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20 Natural Face Scrub For Combination Skin
Having combination skin can be frustrating at times because you struggle with both dry and oily skin. The problem becomes especially noticeable when trying to make your own natural face scrub. While some ingredients work great to prevent an oil sleep they may end up too harsh for the drier areas of your face. On the other hand, gentler face scrubs may not work to keep your pores from clogging. Luckily, there are plenty of DIY face scrub recipes that work both ways to keep your combination skin healthy and glowing.
1. Oatmeal and Honey Scrub
This scrub recipe by Girl With Curves has it all. The antimicrobial and nourishing properties of honey and the anti-inflammatory properties of oatmeal. Both ingredients are recommended to people with various skin disorders from eczema to acne. [1]
2. Sugar Scrub
Sugar scrubs come in endless versions, but we recommend this one by Wellness Mama. Sugar crystals will provide you with the mechanical exfoliation you need to peel off dead skin cells while a carrier oil of your own liking will give your skin the nourishment it needs.
3. Rice and Milk Scrub
This rice and milk scrub contains additional ingredients that work great on combination skin. These ingredients are olive oil, orange essence, cinnamon, and lemon. The rice and lemon will provide skin brightening benefits while cinnamon will keep blemishes at bay. The olive oil helps condition the skin while orange essence gives you that spa experience.
4. Green Tea Scrub
This green tea scrub contains only four ingredients – sugar, olive oil, raw honey, and of course, green tea. Green tea here is particularly beneficial when you have combination skin prone to blackheads. A study published in Hippokratia found that green tea applied on the skin helps control sebum production. [2]
5. Baking Soda Scrub
Baking soda can be used for almost anything, including as a face scrub ingredient. To keep it simple, add a teaspoon of baking soda to your palm and pour a couple of drops of water to dilute the mixture slightly for easy spreading. Baking soda will cleanse your skin perfectly and the grittiness will give you ample exfoliation. [3]
6. Coffee Scrub
This coffee scrub recipe contains 4-5 ingredients, all of which will give your skin a bit of a boost when you’re feeling tired. The ground coffee used is rich in antioxidants that will help protect your skin from free radical damage. The addition of the other ingredients makes this a moisturizing, gentle scrub for the face.
7. Almond Face Scrub
If you make your own almond milk from scratch, then you’ll find this recipe quite useful. The recipe uses the leftover almond pulp, almond oil, and an essential oil for a gentle and nourishing face scrub. Almond oil is known to be great for the skin, with studies showing that it even protected the skin against sun damage and premature skin aging. [4]
8. Coffee and Yogurt Facial Scrub
This scrub calls for coffee grinds, some yogurt, and lemon juice – basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. The lactic acid in the yogurt will provide gentle skin exfoliation for the face, while the lemon juice will lighten your skin. Of course, the coffee will provide additional anti-aging benefits.
9. Coconut Oil Salt Scrub
Although this recipe was actually made with creating a body scrub in mind, it can work just as well as a facial scrub. The coconut oil conditions the skin and provides a bit antibacterial protection against breakouts while salt provides gentle mechanical exfoliation and skin nourishing benefits.
10. Papaya Scrub
Papaya contains fruit enzymes that can provide your skin with gentle exfoliation. That’s why the papaya fruit is a popular ingredient in many facial scrubs. This recipe uses several other ingredients to create a workable paste that you can use as a gentle facial scrub when you need that extra pampering.
11. Orange Peel Scrub
If you ever wondered how to make more use of orange peel, then try adding them to your facial scrubs. This orange peel face scrub recipe may seem complicated to make at first, but the effort is worth it considering how healthy this scrub just is. One study published in Nutrition and Cancer even found that orange peel use was associated with a reduced risk of skin cancer. [5]
12. Sugar and Tomato Facial Scrub
The combination of sugar and tomato makes this scrub very effective at exfoliating and moisturizing the face. The recommendation for combination skin types is to use this scrub twice a week to avoid irritation.
13. Aloe Vera Sugar Scrub
This facial scrub featured in Made Man is easy to make for everyday use. The scrub is perfect for combination skin types because it combines the moisturizing properties of aloe vera with the exfoliating properties of scrubbing faces with sugar.
14. Cornmeal Facial Scrub
This cornmeal facial scrub contains an abundance of skin-healthy ingredients. You probably have most of these ingredients in your kitchen, so making this scrub should be pretty easy. The cornmeal in this scrub will give your skin mechanical exfoliation while the other ingredients provide benefits from nourishment to moisturizing.
15. Adzuki Bean Scrub
Adzuki beans are known for their antimicrobial properties which is why they’re such a popular ingredient in skin care. There are many different ways you can use adzuki beans in a facial scrub, but we suggest combining them with yogurt, honey, or green tea as these ingredients work well with combination skin. [6]
16. Rose and Almond Face Scrub
This extremely gentle face scrub gentle face scrub works well on any skin type. The scrub can be used on a daily basis for better-looking skin in the long-run. Rose water will not only make this scrub smell wonderful, but it will also fight the first signs of skin aging.
17. Vinegar and Cornmeal Scrub
Although using vinegar on your face may seem a bit risk, it actually is not. Apple cider vinegar has a pH much closer to the skin’s pH than bar soap. Using it on your face can help balance out the skin’s natural pH and lighten the skin to remove any hyperpigmentation. When combined with cornmeal, you get a perfect scrub for daily exfoliation.
18. Sugar, Milk, and Honey Scrub
This easy-to-follow recipe by cutout and keep combines three ingredients that combination skin will definitely appreciate. Sugar granules gently exfoliate the skin, the lactic acid in milk also provides gentle exfoliation while the honey protects the skin from free radical damage and keeps acne at bay.
19. Apple and Oatmeal Scrub
This scrub provides both mechanical and chemical exfoliation for the face using just two ingredients – apples and oatmeal. However, oatmeal in this scrub is not there just to peel off dead skin cells. Oatmeal was found to provide a range of skin benefits, including acne-fighting.
20. Cucumber Mint Sugar Scrub
Cucumber in this simple facial scrub works as a mild astringent which is great when you’re fighting oil in your T-zone. Other ingredients in this simple scrub includes sugar, fresh mint leaves and olive oil scrub all of which provide some skin-caring benefits.
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Read Also – The Best Face Scrubs 2024, Dermatologists Reviewed
Final Verdict
Making your own natural face scrub is easy. Most recipes include combining an astringent and a conditioning ingredient, especially when making a scrub for combination skin that is dry skin and oily skin at the same time. These recipes here may help you beat two birds with one stone while also helping you save money you’d otherwise spend on expensive skin exfoliating products.
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6 Sources
We review published medical research in respected scientific journals to arrive at our conclusions about a product or health topic. This ensures the highest standard of scientific accuracy.
[1] Reynertson KA, Garay M, Nebus J, Chon S, Kaur S, Mahmood K, Kizoulis M, Southall MD. Anti-inflammatory activities of colloidal oatmeal (Avena sativa) contribute to the effectiveness of oats in treatment of itch associated with dry, irritated skin. J Drugs Dermatol. 2015 Jan;14(1):43-8. PMID: 25607907.[2] Mahmood T, Akhtar N, Moldovan C. A comparison of the effects of topical green tea and lotus on facial sebum control in healthy humans. Hippokratia. 2013;17(1):64-67.
[3] Why is bathing crucial to those with ichthyosis?: https://www.firstskinfoundation.org/bathing-exfoliation
[4] Sultana Y, Kohli K, Athar M, Khar RK, Aqil M. Effect of pre-treatment of almond oil on ultraviolet B-induced cutaneous photoaging in mice. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2007 Mar;6(1):14-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2007.00293.x. PMID: 17348990.
[5] Hakim IA, Harris RB, Ritenbaugh C. Citrus peel use is associated with reduced risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Nutr Cancer. 2000;37(2):161-8. doi: 10.1207/S15327914NC372_7. PMID: 11142088.
[6] Hori Y, Sato S, Hatai A. Antibacterial activity of plant extracts from azuki beans (Vigna angularis) in vitro. Phytother Res. 2006 Feb;20(2):162-4. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1826. PMID: 16444673.