I may not eat grains (that much), but they still have their uses. This oatmeal lavender facial scrub recipe helps to soothe and calm skin while gently helping to exfoliate it. It can be a good solution for those with sensitive skin, but it’s also useful for all skin types!
Facial Scrub Ingredients (And Why They’re Used)
These are the basic ingredients that I use in this scrub. If you aren’t into the DIY but want an amazing natural facial cleansing scrub, I love this handmade one from Crunchy Betty and use it when I don’t feel like making it myself.
Oatmeal
While you won’t typically see a bowl of rolled oats at my breakfast table, oatmeal is a cheap and natural way to care for the skin. People have been using oats for skincare for about 4,000 years. When the oats are finely ground they form what’s called colloidal oatmeal.
The New Zealand Dermatological Society lists the many proven benefits of oatmeal for skin:
- forms a barrier to protect skin against irritants and balance normal skin pH
- moisturizes skin with water-binding polysaccharides, hydrocolloids, and fats
- soothes itchy, dry skin with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
- guards against photoaging (sun damage)
- lowers prostaglandin production and arachidonic acid release
It’s no wonder colloidal oatmeal is in so many skin products!
Lavender
Lavender is one of my absolute favorite herbs, and I’ve detailed more about it here. This facial scrub recipe uses both lavender flowers and lavender essential oil, which both help calm and heal the skin. The flowers add extra exfoliation while the lavender essential oil adds concentrated beneficial properties … not to mention both smell amazing!
Baking Soda and Sea Salt
Lavender and oatmeal are very gentle, but I’ve added a little baking soda and sea salt help to up the scrubbing power.
Baking soda is a very fine powder, so it acts like a microdermabrasion to gently exfoliate the skin. Sea salt is a little coarser but only a small amount is used overall so as not to overpower the other ingredients in this facial scrub recipe. Himalayan sea salt is my favorite to use as it nourishes the skin with a wide variety of minerals.
Gentle Oatmeal Lavender Facial Scrub Recipe
This is one of my new favorite beauty recipes, and I think you’re going to love it as well!
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 TBSP lavender flowers
- 1 TBSP baking soda
- 2 TBSP sea salt (Himalayan if possible)
- 7 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions
- Place the rolled oats, lavender essential oil, and lavender flowers into a coffee grinder and pulse until ground, about 45-60 seconds. A blender can also be used, but a coffee grinder is the preferred option here.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir in the baking soda and sea salt.
- Store the face scrub in a glass jar. To use, combine 2 teaspoons of the scrub with 1 ½ tsp water or milk, then gently scrub across the face with the fingers.
Tips for Using the Facial Scrub
- The scrub can also be mixed with aloe vera or honey if preferred. Both of these soothe the skin and help to rejuvenate and calm.
- This also works well as a mask. Simply mix the scrub with the desired liquid until it’s a thick paste, and smooth over the skin. After 10-20 minutes it can be rinsed off with warm water.
Ready for More? Try this Cumin Face Scrub Recipe with antioxidant benefits for face and body.
Have you ever used oatmeal on your skin before? What are your favorite skin-soothing ingredients?
Chinese Chicken Stir-Fry (Quick and Healthy)
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How long does this last? Will it go “bad”?
A lovely recipe. I made this last week and have used it twice since. The amount recommended was enough for my face and elbows! I substituted lavender flowers for chamomile flowers as I have a huge bag of them to use up. Thanks Wellness Mama!
Wellness Mama: Wow! That oatmeal lavender scrub is fabulous! Of course I had to order the lavender flowers since I have never eaten them. Now that I have a pound or two I can do a lot of things with them besides make that scrub. About the scrub: that 2 teaspoons +1 1/2 tablespoons of water makes enough to do the face, feet, knees and elbows! I love it! And my face is still tingling from my first application. It really stimulates circulation (something that my skin really needed). I did not have Himalayan sea salt but I did have sea salt (wonderful bath stuff). Thanks for this recipe. Thanks also for your excellent explanations about things organic. I have been cleaning out my cupboards and stocking goodness. P.S. Love those soap nuts! Will try shampooing with some. Thanks again.
