Here’s a quick and adaptable recipe for a gentle facial scrub and mask. It works great as a simple exfoliater, but for an added boost leave it on your skin as a mask to absorb oil and clean pores. Skin-loving ingredients and gentle oils make this scrub and mask a soothing addition to any skin care routine.
Recipe:
2 1/2 cups Oatmeal (NOT quick oats)
1/2 cup Bentonite Clay
2 Tablespoons Lemon Peel Powder
3 mL Oat Extract
3 mL Vitamin E Oil
Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil
Aloe Vera Liquid or Chamomile Tea (for hydrating the mask)
OPTIONAL: Lavender Grade 1
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ONE: In a food processor or coffee grinder, process the oats and the Lemon Peel Powder separately. You want to get as close to the consistency of the Bentonite Clay as possible, which won’t take very long to achieve with the Lemon Peel Powder but may require some time with the oats.
TWO: In a bowl, mix the ground oatmeal, ground Lemon Peel Powder, and Bentonite Clay. A whisk or slotted spoon probably works best.
NOTE: The consistency of the ingredients might cause powdery clouds when you mix them. Wear a mask if you’ve got a sensitive nose!
THREE: Add the Oat Extract and mix well. Add the Vitamin E Oil and mix well. You want to add each of these ingredients individually and mix between additions so you get less clumps.
FOUR: Add 9 drops Hungarian Lavender Essential Oil and 2 drops each of the Tea Tree Essential Oil, Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil, and Ylang Ylang Essential Oil. Again, you’ll want to stir between each addition to avoid clumping.
FIVE: Split the mix between the two glass bail jars.
OPTIONAL: For an extra luxe product, process 1-2 tablespoons of Lavender Grade 1 in a food processor or coffee grinder. Add to the mix before pouring into the bail jars, or pour the mix into the bail jars then sprinkle a bit of processed Lavender on the top in the center for a decorative finished look.
To hydrate and use: In a small bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of liquid to 2 tablespoons of the scrub mask mix to form a loose paste. I like to hydrate with Aloe Vera Liquid or Chamomile tea. Spread the paste on your face and leave until dry (about 10-15 minutes). Rinse the scrub mask off with warm water, scrubbing the mask in a circular motion as you rinse for light exfoliation. Follow with your regular skin routine. Other options to hydrate the mask with include honey dissolved in warm water, or simply water on it’s own.
About the ingredients:
Oatmeal, when hydrated, naturally moisturizes and creates a protective barrier on the skin. It also acts as a natural pore cleanser, and is soothing to sensitive skin. If you’ll be gifting or selling this product, beware that those who are allergic to gluten might have a reaction to the oatmeal.
Bentonite Clay absorbs oils and toxins from the skin’s surface.
Lemon Peel has been known to add a healthy glow and improve skin clarity. It is also believed to be a beneficial part of an acne-prone skin care routine.
Oat Extract is known to sooth, nourish and moisturize skin as well as being particularly beneficial to those with sensitive skin.
Vitamin E Oil is a common oil used in skin care. It’s an anti-oxidant that helps to deter the effects of free radicals on your skin.
Hungarian Lavender Essential Oil is a mild-smelling oil. Lavender is thought to have calming and soothing aroma-therapeutic properties and is generally mild enough for all skin types.
Tea Tree Essential Oil has antiseptic, anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties and is commonly used in the treatment of acne.
Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil is believed to have skin-softening properties and to be beneficial to those with mature skin, as well as having stress-reducing aroma-therapeutic properties. If you’ll be gifting or selling this product, beware that those who are allergic to rose may have a reaction to Egyptian Geranium.
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil has antiseptic properties and is thought to be beneficial to balancing skin tone and oil content on the surface. If you’ll be gifting or selling this product, beware that those who have sensitive skin might have a reaction to Ylang Ylang.
Aloe Vera Liquid is another common skin care ingredient. It’s an excellent moisturizer and has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chamomile is a soothing cleanser. Much like Aloe Vera, it’s anti-inflammatory and is commonly used in the treatment of acne. You can either hydrate your mask with chamomile tea, or at night pat used chamomile tea bags on your face and rinse in the morning.
Ahh, this looks great! I love using natural ingredients in my beauty regieme. Thanks!
Hi Jeanelle!
So glad you like it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What would happen if I added a little more vitamin e oil? If I wanted the mask to be a little more moisturizing.
By the way, I love Brambleberry and SoapQueen! Thank you for providing high quality products and excellent tutorials!
Hi Mahika!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Adding more Vitamin E Oil may change the consistency of this recipe a little, but it should be fine. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
So question refering to the one above. If intending to sell “wet scrubs” that have oil in themm.. Do i need to add a preservative or not? I seen where i did.. And then one where i did not, now im confused! i would think covonut oil is a preservative.. Correct?!
Hi Chas!
If your wet scrub contains water, it will need a preservative. If it is oil only, you do not. You may find these blog posts helpful. They give you the run down on when to use preservatives, and how to use them! 🙂
Talk it Out Tuesday Preservatives:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
Perfectly Preserved:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/perfectly-preserved/
I hope this helps 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hi! If I made this but mixed an oil into it to make a wet scrub would I need to add a preservative?
Hi Sandra!
I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try :). Because you added oil and not a water based product, you would not need to use a preservative. If you are planning on keeping this in the shower where it may come in contact with water, I would recommend adding a oil soluble preservative (Like Phenonip) at a .25-1% usage rate.
For more information about individual preservatives and how to use them, you may find this post helpful.
Perfectly Preserved: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/perfectly-preserved/
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks Amanda. I wanted to make an oatmeal facial scrub to sell in containers for my customers and I would prefer a ‘wet’ style scrub. I have Optiphen here so that would be suitable too?
