Guess what? You don’t need to buy fancy expensive beauty products to exfoliate your skin and keep it looking radiant! You have everything you need right in your fridge or pantry! Check out my top 10 favorite foods that double as skin care products, then keep reading for 5 easy DIY sugar scrubs that are gentle enough for your face!

Ten Foods You Can Use to Exfoliate Your Skin

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Quick disclaimer: while these foods are generally safe to use to exfoliate your skin, if you a skin condition you’ll want to check with your dermatologist first. Also, obviously, if you’re allergic to a specific food, you’ll want to skip that one. I know that seems like common sense, but I just want to repeat it anyway to be safe.

1. Strawberries

There are two easy ways to apply strawberries to your face.

• One way is by smashing the strawberries and placing them on your face as a mask.
• Another method is to just rub the strawberries all over your skin.

Working as an antioxidant, the strawberries will get rid of any oils on your face which will result in brightened skin.

2. Eggs

You can use either the whole egg or just the egg white.

• The whole egg will offer your skin more moisturizer than the egg white would.
• The egg whites will tighten your pores, though, and will help you in getting firmer skin.

All you have to do is rub the egg all over your clean face and then a simple egg mask will form.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of the best and most inexpensive ways to get rid of any pesky dead cells on your face.

• To get the best results, start off with a freshly cleaned face.
• Gently scrub your face with a paste of baking soda and distilled water for about 10 minutes.

4. Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is a great thing to add to any mask. It brightens your skin, tightens your pores, and cuts through the oil on your face. You can apply it right onto your face for about five minutes or just add it to an egg white mask.

5. Honey

Honey can be applied just as the lemon juice. It can either be used by itself or be mixed with another mask. You can even use it as a moisturizer that can help control breakouts. In theory, you can put it on your face and leave it there as long as you want, but I would rinse it off after a few minutes. I mean, you don’t really want to slather honey on your face and then go outside…especially in the summer during buggy months!

Related:3 Creative Ways to Use Honey to Improve Your Health

6. Bananas

You will want to use bananas that have some brown in them as these will work the best. Bananas can greatly exfoliate your skin and will give a dull skin a greater complexion. They will moisturize and are great for all skin types.

• Mash up the bananas and rub all over your skin – adding a bit of honey if you’d like.
• Rinse off after about 10 minutes.

7. Oats

Grind them into a powder and add water. The oats with the added water will make a great moisturizing scrub. Substituting water for milk can soothe dry and sunburned skin.

8. Yogurt

The lactic acid in yogurt is a great way to leave your skin feeling fresh and exfoliated. Yogurt can be used as a brightener and a moisturizer.

9. Almonds

Like oats, you will want to grind up almonds too. Turn them into a powder. They will moisturize, exfoliate, and cleanse your skin.

10. Sugar

Sugar is a great exfoliant, helping to brush away old skin cells and expose newer, healthier cells. It also draws moisture into the skin and is a form of alpha hydroxy acid, which assists with cell turnover as well.

Keep reading for some great sugar scrubs that are gentle enough for your face.

Homemade Sugar Scrubs for Your Face

While most sugar scrubs recipes (including products sold in stores) are meant for your body and not your face, you can still take advantage of the powerful exfoliating nature of sugar with these easy DIY recipes! Just remember the common sense rule: if you have a skin condition, talk to your doctor. Even the most gentle sugar face scrubs can be irritating to those with incredibly sensitive skin, eczema, or other conditions.

You’ll notice that these scrubs use brown sugar versus regular old sugar. There’s a reason for that: brown sugar has a texture that is just gentler on your skin.

1. Brown Sugar Vanilla Coconut Oil Scrub

This recipe smells good enough to eat. Just don’t try it, I promise it doesn’t taste as good as it smells!

• Take one half cup of brown sugar, and mix it with 1/4 cup coconut oil and a few drops of real vanilla extract.
• Mix and apply 1 tablespoon to your face with your middle finger, so as not to push too hard and damage sensitive facial skin.
• When you are finished, gently rinse it off with a warm wash cloth and then splash your face with cold water to close your pores.

2. Soothing Chamomile Oat Sugar Scrub

This is a soothing mixture when your face needs a little extra tender loving care. Oats soften skin and chamomile is known for its calming properties.

• Simply mix 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup olive oil, a few tablespoons of ground rolled oats, and a few tablespoons of strongly brewed chamomile tea.
• Mix together and apply it to your face, then leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing.

3. Geranium Clean Pore Scrub

Essential oil of geranium is known to help prevent acne breakouts, and it assists in regulating oil production. Hemp oil is a non-clogging oil, and actually works in an opposite manner, helping unclog skin pores.

• Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup hemp oil and a few drops of essential oil of geranium.
• Apply to your face in a gentle circular motion, and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing.

4. Lavender Sugar Scrub

This is a great sugar scrub to use on scars. While I can’t guarantee that it will get rid of said scars, each of these ingredients plays a role in helping to remove scars from your face, whether they are caused by acne or other trauma. Coconut oil has healing properties, vitamin E is well-known for healing scarring on the skin, and lavender helps regenerate skin cells.

• Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup coconut oil, one capsule of Vitamin E and a few drops of essential oil of lavender.
• Apply and leave on for a few minutes, then rinse just until the sugar is gone (you want some of the lavender and vitamin E to stay behind). Pat dry.

5. Anti-Aging Lemon Scrub

Olive oil contains polyphenols and oleic acid, both of which help to combat aging of the skin. Argan oil has high levels of Vitamin E and saponins, both of which help soften skin and reduce the appearance of aging. Essential oil of lemon is a natural skin toner, giving your face a healthy glow.

• Take 1/2 cup of brown sugar and mix it with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon argan oil, and a few drops of lemon essential oil.
• Same as above: rinse just until the sugar is gone, leaving a bit of the oils behind.

Keep in mind that cold-pressed lemon essential oil is phototoxic, which means you should avoid excessive sun exposure for 48 hours after using it on your skin.

See how easy it is to DIY your own sugar scrub for your face? Aside from the essential oils and argan oil, these ingredients should be on your grocery store shelves. No need to go to special stores! For essential oils, I buy from Amazon or Artnaturals. If you buy on Amazon, just check the reviews and go with the best that you can afford.

What other foods do you use to exfoliate your skin? What are your favorite sugar scrub recipes?