 month in there!
Do we have to use sugar in this? I don’t like using sugar on the face. Thanks.
The sugar is what makes it scrubby and exfoliating. Without it, this would act more like a moisturizer, but oil alone can be an effective way to wash your face. If you don’t like scrubby face washes I’d go with a different recipe! You could always wash your face with just warm water and a washcloth which is what I prefer actually. Personal preference!
I subbed the sugar for poppy seeds & ground apricot 🙂
That’s a great idea!
Try coffee grounds?
Go for it!
Try baking soda instead. I make my own face scrub and that’s what I use. This one looks great, I’m going to make it with baking soda and see how it goes.
How long do you let it sit with the baking soda?
How often do you use this? Is it a daily thing?
You can use it as often as you want to wash your face! I didn’t actually use it myself, I made it for my husband because he likes scrubby face washes. 🙂
This looks amazing! Coconut oil doesn’t agree with my face, so I will have to dry a different one. But I love the idea of using aloe and green tea together- two of my favorite ingredients! Thanks for posting!
Aw that sucks! My face LOVES coconut oil, but I’m not a fan of super scrubby scrubs so I don’t even use this one myself. 🙂
Hi, even my face feels really oily using coconut oil in the face scrub recepie
Can u please tell what u used instead
I was worried about the same thing when I made it, so I just cut down on the coconut oil and that did that trick! I knew this recipe would yield more than I wanted, so I cut it in half(ish). If the coconut oil is semi soft (room temperature), you don’t need very much to give the scrub the desired thickness.
Hi! This is easy-peasy!
Btw, what kind of sugar you are using?
And also the coconut is in solid state or the fractionated type?
I’m very keen to make my own.
Thank you.
Hey! Yeah its super easy! Just use regular coconut oil at room temperature so it’ll be solid, but not too hard. I just used regular white table sugar. You could use any type of sugar really! (except powdered. ;))
Can you use any coconut oil??
Yeah! As long as its solid, not liquid! 🙂
Why can’t it be melted? My kitchen stays warm.
Why can’t it be melted? My kitchen stays warm.
Also, can I substitute grapeseed or olive oil for coconut oil? Thank you.
If you don’t mind using a messy liquid, by all means go for it! It stays mixed and is much easier to use and store if its a soft solid though.
Looks great! Could I possibly go without the Aloe and it still be ok?
Yeah you definitely could!
Yes you could!!
Hey how long will this keep? does it have to be in a fridge to keep? can i leave it in my bathroom for daily use?
Hi, we kept ours in the shower and it lasted about a month. It’ll keep much longer in the fridge but it’ll be really hard and therefore more difficult to use. Up to you! 🙂
Thank you. This will be great for me.
I love your blog!
Thank you so much!
Can I use aloe from real plant instead of jelly
Absolutely!
could salt be used instead of sugar?
You know I’m not sure! I would guess that it would be fine. Try it and let me know! 🙂
Hi! Trying this tomorrow im super excited! I like to make products i can keep over months of time, would this be for me?
I have used salt before but test first because both salt and sugar can be really scrubby…sometimes I sub in baking soda…different type of scrubby and not quite so harsh. For me, salt and sugar are for body, baking soda is for face because I have pretty sensitive skin and rosacea. I definitely don’t want my face to be even redder!
Hi
I dont have solid coconut oil, only liquid. Can I use cocoa butter or shea butter instead ?
Thanks
Cocoa butter might be too hard but shea butter could work! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Is there a difference between aloe gel and aloe gelly? Lily of the desert sells both. Does it matter which kind I use?
I wasn’t sure what you were talking about so I had to look on Amazon to see what you meant. It appears that what they call “gel” is a dietary supplement. What they call “gelly” is the product you use on your body. I think its just what they call it. Weird! You could really call it gel or gelly I would think.
Just wondering, would there be any foreseen problems if I used the green tea bags after steeping them?
I would only do that if you dry the grounds thoroughly before use. If they’re wet when you use them it will likely cause mold! Mold is caused from water being in the product, so I’d use unused teabags unless you have time to dehydrate the used ones.
Which kind of sugar could I use? Is any kind will do?
I used regular white sugar, but any kind will do. 🙂
Hello ma’am,
I had a quick question… I hav prepared the aloe verafeel at homes using gelatine n the actual leaf (as i hav the aloe house plant loaded with aloe leaves in abundance). Do u suggest i use the one prepared or do i extract the fresh one and blend it?
Use the fresh! Since you already have it and I’m sure its even healthier. 🙂
Hey, can you use any other essential oils besides tea tree? Please let me know?
Sure you can! I just use tea tree because its great for preventing acne. There are lots of other oils with great skin benefits you could try. 🙂
I love that you have added green tea to the facewash. I really must make my own this weekend, I am totally over buying store bought ready made that has who knows what in it. Time to be natural.
Hi Rachel,
I would like to know for how many days does it last, I mean u have used sugar with gel so the sugar does not get dissolved in gel after some days ?
Good question! It didn’t for me, but I’m sure there are several factors like temperature and how quickly you use it that would be a factor so I’m not sure. If you use it daily I’m sure you wouldn’t have an issue with the sugar dissolving before you run out and make more. 🙂
Hey ! I want to know
how long would it last in a jar? Can I have it in the refrigerator?
You can for sure put it in the fridge but it might get hard. As long as no water gets into the jar, it won’t go bad. Bacteria needs water to grow, so just keep an eye on it! You will likely use it up before it has a chance of going bad, if you’re careful to keep water out. 🙂
Hi!!i use it for my school project.and sell it .it so effective to me.can i ask what is the expiration date of it??
As long as you don’t get water in there it should last a long time! The only thing that causes bacteria to grow is water and there is no water in the ingredients. If you are concerned, check to see if the ingredients you use have an expiration date! Coconut oil usually does not. Tea tree oil also helps prevent bacteria growth. 🙂 I usually tell people that you will run out of it long before it starts thinking about going bad!
Can we use fresh aloe vera gel
Yes!
Do you melt the coconut oil? So many recipes use this oil,but not all of them tell you to melt or use solid.
Thank you!
It should be room temperature if possible! If it’s too solid or too liquid you won’t be able to use it as easily. 🙂
Hi. How long can this last and do i just keep it in room temperature? Thanks
Hey! It should last pretty indefinitely u less you get water in it. Water is what makes bacteria grow. But check your coconut oil and see if it has an expiration date. If it does it’ll be reallyyyyyh far out so no worries. You should run out before it goes bad. 🙂
Sounds Good! How long can I store this scrub ?
Coconut oil makes my skin super oily, and my face is already oily on its own lol. Is there anything you can supplement for the coconut oil?? Bc I like face scrubs that has the grainy feel but can’t do the oily stuff Bc it’s makes my skin worse.
Some people find Shea butter to be less oily feeling!
for how long can it be used like how long can it stay without rotting
What type of skin would this be good for? I have red, dry skin. Would this work?
I’m not an expert on skin so I’m not comfortable giving advice. I’d think coconut oil and aloe Vera would be great for dry skin, but using an abrasive scrub might not be the best idea? Just my thoughts.
Love this scrub recipe! I want to make it ASAP. I wanted to ask if the extra should be stored in frig or not and for how long?
Thanks
Susan