I use sugar + honey. Works wonders!

Read the book No More Dirty Looks - it just came out this summer. Covers this and so many more issues w/ cosmetics and beauty products. Great ideas for a few DIY options as well as premade "clean" products.

There are about one squillion books out there about this very topic.

The most bare-boned scrubs I know of are nothing more than "mix a little cornmeal/baking soda/ground oatmeal/ground almonds/whatever with a little water until it makes a paste. Use it to scrub your face." The ground oatmeal and ground almonds is one I see the most -- both are especially good for all skin types, and they store really well -- just fling some oatmeal and some almonds in your food processor or spice grinder and whizz it all up until it's powdered, and then you can keep it in a jar in the bathroom and dole out a little at a time.

Personally, though, I like having SOME soap-type substance in my scrubs (I've actually been having better luck with some weird soap I picked up at a craft fair that the manufacturer added SALT to), and if you're the same way, you can handle that by just taking a very mild soap and grating that fine, then mixing it with the oatmeal-and-almond-powder. A plain castille soap is good for this -- plain castille soaps are generally very mild for the face and gentle on the environment (it's just an olive-oil based soap, the way they've been making it for hundreds of years), and they also tend to be hard so they grate well.

Check out Lush.com -- they have some fresh facial masks/scrubs available (refrigerated). Read the ingredients and use that as a base for getting stared.

I would be careful about putting edible oils in the skin, as they can be absorbed into the blood. I have seen cases of food intolerance occur because of topical application of things. In example -- I had a patient who NEVER ate chocolate (didn't like it), but used a cocoa butter-based hand cream and had a very high food intolerance response to chocolate. When she changed to a different hand cream, her antibodies went down (meaning intolerance decreased).

Our GI tract is exquisitely designed to keep things out, but by schmearing things on the skin you are by-passing that protection and the substance can go directly into the blood where your immune system may decide it's a bad guy and attack. Just a heads up...

My skin oily and prone to clogged pores and breakouts. It's also sensitive. Most soaps, including castille, and shampoos make my face break out. The *only* thing that keeps my face clean, with no breakouts, is a paste I make with baking soda and water! I keep a container of baking soda (dry) in the bathroom and scoop a bit out as needed. Sometimes I rinse it right off/Sometimes I let it sit a while.

Speaking as a recovering Cosmetics Beauty Advisor/Makeup Guru, I would not recommend using St. Ives or anything with ground up apricot pits--they do horrible damage to your skin as they are extremely sharp and too big. Instead, you can use sugar or even a fine volcanic ash if you can get your hands on it.

We had one of those UV/microscopic machines that show your skin condition, sun damage, etc. and you could clearly tell who used apricot scrub (not to mention the horrible chemical burns from people using certain party-sales type skincare and a certain cheap store brand that resembles a small body of water you might find in your backyard or a park).

P.S. Sugar, milk, and apples all have Alpha- and Beta-hydroxies, the very chemicals used in high-end cosmetic scrubs/treatments. The bonus with sugar is that it not only is a chemical scrub (due to the enzymes), but it is also a physical scrub (due to its rough, granular nature). Just be sure to let it dissolve slightly so you're not rubbing raw sugar crystals against your skin and doing damage.

When I was in college, I desperately needed a face scrub but had absolutely no extra money for such things. I ended up using just granulated sugar and a bit of water.... it worked so well that I've continued to use it for the past 7 years. I did find that my skin would get dry and then over oilify itself, but a tiny bit of olive oil applied after the scrub seems to even things out.

Baking soda and water into a paste! There's no yummy smell, but it works amazingly well, is really gentle because the grains are so tiny, and of course is dirt-cheap.

ladies: tell me more about your technique on how to turn a box of baking soda in the bathroom into a facial scrub (pretty please.) Do you scoop some into your hand? and then add water and mush it about? do you use a bowl? and a spoon?

I like this idea. I make my own body scrub out of muscovado sugar and safflower oil, and I'm am sold 100% on the skin and wallet benefits!

Just organic sugar! It's the best!!!!

I got tired of paying high prices for department store toner/clarifying lotion that worked best on my oily skin. This recipe has nearly identical ingredient and works equally well for me, without the preservatives, coloring, and packaging.

