March 17, 2004

By DeNeane D'Angelo / Skin care columnist

With spring almost upon us, we start to get that spring fever that demands we get everything clean and in order -- including our skin. We start wearing sleeveless shirts and open-toe shoes with lovely sundresses or skirts. OK, maybe not everybody is wearing skirts, but we still want our skin smooth, soft and glowing.

One way to achieve that is to make sure we exfoliate our skin with the appropriate exfoliant for the correct body part. I have viewers and clients ask about using coffee grinds on their faces or sea salt in the body scrub. I want to make sure that we all know which scrubs are for feet, which are for the face and which are for the body. This will help avoid irritations or sensitivities.

Facial scrubs
Cornmeal is great to use as a facial scrub. It absorbs oil, scrubs without scratching and helps to eliminate blackheads and flakiness.

If your skin tends to be oily, start with a steam facial with a drop of lavender. Splash your face with cool water, pat dry and lightly scrub. Rinse well, then whip up an egg white with a tablespoon or two of honey. Apply the mask and let dry. Your skin will be smooth and pores will appear smaller.

If your skin tends to be sensitive, mix finely ground cornmeal with a bit of cream and honey. Apply as a mask and gently rinse off. Finely ground almond meal (stress on the finely) is also a good scrub and helps to lighten skin when mixed with lemon juice. Baking soda can also be used a scrub. It will tingle and leave skin feeling soft.

Oatmeal is a wonderful facial scrub for all skin types, especially sensitive or dry skin. Grind oatmeal to a fine powder (You can use a blender or coffee grinder.), then mix in a bit of honey, cream and/or egg. Mix well and apply as a mask, then gently scrub/rinse off.

Brewed and cooled coffee can be used with any of these recipes to kick them up a notch, but do not use coffee grounds on the face -- they are much too harsh.

Foot scrubs
Cornmeal mixed with olive oil or grape seed oil and applied all over the feet can be a great scrub for the tootsies. After applying this mixture to the feet, use a pumice stone to lightly buff dry heels and calloused balls of the feet.

Coffee grounds mixed with sea salt, brown sugar and a drop of peppermint oil also makes a wonderful foot scrub. It leaves them soft, well-hydrated and tingly fresh.

Sugar mixed with any oil -- olive, avocado or grape seed -- is a good basic foot scrub any time you feel you need to soften quickly and inexpensively. Remember, if you are diabetic or have any circulatory problems, do not use these recipes.

Body scrubs
The above recipe with brown sugar and olive oil is a really good body scrub for the shower, too.

My cellulite recipe uses coffee grounds, brown sugar, olive oil and a drop of peppermint. Scrub only those areas that need it, such as hips and thighs. Be very gentle on the tummy, if you use it there at all.

Do not use sea salt as a body scrub! Sea salt has a very aggressive texture and can really leave you stinging and sore.

Oatmeal can be used all over as a body scrub for dry, sensitive skin. Mix a cup or so of finely ground oatmeal with 1/2 cup of powdered milk and a tablespoon or two of honey. Using a cheese cloth or a soft washcloth, softly scrub all over the body in the shower. In the bath, you can allow the water to run over the cloth in the tub, then rub lightly all over. Your skin will feel softened and soothed.

With any and all of these scrubs, balance is the key. Your skin does not need to be scrubbed every day. Once a week for any of these body parts is going to do a wonderful job of bringing fresh skin cells up and feeding your skin with all the good nutrients from these natural products.

Enjoy, have fun and celebrate your life in big and small ways. And remember, every day is a great day to be good to yourself.™