Most women are familiar with body scrubs, even if they don't use them. Scrubs are designed to get rid of dead skin and rough patches, leaving you with skin that's smoother, healthier-looking, and more radiant.

However, certain types of scrubs are great for your body, but not your face -- and vice versa. Additionally, if you're working on a particularly dry, scaly area of skin, like your elbows or your heels, you need a whole other level of scrubby goodness to get the desired effect.

Check out the gallery to get schooled in Body Scrubs 101. There's a little homework involved in the form of DIY scrubs, but don't worry -- a successfully scrubbed post-bath body is all you need to get an A!

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From rubbing whiskey on sore gums (not a good idea) to gargling warm salt water when you have a sore throat (pretty soothing, actually), my mom is a fountain of home remedies. No matter what the ache or pain is, I always know I can count on my mom to have some sort of "cupboard cure."

AOL Body has weeded out the home remedy facts from the fiction. Some of their tips include:

• Rub a small amount of liquid laundry detergent on a mosquito bite.
• Put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on the floor of a hot running shower and inhale the steam to relieve congestion.
• For brighter, whiter teeth, combine a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of peroxide. Brush the mixture on, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off thoroughly.
• To remove dead skin from your feet, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes then scrub with a mix of water and salt to exfoliate.
• Soothe a sore throat with tea infused with clove, ginger, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey.
  

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There are few luxuries in life that I enjoy more than spending a day -- or even just an hour -- at a spa getting all prettied up. Sure, the results may only last a day or two and it tends to cost a small fortune, but taking the time to relax and rejuvenate, with the added benefit of looking good afterward, makes me feel pretty good about myself.

While I would love to enjoy a spa day at least once a month, it's not really possible because of the cost. I'm sure that many of you are in the same boat. But just because you can't afford to hand over hundreds of dollars on a regular basis for various beauty treatments doesn't mean that you have to go without. Why not try a few DIY treatments instead? Sure you've got to do the work yourself, but it's still relaxing to take some time out to focus strictly on you. Plus, it's a heck of a lot cheaper. It can also be fun to have a DIY beauty night the next time you're having an evening with the girls -- instead of hitting the bars, you can eat pizza, drink wine and have a few laughs while painting your toes.

I've had a look around the web for some good Do It Yourself instructions and found pages that focus on pedicures, manicures and facials, so take a look and see which you'd like to try:

DIY Facial: I think this may be my favorite of all the at-home, on-your-own treatments because it looks really simple and I imagine you'd finish with a really healthy glow. Start with a cleanse using your regular face cleanser, follow with a steam either in the tub or over a bowl of hot water, and then give yourself a massage using an exfoliator. The next step is to apply a mask, then treat yourself to another massage but this time with your regular moisturizer. Finish by applying some eye cream and your skin will look great. If you want to look really fab, check out this site for instructions on how to properly shape your eyebrows so that they perfectly frame your face.

DIY Manicure: OK, I find that painting my own fingernails can be a nightmare. Trying to use my non-dominant hand to do anything is tough and adding nailpolish to the equation often equals a huge mess. But I'm sure for those of you who have similar problems, if you take your time, this DIY Manicure will have your hands looking spa-perfect. Start by removing old nail polish, trim nails to desired length, soak hands in warm water and then use cuticle oil to soften. Follow this by pushing back cuticles with a cuticle stick, exfoliate and then moisturize hands before carefully applying polish. I'm sure the time and delicate work will be worth it!

DIY Pedicure: This one is especially useful now that summer is coming to an end. A few months of going bareful has likely left a lot of feet out there looking and feeling pretty rough. A Do It Yourself pedicure is pretty similar to the manicure, which is great because you can use a lot of the same tools. Like the manicure, begin by removing polish and then soak your feet. Once they're nice and soft use a pumice stone to buff off all that rough, dry skin and then exfoliate off any leftover dead skin. Trim your nails before moisturizing your feet and applying cuticle oil. Push back cuticles and finish with a polish. You can either use the same one as on your hands or mix it up by choosing a complimentary color.

Once you've completed your big beauty day you can either stay and home and chill out while watching a movie, or head out on the town and show off all of your hard work.

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Summer is coming to a close, and your skin may be showing the effects. Now's the time to do damage control, in this in-between time of the year when the summer sun is waning but before the winter weather sets in and you have a whole other set of issues to deal with.

Your top priority should be exfoliating, and then applying moisturizer. Now is the time to switch to something a little heavier than you were using during the summer months, and it's also a good time to attack imperfections like sun spots and other skin/sun damage issues left-over from the summer season. If you're looking for some new products (and who isn't) take a look at this list, and if you've found something that works wonders for you please share!

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I think a must-have for any shower is a loofah, which if you don't know is kind of like a rough sponge that you use to help exfoliate and scrub off any dead skin cells. And according to Mark's Daily Apple, you don't need to buy one of those expensive loofahs at the body shop -- you can easily make your own. Here's how:

• Grow a loofah (also called Luffa) in your backyard -- it's actually a vegetable that looks a lot like a cucumber
• Pick it once it's ripened
• Peel off the outer skin
• 'Milk' it, to get all the moisture and fleshy bits out of the middle. Save the seeds to plant them next season
  
• And that's it!

I had no idea that a loofah was a vegetable. Did you?

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