How to Make Turmeric Body Scrub for Bright Glowing Skin in 3 Steps

Some of the causes of dull skin

Dehydration:

I know this might sound cliche, but water can solve a lot of your beauty problems. A 2015 study confirmed that drinking water could indeed give you healthier skin. Drinking water is the most natural way to get radiant, glowing skin.

How to prevent dull skin with water

• Flushing out toxins: You don’t need a restrictive juice diet or juice cleanse to rid your body of harmful chemicals. Drinking an adequate amount of clean water does the same.
• Reducing wrinkles and fine lines: The first time I read about this, I took it to be mumbo jumbo, but it isn’t. When you think about it, the older we get, the harder it is for our body to retain water. So by taking in more water, you are making it easier for your body and skin to stay hydrated.
• Keep the skin moisturized: As far as I know, water is the only thing that can keep the skin and hair moisturized. That’s why slathering oils, creams and butter isn’t enough to get rid of dull skin. Instead, it’s best to apply your oils, creams and butter to damp skin to lock in the moisture. Dehydrated skin equals dry skin, and dry skin equals dull skin.
• Maintaining pH balance: Did you know that it’s important to rinse with water after using a face wash to balance your skin’s pH? The skin is acidic, so it can stay moisturized and fight off harmful bacteria. If they are thrown off and become alkaline, you will get dry, dull, flaky skin, and if the skin gets too acidic, then the chances of getting eczema and acne are greater. So no matter what product you use, I advise you always do a final rinse with water.

Accumulation of dead skin cells:

The skin is constantly shedding off dead cells. However, sometimes, these skin cells don’t come off as they should, and that’s why you need to exfoliate. Because when you allow these dead skin cells to accumulate, they can cause dull patchy looking skin. I used to hate exfoliating. It just seemed like a tedious unnecessary step. The scrubbing and rinsing off seemed superfluous, but my skin stopped got a glow boost when I started to exfoliate consistently.

How to prevent dull skin with exfoliation

• Exfoliating prevents clogged pores: Regularly exfoliating not only rids the skin of dead cells. It also removes dirt that would have blocked the pores and caused both whiteheads and blackheads.
• Prevent acne: Once you can prevent clogged pores, then your skin would be less acne-prone. You have to be cautious not to over-exfoliate. Just because exfoliating can reduce acne doesn’t mean over-exfoliating won’t lead to skin problems.
• Improves product absorption: Once you start to exfoliate regularly, it would seem like your products are working better. The truth is that nothing changed about your products, but your skin changed. Products can penetrate your skin rather than just sitting on it. So if a product seems like it isn’t working like it used to or it’s expected to, then try exfoliating regularly.

Vitamin deficiency:

I always talk about how important it is to eat clean inside to be radiant outside. Deficiency in vitamin B and vitamin C can cause dull looking, saggy skin. I am not a big fan of supplements, so I recommend taking salads and smoothies to give your body the nourishment it needs to thrive.

Turmeric body scrub recipe

Turmeric body scrub for glowing skin

Prep Time45 mins

Equipment

• Microwave safe bowl
• Spoon

Materials

• 25 grams Coconut oil
• 15 grams Sugar
• 5 grams Turmeric
• 5 grams Mango butter

Instructions

• Melt Mango butter
• Add Coconut oil
• Add Turmeric powder
• Add Sugar
• Keep in fridge for 20 minutes to solify
• Whip to desired consistency
• Store in dry container

Video

Benefits of each ingredient in the Turmeric body scrub

Turmeric

The bright orange spice has been used for centuries as a food spice and as a beauty treatment.

Turmeric is great for skin lightening but don’t take just my word for it. A study showed that adding turmeric essential oil to a lotion can lighten the skin as quickly as 3 weeks. Turmeric is both natural and effective when it comes to skin lightening! Nothing beats that for me.

Turmeric can slow down ageing. I live in Lagos, Nigeria and the sun shines really bright and long over here. If you live in the tropics too then, you know what I am talking about. A study showed that the antioxidants in turmeric could reduce sun damage.

Turmeric can heal wounds faster: Turmeric can fight inflammation to cool areas with wounds. It can also boost collagen production, and you know what that means, faster healing and fewer scars. You reap all these benefits by using this turmeric body scrub.

Turmeric has also been used to treat stretch marks and dry skin.

Are there any drawbacks to using Turmeric?

I have a funny story to share. The first time I used turmeric, I used too much, and I looked like a weird coloured carrot for 4 days.

It was funny and embarrassing at the same time. The moral of the story is to use turmeric in small quantities and preferably at night.

Do you know how sometimes you think using more of a product will make it work better and faster? Well, turmeric doesn’t fall into this category, except you don’t mind looking yellow for some days.

