So, here we are deep in the abyss of winter. I’m feeling it, the husband is feeling it, and the kids are waaaay beyond feeling it. Cue Crazy-town. Does anyone else have a home that looks like an explosion of one too many Pinterest Winter-Boredom-Buster pins gone wrong?
Anyway, I digress. My home isn’t the only one feeling the visual pain of a long and freaking freezing wintertime. Enter my visage. I’m fairly certain my face is going to slough off and die thanks to all of this harsh arctic air. That’s gross, but whatever.
And while I wish weekly trips to the spa were in my cards, we all know that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. But not to fret, because who needs a spa when they have a bowl full of lemons. Enter the exfoliator.
This lemon exfoliator is easy-peasy and works just as well as any high end product I’ve tried, and what’s better, I’m sure you have all of the ingredients sitting in your cupboard.
Recipe for Homemade Lemon Exfoliator
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 T Olive Oil (find quality oils to purchase here)
5 T Sugar
1 tsp Honey
Mix together all ingredients in a jar until smooth. After washing your face and while skin is still damp, gently rub exfoliator into skin with fingers in a circular motion. Great for the lips too! (I dare you not to taste it!) Rinse well with warm water. Follow up with moisturizer of choice. Ask everyone within a reasonable distance to come feel the softness that is otherwise known as your face. This recipe makes enough for 3-4 separate uses. I like to store it in a glass jar with a lid.
As far as a cost breakdown goes, it’s cheaper than cheap. The entire recipe cost is around $1.25, depending on the price of your lemon. Each recipe is good for 3-4 uses, so that’s $0.31-$0.42 per use. I think this would make a super cute (and economical) friend gift.
Let’s talk about the benefits of our sweet (literally!) and simple ingredients:
Lemon: Acts as a natural brightener while evening skin tones and lightening acne and other scars.
Olive Oil: Exceptional moisturizer that packs a powerful anti-oxidant punch against sun damage and other environmental pollutants.
Sugar: Perfect sized granules for gently scrubbing away dead skin cells.
Honey: Another moisturizer that does wonders without clogging pores. Natural anti-oxidants help slow down the again process.
Tell me that’s not something to shout about. Now this should go without saying, but this is 2014, the age of needless warnings. We’re going for a nice natural glow—not a skin rubbed raw until it’s bleeding kind of look. Take it as you will.
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients in a jar until smooth. After washing your face and while skin is still damp, gently rub exfoliator into skin with fingers in a circular motion. Great for the lips too! (I dare you not to taste it!) Rinse well with warm water. Follow up with moisturizer of choice. Ask everyone within a reasonable distance to come feel the softness that is otherwise known as your face. This recipe makes enough for 3-4 separate uses. I like to store it in a glass jar with a lid.
Now grab some friends for girls’ night, your daughter for a date, or lock yourself in the bathroom for a much needed mommy break and get (gently) scrubbing!
Do you think this will burn sensitive skin? I have a peeled lemon I need to use (the peel was for tea), but we just don’t use actual lemon that much.
I think you should be just fine, but to be safe it’s always a good idea to test it out on a small patch of skin first. Let me know what you think!
Can you use limes instead of lemon? I have a bunch of limes that if I don’t use soon will just be sent to the compost pile?
I have never tried using limes instead of lemons. Try it out and let me know what you think! 🙂
i just did it and, as all my friends now, i get desperate for simple things, so, i wanted to do it and i only have limes. I did it and i try it on my lips and OH MY GOD, it’s just perfect and it totally worked, so it’s 100% recommended to do it with limes
I always thought that olive oil would clog the pores??? What about using coconut oil???
Thanks, as always, for all your hard work and inspiration.
I’ve used a similar scrub before with olive oil and I’ve never had any problems. I do have drier skin though. I think as long as you’re using a higher quality oil you should be fine. I’m sure coconut oil would work great though!
I was wondering the same thing about coconut oil. If you try it out, let me know how it works!
Coconut oil is slightly commedonic (or how ever it is spelled) but olive oil is better, I think
Sooo….it’s -10 degrees here in Denver this morning…Bible study is cancelled….and I’m stuck inside…could I use the bottled lemon juice rather than fresh…. ’cause this girl isn’t doing any shopping today!!! There is something said about winter though…the beauty of the snow on everything…we’re able to see this more here in Denver lately as with these low temps the snow isn’t melting within the same day like it usually does!!! Stay warm….you have that recent Super Bowl victory “heat” to stay toasty…we in Denver……well, you know!!!
I love using natural scrubs on my face and have used quite a few with lemon as an ingredient. I think using a fresh lemon is pretty darn important. Bottled lemon juice usually has preservatives and the like, which is never a good thing when it comes to putting it on your face!
I haven’t tried using bottled lemon juice in this recipe. There is something to be said about squeezing the lemon and getting that fresh juice for this recipe that I think makes it very successful! Try it out and let me know what you think! 🙂
I am also wondering about the fresh vs. bottled lemon juice… and the coconut oil vs. olive oil questions! Otherwise, homemade sugar scrubs are AWESOME. In the past, I have used sugar and sea salt to create scrubs… and there is a great recipe online for a coffee scrub, which is a great way to use up coffee grounds.