Hi Sandra!
Good question. Optiphen is generally recommended for products that do not contain water (anhydrous products). There is a bit of conflicting information regarding Optiphen and its use, but we have had good experiences using it in our oil based products.
The writer of the guest post “Perfectly Preserved” that I linked to above, also has a great blog full of more information regarding preservatives. In particular, you may find this blog post of Susan’s helpful, in which Susan goes over some of the confusion regarding Optiphen.
Optiphen Revisited: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca/2011/11/optiphen-revisited.html
Like I said, we have used Optiphen in our oil based products and have been happy with the results. But I just wanted to provide you with all the information so you can make the most informed decision, especially because you are planning on selling your product.
I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thank you so much! Much appreciated!
Colloidal oatmeal and colloidal silver. Can they be incorporated into melt and pour soap base? Do you sell colloidal silver?
Hi Elinor!
We do not sell colloidal silver, although if you wanted to put it in your soap you could. We have never used it in our soap before, but there may be a fellow soaper on the Teach Soap forum that has more information regarding how to use it.
Teach Soap Forum: http://www.teachsoap.com/forum/
Hope this helps you! 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hi there! I wanted to know how the mask would be effected if I didn’t use bentonite clay.
Good morning, Bianca!
Without the Bentonite Clay (or any clay), this wouldn’t really be a mask, and not have the same consistency and feel as what we have created above. Clays are actually the main ingredient in most face masques, and they have super skin-loving properties, so we do suggest keeping them in the recipes!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I made a face mask like this one and wanted to store the left over but after a couple days something went wrong. Istored it it a glass mason jar and everything seemed fine even used it a couple times after I stored it in the fridge then it seemed as if it grew. It expanded so much it caused the top to blow off. Does anyone know what might have happened? It was like the oatmeal was cooked all of a sudden but was kept cool. Any advise would be greatl. Thanks.
Hi Jessica!
Oh my! That sounds a little frightening to happen if you aren’t expecting it. Did you use our recipe, or another one? I’d love to hear a bit more about what happened so that I could help you troubleshoot this! 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This is a great post! If I wanted to add activated charcoal to this how much would you suggest?
Hi Kelly!
If you wanted to add Activated Charcoal to this batch, I would suggest adding 1 teaspoon per pound of mixture. I hope this helps! Keep us updated on how your facial scrub turns out. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I’m wondering if you have another face mask/scrub Brambleberry has a recipe to share since I sell to customers & Wholesale to businesses. I don’t know how I would work out waiting to add the oils. Waiting for the oils, does that mean the essential oils as well? This looks like a great recipe for me to try for myself in the meantime :)Thank you.
Here are a couple of recipes for face masks/scrubs from the Soap Queen blog:
3 Scrub Recipes on Soap Queen TV: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/soaks-and-scrubs/3-scrub-recipes-on-soap-queen-tv/
Cleansing Clay Masks on Soap Queen TV: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/soaks-and-scrubs/cleansing-clay-masks-on-soap-queen-tv/
You can also try asking over at the Teach Soap Forums to see what suggestions the crafters and soapers there have as well.
Teach Soap Forums: http://www.teachsoap.com/forum/
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! One question though-why are quick oats not recommended?
Hi Jessica!
We don’t suggested using quick oats because they tend to be more processed than regular oats and might not give your skin the same benefits you’d get with the regular oats in this particular mask. I hope this helps answer your question! 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Perfect! That’s what I was thinking. Thanks for clearing it up for me. 😀
I definitely want to try this recipe. Thanks!
Let us know how it turns out! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I have colloidal oats on hand which is already ground. How much of that powder should I use? Not sure if the ratio of oats to clay would be different since it is already a powder.
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Good morning, Betty!
Since your oatmeal is already ground up, you would use about 1.5 cups of it. I hope this helps! Let us know how yours turns out. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This sounds amazing! Such good ingredients for your skin. I have semi-sensitive skin and I usually do well with clay masks. The oatmeal and tea tree oil I’m sure will be soothing.
Let us know how it works out for you! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Would you recommend a shelf life for this is do you need to use it right away? Sorry I’m a newbie!
Hi Rachel!
The recipe is meant to be used once the liquid has been added to it. But, in it’s dry form, the facial scrub will have an indefinite shelf life. When you want to use it, only hydrate the amount you intend to use. I hope this helps! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Recipes like this one are what got me interested in making my own bath and body products. I still like to go back and make the simple and natural things every once in awhile. I’ve never tried oat extract before, but this mix sounds great!
The Oat Extract is great to add to this recipe because it’s incredibly soothing for the skin. But, you can also add any other skin-safe extract that you’d like. Here is a list of extracts that Bramble Berry carries:
https://www.brambleberry.com/Extracts-C28.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I really like this. I love seeing a variety of products that I can make that are 100 percent natural so I like that this is a dry blend in which you can add water at use. I will make this!
Wow! This is great. I’m definitely making this. I think I have everything but the lemon peel powder, I’ve been meaning to get some. Thank you!
This is a fantastic post. And good timing. I’ve been really trying to dig up information on masks.
One thing I have been especially curious about though is Activated Charcoal.
I’ve been reading about this, and finding out that it’s great for drawing oput impurities.
But I haven’t tried it yet.
There is still some research I need to do.
Adding Activated Charcoal to a scrub recipe sounds like an excellent idea. Let us know if you do end up trying it out. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Oooooh! I’ve got to try this. Thanks so much for the tute.
You will just love it! I was one of the lucky testers that got to try this recipe and it is such a great exfoliater. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry