A friend recently recommended that I start using a sugar scrub in order to deal with my eczema. They're supposed to be really great for promoting new and healthy skin growth.

But there are just so many kinds out there! A million different products and recipes, as well as all different ways of using the scrub. Everyone has their own interpretation.

Do any of you folks use a sugar scrub? What brand do you buy, or do you just make your own? How do you go about using it?

Can't say that I've ever tried a sugar scrub, myself, but I used to do a baking soda and water scrub followed by a honey mask and it worked wonders.

I do! I just make my own, easy peasy. I wash my face like normal, get some sugar on a saucer, then dampen my face and pinch some sugar up and rub it on. If you leave it on for a minute or two before washing it off, it'll also condition your skin and make it suuuuper soft.

I also sometimes add tomato to it. I'll use the "butt" end of a sliced tomato since no one wants to eat that anyway, then plop the cut side down on the sugar and use it to apply the sugar. The tomato juices help with... skin... brightness and dead skin sloughing or something like that? I'm not sure exactly, I just know I have nicer results when I use the tomato than when I don't. BUT I think I remember reading tomato juices can exacerbate conditions like eczema, so you would definitely want to give that a moment of research before trying it. But I would really recommend tomato + sugar to anyone with "normal" skin - it makes your skin look so crazy nice. After I do it I'm always like "how did I not realize how blotchy and dull my skin looked before?! I ACTUALLY LOOK ALIVE NOW!"

EDIT: I just realized I was thinking of rosacea, not eczema. Yeah, tomato should be fine for eczema.

eczema? ewww!

Oh honey, don't worry, it's not like you'll be getting anywhere near my skin.

was that your attempt at a burn? xD who said i wanted to get anywhere near your skin?

After your opinion about eczema skin, consider it an anticipatory rebuff.

Oh no! Well, I've made some for a friend of mine who has a patch on her elbow that drives her nuts!!! It helps, but no more than the cream she gets for it. But....Sugar scrubs are just lovely in general for the skin, especially after you shave your leggies.

I make my own! They're super simple. You can use olive oil if you've nothing else. BUT, if you go to a health food store nab things like almond oil, coconut oil, etc. Then just sugar, your favorite essential oils. In my case I use fresh lemon zest, orange zest, and tangerine essential oil for a nice scrub. Also, lavender essential oil, lavender flowers, oatmeal, and some sage oil makes for a good scrub.

Have you tried ground oatmeal? That's supposed to be lovely for your skin woes. Just an oatmeal/lavender soak in the tub.

I also have to ask, have you ever tried apple cider vinegar? It smells dreadful, but I hear it does wonders for eczema, as it helps to balance the pH levels of the skin. My dad's friend has a child with some pretty severe eczema, and ACV baths help her, apparently.

I also do a shot of ACV every day or so when I get sick. They say that's supposed to help, but "they" may well be full of crap. If nothing else, it clears the mucus out of my throat for a bit and at least makes me feel like I'm doing something. Placebo effect, maybe.

I use ACV for my hair, but never saw much difference when I drank it or washed my skin with it. I think that it's most effective as an occasional shampoo.

After a bit more reading, I'm going to try a DIY recipe later this week - Sea salt, olive oil, lemon and thyme. It could potentially dry skin out a little, but I can always use lotion or coconut oil afterwards. And if it doesn't help at all, I could probably use the same recipe but with sugar instead of salt.

I've always prefered the idea of salt rather than sugar. Partly because salt hasn't been through an intense refining process, and because it's a natural antibacterial (same as lemon juice). I've used sea salt and olive oil as a scrub before. My skin didn't end up dry because if the oil, but I can't remember any more than that, it was a long time ago ><

Any ideas or tips for what to use to help eczema on hands would be so so appreciated! It has been quite bad recently. I'd like to use a scrub and something conditioning, but are body scrubs good to use all over hands? I'm not sure.

Once I get the chance to use my scrub for a little while, I'll report back to you.

I'm just excited that all the ingredients only cost me $9! I couldn't even buy a decent commercial sugar scrub for that price, and my homemade one smells 10x than anything I looked at in stores. Heck yeah!

I bet you can make way more than what would be in one store-bought bottle with everything you bought, too!

Homemade Christmas gifts from Knerd! Put people's favourite essential oils in them, and dress the jars up with pretty bows and labels and stuff =3

I need to find a store that sells smaller jars! I bought one at the Dollar Tree and it's huuuuuge compared to the amount of scrub that I want to put inside of it. If I filled it up even just halfway, there would be enough scrub to last me a year.

I tried out my salt+lemon+olive oil+thyme mixture last night. It's not half bad. I don't see any big changes, but my arms are noticeably smoother and I smell like lemons. Nothing bad about that!

Originally Posted by Knerd

Once I get the chance to use my scrub for a little while, I'll report back to you.

I'm just excited that all the ingredients only cost me $9! I couldn't even buy a decent commercial sugar scrub for that price, and my homemade one smells 10x than anything I looked at in stores. Heck yeah!

Plus you're making waaaaaay more than you'd get for that price in the store. :D



EDIT:

Salt scrubs are nice. But stay away from using that on freshly shaved leggies. O.o

What happens if you use it on freshly shorn legs? I can't recall using a salt scrub, but I have used sugar scrubs after shaving before.

I'd imagine it would sting.

Y'all need better razors.

I've used a sugar scrub before. My skin felt sooooo soft afterwards. I had no idea it was supposed to help eczema... In that case, I'd love to test it. For science. Yeah.

...And deliciously baby-butt smooth skiiiin. :D And no itchy icky eczema. >_<

Let's see, I have the recipe I found online saved on my phone... *whips out phone*

OKAYS here goes

Sugar Scrub Recipe that Mai Found Somewhere in the Depths of the Interwebs
2 parts sugar
1 part olive oil

For myself, I used 1/8 cup of sugar and 2tsp of olive oil, and that was enough for my arms, elbows, feet and legs with some left over.

Yes! They really do make your skin smooth and soft. I make my own using honey and sugar, or sometimes olive oil and sugar. I make a mixture (without any measurements) and I apply it to which ever area I feel needs it and I exfoliate gently, not too hard. Then wash it off with warm water, and voila. Smooth and soft.

I'm afraid I wouldn't know how to treat eczema, particularly if it were around the face. For my own regime, I use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub, and occasionally will use a mask--mostly Sundays when it's lazy. For the mask I use a green tea mint mask, or a special chemical peel (just a peel-off face mask). Activated charcoal is used often by beauty gurus, and you can find a few tutorials on youtube of girls going black-face in the pursuit of beauty.

Any exfoliating object or ingredient is going to make your skin smooth; whether it's a loofa, a scrub, sugar, salt, etc. I just prefer not to use up my ingredients for cooking.

So the scrubs have been treating me really well so far! I ended up making two: a salt+olive oil+lemon+thyme mixture and a sugar+lilac essential oil mixture. The salt one is for my body and the sugar one is for my face.

There haven't been any amazing changes in what my skin looks like, but the scrubs feel really nice and have ensured that I'm not getting dried out. I can see this being a big help during the winter months!

How often do you use them, out of curiosity? I don't use sugar scrubs much because I'm afraid of overdoing it and damaging my skin from too much scrubbing. But I'd like to use them more regularly, since my skin is crappy and they do make a big a difference for me.