With summer just around the corner, it’s time to prepare your skin for more exposure. But if yours is not in the best of shape…don’t worry! It’s nothing that a good dose of TLC and homemade skin treatments can’t cure. If your skin has that crocodile-like appearance or you need just received a bad wax treatment…there’s nothing better than exfoliation to help restore your skin’s youthful look and feel.

Exfoliation refines the skin, which makes it better for waxing and helps prevent ingrown hair. But besides that, exfoliation helps with circulation and feeds the cells, stimulating collagen production which helps keep your skin looking young and glowing.

The process should be done in smooth, circular movements, to stimulate circulation. I generally do this at home, after a shower. This is a great time to exfoliate because the shower prepares your skin for the treatment — the hot water (but not too hot, ok) prepares your skin to receive the nutrients in the exfoliation mixture. The areas that deserve the most attention and care are the legs, groin, arms, buttocks, neck and hands.

Make your exfoliation mixture with almond oil if your skin is dry and a moisturizing lotion if your skin is normal. If you have oily skin, use a moisturizing liquid soap instead. Add ground loofah, ground almonds, spearmint essential oil, jojoba oil and a touch of lemon essential oil (just be careful as lemon can pemanently darken your skin if it gets exposure to sunlight). These ingredients will help improve circulation and help the skin release toxins.

If you are a fan of hair removal, but you have a tendency to get ingrown hairs — especially in the groin area — make sure you use thin and smooth granules when you work on this area. Also, the neck and hands are delicate areas and require small or thin granules that will not scratch. Use brown sugar, oats or even wheat germ in your mixture instead of the other granules. The application is from the feet toward knees, and knees toward groin area.

If you get ingrown hairs on your arms or buttocks, this is likely because your clothes are rubbing these areas. This can be treated by adding certain products to your mixture, including those with anti-inflammatory properties (such as ginseng, chamomile, spearmint, comfrey root, Witch Hazel, and calendula flowers). These can help to clean the area and dry-out the inflammation. Apply the products in circular and upward motions.