Toner for oily skin
1/4 cup 80 proof vodka
1/4 cup witch hazel
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
4 drops white willow bark extract

I use a combination of yogurt and green tea powder. It's not exactly a scrub but the lactose in the yogurt helps to exfoliate and the green tea helps soothe. I prefer using strawberry yogurt but any flavor will do :P

@ilovebutter: that's ridiculous that you'd suggest to be careful about putting food-grade products on your skin. it would follow that since food-grade is often more pure than what is in traditional cosmetics, we'd be MUCH better off putting those products on our even-more-absorbent skin.

I sure as hell don't like the idea of putting something on my skin that would make me sick if I ate it....

And chances are your friend probably already HAD a sensitivity to cacao, but exacerbated it by using a product containing cocoa butter thus increasing the level of sensitivity. I call bullsh*t on the statement that using cocoa butter CAUSED an allergy to chocolate.

P.S. for anyone interested, you can always consult with Skin Deep (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) to find out what ingredients are in a specific product, how safe they are for your skin, and even what environmental risks those ingredients carry.

I love making a gingerbread scrub- molasses is great for your skin I remember reading so I use a spoonful of sugar, a little molasses, a little honey, a few drops of olive oil and some cinnamon (it stimulates circulation) and scrub away. You're face is super soft after and it smells like Fall.

mix yogurt, oatmeal, honey and bananas and scrub your skin with it, then leave it on. You won't believe how soft and even your skin feels/looks.

Seriously don't laugh try the Oil Cleaning Meathod, no need to scrub and seriously, it really cleans your pores after a couple of uses. Also if you have a problem area the start to 'get ripe' quicker, it may be clogged pores. I had a problem with the area being my ears getting that 'ripe smell' (and yes I washed behind my ears) and one night I was using the mask and did behind my ears, and I have stopped having that problem! Here is the article on the mask:
http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com

Coffee dregs. Works good on dry skin because it's a little oily.

I'm the gal that posted this question and I am so grateful for all the help you are all sending my way! I've used this scrub since I was in high school and now that I am significantly into my late 20's, I thought I might try something else! I am also curious, with Sarah!F on how you store these scrubs. I tend to use mine in the shower, and the humidity of the bathroom worries me. Thanks AT readers!!

I keep a little jar of baking soda in my shower & just use it as a scrub...sometimes I mix in a bit of castile soap. showering makes it so I thoroughly wash it off. I just make a watery paste & use it where needed

@SarahF!
I just put about 1/3c of white sugar in the palm of my hand, and wet my face with the other hand-

then i just use my fingers to swipe the sugar on my face- it dissolves relatively quickly, so I like this method best rather than pre-mixing in a bowl.

My favorite exfoliant by far- I use it in the shower from time to time in the winter for my body too-

Re: the baking soda "paste," I keep it simple. I buy a big ol' bag of it at Sam's Wholesale, then fill up a pretty plastic jar and keep it by my bathtub. Even though I keep a little scoop in the jar, I usually just dip some soda out with my hand--maybe a tablespoon--and barely get it wet. You can't go wrong.

I didn't say this earlier, but I've had a dermatologist and an esthetician, and I don't think either believed me when I told them why my skin is so much clearer.

I've also used a baking soda/corn starch combo instead of antiperspirant. I used a fluffy makeup brush, sometimes sprinkling it w/tea tree or lilac oil. The only reason I'm back to roll-on is because it's speedier.

I do the baking soda paste method too.
Sometimes I'll squish a strawberry in there, if I'm feeling fancy.
I also use it as my sole shampoo.

What is the process for washing your hair with baking soda? I've been wanting to do that too.

Yeah! Coffee grinds.

one of my friends works as a skin care therapist and says all her body scrubs are is just dr. brauner's peppermint liquid soap and sugar. mixed 'til it's a dryish paste - mmmmmmmm. it's all tingly and nice.

i prefer a bit of finely ground salt into my face wash when i need to exfoliate, but it's probably just a random bias.