This is honestly the only drawback to using turmeric. Nonetheless, always do a patch test to ensure you won’t have an allergic reaction to turmeric body scrub.

Alternative to Turmeric

If you don’t want to worry about turmeric staining your skin, I have some great alternatives for you.

• Amla powder
• Licorice extract powder
• Mint powder

Sugar

I am not going to sugarcoat anything for you-pun intended. A high sugar diet may not be great internally, but sugar can do wonders for your beauty routine when used externally.

If you place a bit of sugar on the countertop in a warm environment, it will start to melt. Sugar is a humectant, meaning that it draws water into itself, so when you apply a sugar scrub, it will hydrate your skin and keep the moisture locked in for longer.

Additionally, sugar is a natural source of Alpha hydroxyl acids. AHA’s penetrates the skin and breaks down skin cells, encouraging cell turnover and generating fresher, younger-looking skin.

Finally, the smaller particles in sugar make it a milder exfoliant compared to salt. It results in fewer micro-tears and doesn’t remove the natural oil on the skin after exfoliating. Read this blog post to see the difference between a salt and sugar scrub.

Are there any drawbacks to using sugar?

It’s important to carefully select the type of sugar you use on your skin. Brown sugar is softer than granulated sugar and can therefore be used by people with sensitive skin and can also make a face scrub.

I have used coarse sugar granules in a body scrub in the past, and it was a mess. It was harsh on my skin, and no matter how gentle I was while scrubbing, I felt like I was tearing my skin with a blade. If you use coarse sugar on your skin, you can cause micro-tears. Instead, pour the sugar into a dry mill or food processor and blend for a few minutes to make it smoother before making a scrub.

Alternative to sugar

• Ultra fine sea salt. See a quick and effective sea salt scrub recipe here
• Finely ground almonds
• Coffee ground

Mango butter

If you haven’t seen my mango butter versus shea butter comparison, then you should. I fell in love with mango butter because, unlike shea butter, it has no smell. Seriously read my comparison so you can pick your favourite butter!

This butter is lightweight and non-comodogenic, meaning it won’t clog your pores. If you have oily, sensitive or acne-prone skin, it can be tough to find a good moisturizer. Mango butter is good enough to hold in the moisture but lightweight and non-greasy. As a bonus, it also helps to control sebum production in the skin, so bye-bye acne!

Mango butter seals in the moisture in the skin, keeping the skin soft and supple. If you have dry, itchy skin, then try mango butter. It is better than chemical products that can irritate the skin and make itching even worse. Mango butter is soothing and anti-inflammatory.

Vitamin C and E from mango can protect the skin from sunlight, pollution and wrinkles.

Are there any drawbacks to using mango butter?

As with any natural butter, it may be hard to spread on the skin. You can melt your mango butter and add some oil to make it a bit more runny and easy to apply on your skin.

Another drawback you might experience is applying mango butter to dry skin. Only apply the butter on damp skin, and remember that a little can go a long way, so don’t go overboard.

Alternative to mango butter

• Shea butter
• Cocoa butter
• Kokum butter

Coconut oil

I chose coconut oil in this turmeric body scrub recipe for several reasons. One reason is that I am obsessed with the smell of cold-pressed pure coconut oil or coconut milk. Other than coconut oil has some pretty badass benefits.

It absorbs easily into the skin. Fast absorption means that it is good for keeping moisture in the skin and reducing dryness almost instantly. Prolonged use can also make the skin smoother and softer.

Pure cold-pressed coconut oil acts as a protective barrier for the skin, shielding the skin from environmental stressors that accelerate signs of ageing.

Coconut oil is also super soothing. This study shows that the application of virgin coconut oil can reduce inflammation and relieve pain as well. That’s not all; contrary to popular belief, coconut oil can reduce acne. Acne is an inflammatory condition, and coconut oil’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties make it a good acne treatment.

Are there any drawbacks to using coconut oil?

Eating or using coconut oil is not a problem for most people, but coconut oil might not be best for you if you have oily skin. Also, coconut oil is comedogenic and can clog your pore.

Alternative to Coconut oil

• Sweet almond oil
• Rosehip oil
• Jojoba oil

How to use the Turmeric body scrub

• Use the scrub on clean damp skin
• Rub in a gentle circular motion
• Rinse with water
• Apply a moisturizer afterwards

How to store the Turmeric body scrub

Store the scrub for no more than 3 days in the refrigerator and avoid putting moisture in the scrub if you plan on storing it for future use. I recommend making the scrub fresh every time before use. It’s super easy to make.

A quick summary

This turmeric scrub is effortless to make, and although it can be quite messy, it is so beneficial for the skin alongside sugar, mango butter and coconut oil used in this recipe. Always make sure to exfoliate no more than 3 times a week and follow up with a moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated and glowing. What’s your favourite DIY body scrub? Let me know in the comment section.