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!
Mandi says
September 1, 2015 at 4:48 PMLooks awesome! I think when my face stuff runs out I’m going to be going with this!
sweetsim says
September 1, 2015 at 4:55 PMThanks Mandi!
Ashley smith says
September 1, 2015 at 5:37 PMLooks awesome! When you get time you will have to post some shampoo recipes! Super interested! 🙂
Rachel Kaly says
September 1, 2015 at 6:10 PMThanks Ashley! I’m definitely planning a hair related blog post in the future. 🙂
Bianca says
November 20, 2015 at 8:11 PMDo you use white sugar? If I sub brown sugar, would it still do the trick?
Thanks!
Rachel Kaly says
November 23, 2015 at 2:32 PMHi! Yes I just used white table sugar. Any sugar will do, its just for the gritty texture!
Fatia says
December 14, 2015 at 3:58 AMThanks for this, its lovely. Whats the shelf life? thanks
Rachel Kaly says
December 14, 2015 at 11:11 AMIf 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!
Charu says
January 10, 2016 at 11:47 AMDo we have to use sugar in this? I don’t like using sugar on the face. Thanks.
Rachel Kaly says
January 10, 2016 at 12:08 PMThe 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!
Jess says
April 19, 2016 at 4:14 PMI subbed the sugar for poppy seeds & ground apricot 🙂
Rachel Kaly says
April 19, 2016 at 8:37 PMThat’s a great idea!
Brenda says
October 27, 2016 at 10:46 AMTry coffee grounds?
Rachel Kaly says
October 29, 2016 at 8:57 AMGo for it!
Tina says
July 14, 2018 at 8:32 AMTry 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.
Chaney says
March 14, 2019 at 11:44 AMHow long do you let it sit with the baking soda?
Stephanie says
February 8, 2016 at 6:53 PMHow often do you use this? Is it a daily thing?
Rachel Kaly says
February 8, 2016 at 7:06 PMYou 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. 🙂
Susie @ Pins and Procrastination says
February 23, 2016 at 9:10 AMThis 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!
Rachel Kaly says
February 23, 2016 at 9:22 AMAw 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. 🙂
Rhea says
June 28, 2018 at 4:50 AMHi, even my face feels really oily using coconut oil in the face scrub recepie
Can u please tell what u used instead
Rose L. says
September 19, 2018 at 11:00 PMI 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.
Suerya says
March 23, 2016 at 3:04 AMHi! 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.
Rachel Kaly says
March 23, 2016 at 9:15 AMHey! 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. ;))
Dannii says
March 23, 2016 at 11:02 PMCan you use any coconut oil??
Rachel Kaly says
March 24, 2016 at 1:32 PMYeah! As long as its solid, not liquid! 🙂
Christal says
December 26, 2016 at 11:01 PMWhy can’t it be melted? My kitchen stays warm.
Christal says
December 26, 2016 at 11:05 PMWhy can’t it be melted? My kitchen stays warm.
Also, can I substitute grapeseed or olive oil for coconut oil? Thank you.
Rachel Kaly says
December 27, 2016 at 8:46 AMIf 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.
Delaney says
April 12, 2016 at 11:05 AMLooks great! Could I possibly go without the Aloe and it still be ok?
Rachel Kaly says
April 12, 2016 at 1:56 PMYeah you definitely could!
Rachel Kaly says
April 12, 2016 at 1:58 PMYes you could!!
Terri Taylor says
April 14, 2016 at 6:07 PMHey 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?
Rachel Kaly says
April 14, 2016 at 8:08 PMHi, 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! 🙂
Melissa says
May 4, 2016 at 9:40 AMThank you. This will be great for me.
I love your blog!
Rachel Kaly says
May 4, 2016 at 10:35 AMThank you so much!
Alma says
July 8, 2016 at 6:00 PMCan I use aloe from real plant instead of jelly
Rachel Kaly says
July 8, 2016 at 6:17 PMAbsolutely!
Maddie says
October 24, 2016 at 8:53 AMcould salt be used instead of sugar?