Oh, this sounds absolutely WONDERFUL! My face has been atrocious since I got pregnant, and I’m dealing with a constant breakout which, I know is probably normal, but really is no fun. This sounds so soothing, and I wonder if it would help! Thanks for sharing <3
Hormones are crazy with skin! However, I recently noticed the same thing for my own skin, so I quit my castile soap face wash and my skin got clearer. I guess I was cleaning it too well? Maybe there’s an idea to help you?!
“Gluten free oats” are not gluten free. There are different kinds of gluten. Oats is avenin gluten…made my stomach bleed. It is not cross contamination.
I have loved your blog for years. It is full of great ideas. I rarely read it anymore since you changed formats because I find the advertising embedded in the articles to be annoying. I get that you are trying to make a living but I choose to not read it as often. Today was appalling however because the ad was for refrigerator pillsbury dough which is the antithesis of what you say you believe. What’s up with that?
Saddened by this turn of philosphy.
Hi Suzanne, thanks for being a loyal reader. The ads are run through a network and are based on your past search and browsing history, so what you are seeing is different than what others are seeing since your internet usage and browsing habits are different than others, and unfortunately I can’t control that in order to make sure they are always for products that I agree with 100%. My philosophy hasn’t changed, but there are certain economic realities that we all have to deal with. I’m constantly trying to find the balance between the amount of content I put out (for free, none the less), ads, and promotional emails. It’s a very tough act to balance and one that I struggle with every day. Thanks again for reading and weighing in with your thoughts and opinion.
I don’t expect you to post this, I was just admiring how classy your responses are to many of the comments! Very admirable xo
Thanks for your kind words 🙂
My coffee grinder is normal size, I can’t do a half cup at once of anything. I do 2T amounts. Still takes a short time, but much less frustrating.
I would not add the EO to the grinder at all, just stir in with the honey. Then again, there’s no carrier here but honey, so I would just be dipping a toothpick in my EO and stirring my honey in with that. That way there’s very little EO, just a smell rly.
I love this idea of a scrub. I used to buy scrubs with colloidal oatmeal.
Oats is gluten…avenin. Gluten may hurt most people. People may not realize it since they assume food can’t hurt and may think it is normal to feel like this since it affected them their whole life. No gluten helps me heal fast many health issues and heal the skin etc…
Avenin is not the same as gluten, although some people with a wheat sensitivity are also sensitive to oats.
Some people are also sensitive to baking soda on their skin. I use a deodorant paste made with baking soda, but have read many negative reviews about it because they are sensitive to the baking soda and break out in a rash.
As with any product, test the ingredients carefully before use to see how your body will react!
I’ve used Aveeno oatmeal powdered tablets for a soothing bath for my daughter when she had chicken pox. I never thought about grinding up herbs and oatmeal to make my own.
-T.
Avenin is a type of gluten…see the book No Grain No Pain. I was Celiac from birth and ate all things, but suffered and finally figured out the problem. Oats may affect each person differently, but my MS started due to gluten and I didn’t think gluten was hurting me then. You don’t have to feel the pain to be hurt by it. As I got older foods hurt me in a greater degree, but still was hurting me before. I just didn’t realize it.
Oats (avena sativa and avena repens) do not contain any gluten. The issue with oats and gluten is cross contamination that can occur on equipment used to roll the oats. You can purchase certified gluten free oats
I will definately give this a go. Just have to find the lavender flowers as I have all the other ingredients. Would this also be good for teenagers with Acne?
Amazon has a large assortment of lavender flowers to purchase.
Thanks for so many natural home made beauty products. Love your site.
Any recommendations for Rosacea? Scrubs that are supposed to be gentle only redden my skin more. I’m 54 and am having breakouts and reddened skin.
Thank you for your posts!
Mary