You know when people say a beauty product smells good enough to eat? Well, not only does this one smell divine, it really is edible! Personally, though, I would keep it for the skin, because this is awesome stuff! Packed with ingredients that will feed your skin and leave it glowing, but without any of the nasties that can lurk in shop-bought products, this is my favourite facial exfoliator.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract (optional)

You will also need a jar or tub to store your face polish in. Any will do (the prettier the better though!) but make sure that it is scrupulously clean, sterilised if at all possible.

Step 1: The Ingredients

Oats are an underrated skincare ingredient. They contain antioxidents and beta-glucans, which help to repair skin damage. Oats also contain natural anti-inflammatories, help to even skin tone, and of course they exfoliate your skin when you rub them on - although they are far gentler than other skin exfoliants such as salt or sugar, making them a much better bet for use on delicate facial skin. And unlike microbeads, oats do not cause ecological problems.

Coconut Oil is great for the skin. It is antibacterial and antifungal, makes the exfoliator creamy, and is a fantastic moisturiser. Coconut oil is low-comedogenic, meaning it should not cause skin breakouts, but if your skin is very prone to spots, you may want to substitute shea butter instead.

Honeyis an excellent moisturiser, as well as being antibacterial. It helps to open your pores, making the exfoliator cleanse more deeply and work more effectively. It also makes the scrub smell lovely! You can boost this with almond extract if you wish, but it is not required.

Step 2: Grind Your Oats

You will need to grind the oats, both to make the texture finer and to break them down slightly. This makes them mix with the other ingredients better, releases their antioxidents, beta-glucans and other natural compounds, and makes them kinder to your skin. You can do this with a food processor in a few pulses, or with a pestle and mortar, which takes a little more effort!

Step 3: Mix With the Other Ingredients

If your coconut oil is solid at room temperature, you will need to gently heat it until it is liquid - just place the jar or bottle in hot water until it is liquified. Mix all of the ingredients together. If at this point you feel the need to taste it, you can... and you will quickly realise that this face polish is essentially raw flapjack! If your mixture is very wet, you may need to add a few more oats at this stage.

Step 4: Package and Use

Package your scrub into an extremely clean jar, sterilised if possible. Provided the jar is clean, the scrub will last longer than it will take you to use it up!

To use, wet your skin and gently massage a small dab of the face scrub over your face, neck and cleavage. Use less pressure around delicate skin and a little more on your forehead, nose and chin. Then thoroughly rinse it all off with warm water. Gently pat your skin dry (don't rub!) This face scrub should only be used once per week - more frequently can cause skin damage. Check out my hot cloth cleanser for more natural skincare that will leave you with a lovely glowing complexion!