Thanks for the fun “5 minute all about me” experience today!!! The olive oil really took care of all of my dry skin patches, though the lemon juice didn’t quite cover all of the oil’s scent. Not sure I needed to add moisturizer after rinsing…it did that good of a hydration job! Was fun tasting a face product (yum)…have to say I’ve never done that before!!!!
Thank you for this recipe. I would have to add that you need to quantify the amount of lemon juice. For example, I made this using the juice of 1 lemon which measured out to be 5 tbsp. I thought this was excessive but decided to go ahead with the recipe which I think was a mistake. The result was an oily, sweet, lemon juice concoction with no sugar grains remaining. Should this have been the result? Take 2: Poured 5 tbsp. sugar into a small container, added honey, olive oil, and 2 tbsp. of lemon juice. Stirred until the mixture was evenly moistened (add more lemon juice as necessary to bring about a moist, yet grainy product). Also, this will surely last a lot longer than 3-4 applications unless of course you’re using for the whole body.
Hi. Just wondering if it should be refrigerated.
It doesn’t need to be refrigerated but that might make it feel good on a hot day..someday we will have those again! 🙂
This will be a necessary shower must have for me. I added to much honey but don’t want to waste the product. My skin is soft and I’m very happy with the results. I just bought a jar if coconut oil as well so next batch I will try it in place of the olive oil.
Do you have a recipe for a bigger quantity at a time? Like a half pint jar? Would love to have it like this.
Thank you,
Barbara
I am sure you can just double or even triple the recipe to make a bigger quantity! 🙂
Hey, i was just wondering if it is liquid or be pastey?
The consistency will be more like a paste!
I did the recipe as said above but mine is more of a liquid. Is there a certain amount of time I need to stir or do I add a bit more of something?
Add more sugar if you feel like it is too liquidy. Sometimes you get a juicer lemon than other times!
Hown often do you suggest using this?
I would probably say once a week or anytime you need a pick-me-up for your skin!
I just found your site about 4 hours ago and even though I am at work, I have been surfing through it pretty much non-stop inbetween customers and phone calls! Awesome site and if I didn’t have to work I’d be ALL over every one of your posts experimenting my head off!
That being said…about a month ago, I made a face scrub similar to this (fresh lemon, brown and white sugar, grape seed oil (I like it better for the face, less ‘oily’), and baking soda (I used the baking soda to even out the acid/base ratio of the lemon). Anyways, it was AWESOME, my skin was bright, pores were minimized, skin tight…I couldn’t have paid $50 for a better product. Well, I posted my findings on reddit.com/makeupaddiction and you would’ve thought I told those girls/guys I put straight LYE on my face. I got downvoted to hell and the comments were terrible. Apparently, lemon is one of the worst things you can put on your face?? I beg to differ, I LOVE my lemon face scrub. Have you heard/experienced any negative effects?
I just made this lemon exfoliater and I loved it! It made my skin super soft and it smells (and tastes) wonderful!!! Thanks for this ingenious and thrifty recipe!
You’re welcome! Glad you like it!
Hello!! I love all your recipes and am looking forward to trying them! I was wondering where you got the recipes, and if you made them yourself, could I sell them? (I’m 11. Just letting you know =).) I would make a tag to go on the jar and all credits would go to you.
Thanks!
-Sedona
UPDATE:
I was wondering if I could sell other items too.
Sedona, Anything you make of mine you can sell! I love that you are 11 and already so smart! Good luck in your ventures! Let me know how it goes.
Could it be made with a Lemon essential oil instead of the lemon juice?
How do you store it
I usually use a small glass jar or an old plastic container with a lid.
Thank you! I made it this morning and my skin is so soft.
Hi, I was just wondering how long this could be stored for before it went off/dried up? Thanks 🙂
It hasn’t gone dry on me before I have used it all up. I would say about a month!
I can’t imagine there’s much of a difference – but can I sub brown sugar for white here?
I have never subbed white sugar for brown sugar before! It might be worth it a try!
What does the “T” mean when you say 1 T olive oil and 5 T sugar? Thanks!
T = Tablespoon 🙂
I love your site – just found it on pinterest. I’ve made similar scrubs and olive oil is great for the skin. I’ve used both kinds of sugars in many different proportions, depending on what I have, and if it goes dry, just remix with more oil 🙂 Awesome – I will have to try w/lemons!
Can you use brown sugar?
I have never subbed the white sugar for brown sugar before! It might be worth it a try!
I just made the lemon exfoliator. Mine came out very liquidy. I’m not sure how it would turn out like a paste.
Maybe your lemon had more juice…try adding in more sugar to get the right consistency.
I just disi this and it was amazing!!! I tried on my face and i liked so much that I exfoliated my whole body with it and my skin is so soft and hydrated. Thanks for this recipe! Xoxo
Hi. Tried this scrub. Absolutely amazing!! My skin looks and feels so much cleaner already. Not to mention soft!! I was just wondering. How often can I use this scrub?
it doesn’t mater if it is a mexican lemon
its because this kind of lemons are smaller and i think that the cuantity is like of 2 lemos or something like that
Dose it have to be olive oil or could I use EVOO??
EVOO works too!
Can I use lime instead of lemon?
I just tried this and my skin is sooo soft and clean! Thank you!