Homemade Amla Powder Face Scrub for Smaller Pores

Taking amla as a supplement can benefit your skin from the inside with its incredible range of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients.

Amla facial scrubs have also been reported as effective for reducing acne and controlling oily skin.

This page will focus on using the powdered amla as a topical treatment to improve your skin and tighten up your pores naturally.

A Natural Skin Scrub

Amla is sometimes called amalaki or Indian gooseberry. The whole fruit powder, with its chopped up seeds, is a brilliant skin exfoliator with strong antibacterial and astringent properties.

Used as a skin scrub, amla powder can help break down the top layer of old, tired skin cells to reveal your natural glowing complexion underneath.

This amla facial treatment can also help to shrink enlarged pores and restore skin firmness by stimulating collagen production with its vitamin C content and other beneficial antioxidants.

I’ve personally found it to have an amazing effect on my overall complexion and use it twice a week in one of the amla facial scrub recipes I’ll share below.

Skin Precautions with Amla Powder

Before sharing these skin treatments a couple of precautions. Due to its astringent properties, amla powder face scrubs may be a little too tightening for people with particularly dry skin.

There is a different skin scrub recipe for smaller pores ahead that should mitigate this, but it still may not be appropriate for skin that is very dry.

As with any new topical treatment there is a small chance of an allergic reaction. If you know that you have sensitive skin it would be advisable to do a small patch test before using it.

How to Make an Amla Powder Facial Scrub to Tighten Pores

The basic amla face scrub is very easy to make:

1. Simply place a teaspoon of powdered amla in a bowl (this highly rated organic powder is the one I use).
2. Next slowly mix in, with the spoon, a small amount of hot but not boiling water until you make a wet paste. Around the consistency of yogurt is good to aim for so you can spread it easily and it remains moist.

It’s best to make it up fresh each time, rather than storing it. Natural treatments don’t keep well.

That’s because they are potent and unsuitable for storage. But that’s also what makes them better than ineffective cosmetics, especially when it comes to clearing out your pores.

4 Amla Scrub Variations for Different Skin Types

Here are some different variations on this pore tightening treatment depending on your skin type.

1. Oily Skin

For skin that tends to be oily add in half a teaspoon of raw honey and half a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice (lemon juice is a powerful skin cleanser). Mix them both into the amla paste with a spoon so they’re well blended.

Scrubs with lemon juice can sting a little when first applied. Brief and mild stinging is normal, but if this is excessive or increases then wash it off with some warm water and moisturize, ideally with aloe vera gel. People with sensitive skin should avoid lemon juice.

2. Acne Prone Oily Skin

Modify the oily skin recipe above by adding a small sprig of fresh parsley, chopped finely and crushed up in a mortar and pestle or on a chopping board. Parsley is good for acne and other skin conditions.

To make this pore tightening and acne fighting amla treatment, first mix a small amount of the hot water into the parsley, perhaps crushing it up even more with pestle to get as much of the juice out as possible.

Then mix in the powdered amla and stir them up well. Add to this half a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and half a teaspoon of raw honey, preferably anti-bacterial manuka honey which is particularly effective against acne.

Using scrubs on areas of skin that are already suffering from heavy acne outbreaks isn’t advisable. Additionally, the lemon juice in this treatment is likely to sting any pimples.

However, if you can use this scrub when your skin isn’t showing too many large spots it can help clear out your pores and lessen future acne problems.

3. Dry Skin Variation

People with dry skin should be careful using scrubs too often and the recipes above using lemon juice are not recommended, even if you do have acne.

A better recipe that could be applied once a week with a gentler scrubbing motion would use yogurt and honey.

Add half a teaspoon of real bio-active yogurt (not the flavored fruit brands) and half a teaspoon of raw honey. Once again, skin healing manuka honey is excellent if your skin is prone to blemishes.

4. Gentle Scrub for Sensitive Skin

Those with very sensitive skin are generally cautioned against using all but the gentlest of facial treatments.

Amla powder, with its finely chopped seeds, really sloughs off the dead skin cells and clears out pores and is not particularly gentle.

This effect can be softened by adding a teaspoon of pure aloe vera gel and mixing it in well. I’d still recommend performing the patch test mentioned above first if you have sensitive skin.

How to Use Amla Scrubs for Smaller Pores and Glowing Skin

1. Once you’ve made up your amla powder paste with hot water and any other additions, allow it to cool for a minute then take it into the bathroom.
2. Wash your face first with warm water and ideally a good chemical free cleanser like this.
3. To still damp skin, apply the amla facial scrub to your face and neck, gently rubbing upwards in circular motions.
4. I usually start at the jawline with both sets of fingers and work upwards, concentrating on the cheeks and nose but avoiding the eye area.
5. Coming up to the forehead, start from the center before heading up an out and then use the remaining scrub on the neck from the base up to the jawline.
6. It can be good to leave the scrub on for a little while to do its work.
7. Once you’re finished, wash the facial treatment off thoroughly and moisturize. I like this potent vitamin C and hyaluronic acid serum or cold pressed avocado oil in the evenings.

Twice a week with this amla face scrub is a good schedule for clearing out and tightening up your pores and for healthier skin in general.

While there should be some initial improvement, it can take a few weeks of treatments to really start seeing the full benefits from new skin coming through. Please share your results if you make it up yourself.

Of course external facial scrubs can only do so much. A really glowing complexion comes from good internal nutrition.

Taking amla powder with it’s extremely high antioxidant content can provide significant skin benefits. You can see my recommendations for where to get the best organic amla products here.

Next are some deeper treatments to improve your facial skin tone with special amla face mask recipes you can make at home. There’s even more homemade natural beauty recipes here as well.