I use coffee grinds on my body all the time with some olive or coconut oil mixed in. Makes my skin very soft! For my face I use green tea and ground amla (Indian gooseberry which you can get at Indian markets), which are both nice since when they get in the water they soften up just a bit so they don't tear my skin, but they also do a great job of exfoliating, and have lots of antioxidants! I also do full fat greek yogurt facials when my skin is looking a little tired and it looks amazing after ten to twenty minutes of just leaving that on - nice and plump and fresh. I seriously love using kitchen items as beauty products. Honey for lip gloss. Beet juice (if you boil the beets longer the juice goes from bright pink to deep red and then to a burnt orange kind of color, so it's customizable :) )or raspberries sometimes for cheek and lip stain, or to brighten up the red in my hair. So satisfying to know that something that is just sitting in my house can feed me and make me look pretty :)

I use a three-stage sugar scrub. Demerera, granulated, then caster, mixed with a small amount of moisturising hand soap. Does my skin wonders, it's like sanding wood with progressively finer grades of emery cloth!

Scoutmandoo: For baking soda "shampoo," I put a small amount (a teaspoon?) of baking soda in a plastic cup and add water. I wet my hair and pour the contents of the cup through it. Then rinse. Despite rinsing, it *does* leave a residue that I can feel, but then I don't need any mousse. I switch between the baking soda and Neutrogena's "amber" bar. I have no idea what's in that, but it keeps me from breaking out. I used Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint soap for years (I still have 2 gallons of it!), but, eventually, even that made my face and chest break out. I'm just so darn sensitive, aren't I?

My favorite body scrub is:
1/3 cup fine salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
enough Grapeseed or Jojoba oil to make the mixture scoop-able without being too runny
essential oil (I like peppermint and grapefruit)

I keep the mixture in a jar in my bathroom. A great exfoliant and keeps my skin moisturized in the dry Colorado climate.

As for baking soda shampoo, make sure you scrub your scalp with the mixture to ensure you remove any buildup. A hairdresser told me not to use too often as it can strip the natural oils in your hair and your scalp will compensate by making your hair too oily. I do it about every 3-4 weeks.

I don't use body scrubs, but I have horrible oily yet dry acne prone skin. I find my skin is better when I don't do much to it, but when I do use a mask I like honey with enough salt to make a thick paste, then a little lemon juice to loosen it up. Put it on my clean face, let it dry while in the bath, then scrub off for silky greaseless skin...

I use honey with a little cinnamon and nutmeg combined to a paste and left on the skin for about 10 minutes. When rinsed off, the nutmeg exfoliates.

@fergmelk -- It seems you lack basic knowledge about the physiology of digestion and immunity.

Sure, this particular patient probably acquired anti-chocolate antibodies at some point in her life. However, when her only contact with chocolate was through topical application of cocoa butter resulted in a high IgG antibody response, clearly the cocoa butter was absorbing into her blood stream. To deny that is ignorant. When she discontinued use of said products, we retested her a couple of months later and the antibodies went down. This is a very clear cause/effect. I have treated hundreds of patients with food allergies and seen other such responses to almond, coconut and other edible oils commonly used in cosmetic products.

My only point is that what we put on our skin has the ability to absorb into the blood stream. 70% of your antibodies are in the GI tract as your body wants to make sure bad things stay out. I'm simply saying that by by-passing this system, you may encounter some trouble. You may call that BS, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation.

And, no where did I endorse using synthetic products. Rather, I educate patients on healing their skin from within so they don't need to resort to topical products. You'd be amazed what a difference fish, flax and primrose oils, vitamin C and polyphenols will do for dryness, hydration, wrinkles and pimples.

@fergmelk I think you misunderstood what ilovebutter was trying to say. I don't think they meant that using food grade oils will CAUSE dietary intolerances, rather to be careful in using food oils if you ALREADY HAVE a dietary intolerance.

Personally, I have allergies to certain fruits--a mild, itchy-throat and stomach-ache kind of allergy--and I was warned to stay away from skin products utilizing the oils of these fruits. I thought that since my stomach intolerance of these fruits was so slight, I could ignore the warnings, and tried a night cream that had fruit oils in it. I broke out in rashes.

Maybe you can call it BS and say that something else in the night cream caused my rashes. Sure, it's possible, but that's quite a coincidence, isn't it?

Stomach ache when I eat it. Rashes if I put it on my skin. Makes sense to me.