DIY Lip Scrub

I first saw this at LUSH. They had testers so I tried it. Its a little messy but you can literally eat it after and from what I hear, most people do just lick it off. The scrub exfoliates your lips which is something I know my lips don't normally get. It leaves them really soft. Usually these lip scrubs are sugar based but there's a wide range of recipes out there now. I saw recipes that used coffee beans, salt, or brown sugar instead of sugar.
With the cold weather we've been having in New York this year, my lips have gotten really chapped. I thought a lip scrub would probably help. I found recipes that used honey, olive oil, pumpkin, peppermint, vanilla or ginger. I used what I already had in my apartment, some regular white sugar, some blue sugar candy I ground up, a tiny bit of coconut oil and a few drops of grapefruit oil. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

For more recipe ideas:
Checkout this article with step-by-step pictures

DIY Body Scrubs

I like to use a mix of fine and coarse ground sea salt in my body scrubs. Finer salt is more gentle so better for people with sensitive skin. Coarser salt is able to exfoliate more and help your skin get clean.You can find these at any grocery store,should only cost a few dollars. Then I add oil. Different oils have different benefits and treat different skin issues. For example, grape seed oil strengthens and tightens skin while moisturizing to fight aging. Grape seed oil has anti-inflammatory properties that make it good for people with sensitive skin. Coconut oil has a nice smell and contains vitamin E to help repair damaged skin. In my own experience, coconut oil really makes my skin smooth. I got my oils at the Queens Health Emporium my local health food store. I'm sure they could also be ordered online.

The essential oils and extracts are mainly used for scent since salt and oils don’t have much of a smell. Fresh fruit juices or shavings of peel can also be used. Citrus fruits are great because the smell really comes through, especially if it’s fresh. I have used fresh lime and grapefruit in the past and I highly suggest it, I loved the smell. I found these other essential oils at the health food store and on amazon. (just regular lime juice from the grocery store)

One example of a scrub I made contained sea salt, apricot oil, coconut oil, orange extract, and lime juice. 

The ratio and ingredients are up to you depending how you want the finished product to be. I like mine the constancy of wet send. I usually start out by filling a container halfway with salt. I add oils until it is saturated, mix it and then add more salt and fragrances. It’s so easy and inexpensive compared to similar products on the market now. One 200 mL jar sized batch usually lasts me 2-3 weeks. My skin feels great and I feel good about what I'm using to clean my body. Many commercial body care products contain a long ingredient list of chemicals. I prefer something with a few simple ingredients that I know and understand. There are some of natural products on the market now, but I find many of them are cost prohibitive. The oils and extracts will last a while. I haven't run out of any of mine and I've made seven or eight batches. I've had to buy more salt but it's pretty inexpensive.

DIY Acne Spot Treatment/Toner

Audreys DIY Acne Spot Treatment/Toner

Compare to “Grease Lightning” spot treatment from LUSH

These simple ingredients are all you need for a spot treatment that cleans dirt and destroys bacteria while softening and moisturizing the skin. I have been using the LUSH version for the last five months and loving it. I made my own version that I have been using for about four weeks now. It’s a little more liquidy than the version LUSH sells but it still seems to work. In the future I might try incorporating some other ingredients like thyme or grapeoils but I think this basic mix is pretty effective. I use it after I wash my face and whenever I get a bad breakout I cover it in this stuff. You just apply it to skin and let it dry. I like it because it helps with acne as well as making my skin smooth and soft, neverdried out. To make just mix these ingredients useing only a few drops of the oils:

Ingredients:

Witch Hazel Hamamelis-comes from small bushes native to North America, used by Native Americans as medicine, astringent (closes pores) & antioxidant, great for your skin, anti-aging effects, treats acne, blisters,and eczema. Can be used on bug bites

AloeVera gel-has been used for thousands of years in herbal medicine, strengthens and hydrates skin

Tea Tree Oil Melaleucaalternifolia-comes from the leaves of a tree native to southern Australia, antiseptic, helps with acne without drying out skin, also used as dandruff cure

Grapefruit Essential Oil Citrus paradisi- I have added this for the smell because the tea tree is a strong odor. Grapefruit contains antioxidants like d-limonene that nourish the skin