Rachel Kaly says
October 25, 2016 at 7:07 PMYou know I’m not sure! I would guess that it would be fine. Try it and let me know! 🙂
amber says
January 9, 2018 at 10:44 PMHi! Trying this tomorrow im super excited! I like to make products i can keep over months of time, would this be for me?
Katie Smith says
February 20, 2019 at 7:33 PMI 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!
Carole says
November 2, 2016 at 3:24 PMHi
I dont have solid coconut oil, only liquid. Can I use cocoa butter or shea butter instead ?
Thanks
Rachel Kaly says
November 2, 2016 at 7:26 PMCocoa butter might be too hard but shea butter could work! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Briana says
December 18, 2016 at 1:24 PMIs there a difference between aloe gel and aloe gelly? Lily of the desert sells both. Does it matter which kind I use?
Rachel Kaly says
December 19, 2016 at 9:35 AMI 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.
Raven says
December 21, 2016 at 1:57 PMJust wondering, would there be any foreseen problems if I used the green tea bags after steeping them?
Rachel Kaly says
December 21, 2016 at 3:38 PMI 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.
Amyah says
January 31, 2017 at 12:07 PMWhich kind of sugar could I use? Is any kind will do?
Rachel Kaly says
February 1, 2017 at 11:41 AMI used regular white sugar, but any kind will do. 🙂
Trushali says
March 7, 2017 at 11:08 AMHello 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?
Rachel Kaly says
March 12, 2017 at 1:52 PMUse the fresh! Since you already have it and I’m sure its even healthier. 🙂
Aliyanna Miller says
March 12, 2017 at 1:04 PMHey, can you use any other essential oils besides tea tree? Please let me know?
Rachel Kaly says
March 12, 2017 at 1:53 PMSure 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. 🙂
Lizzie || Wholehearted Life Coach says
April 12, 2017 at 7:08 PMI 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.
Ragz says
November 1, 2017 at 11:34 PMHi 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 ?
Rachel Kaly says
December 7, 2017 at 2:06 PMGood 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. 🙂
Pamela says
January 29, 2018 at 10:19 AMHey ! I want to know
how long would it last in a jar? Can I have it in the refrigerator?
Rachel Kaly says
February 17, 2018 at 9:31 AMYou 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. 🙂
Kaye says
February 18, 2018 at 7:54 AMHi!!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??
Rachel Kaly says
March 16, 2018 at 12:28 PMAs 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!
Ruchikka Thomas says
March 21, 2018 at 12:21 AMCan we use fresh aloe vera gel
Rachel Kaly says
March 21, 2018 at 10:59 AMYes!
Debbie says
April 11, 2018 at 10:24 PMDo 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!
Rachel Kaly says
April 12, 2018 at 6:14 AMIt should be room temperature if possible! If it’s too solid or too liquid you won’t be able to use it as easily. 🙂
G. Turpin says
April 26, 2018 at 4:13 PMHi. How long can this last and do i just keep it in room temperature? Thanks
Rachel Kaly says
April 26, 2018 at 4:29 PMHey! 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. 🙂
Evangelist says
August 14, 2018 at 1:46 PMSounds Good! How long can I store this scrub ?
Doris says
September 19, 2018 at 9:50 PMCoconut 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.
Rachel Kaly says
September 24, 2018 at 1:59 PMSome people find Shea butter to be less oily feeling!
alice says
November 28, 2018 at 7:38 AMfor how long can it be used like how long can it stay without rotting
Shauna says
December 5, 2018 at 1:18 AMWhat type of skin would this be good for? I have red, dry skin. Would this work?
Rachel Kaly says
December 5, 2018 at 11:43 AMI’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.
Susan Ramsey says
February 24, 2019 at 12:36 AMLove 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
Lisa @Beautynskincare says
May 15, 2019 at 11:51 PMBoth aloe vera and green tea has great antioxidants properties which can help to get a healthy looking glowing skin. I will definitely try this face scrub. Thanks for sharing.