How to chose an exfoliant body scrub
- Deborah Sibley
- Aug 2, 2014
- 3 min read
If you want to have healthy skin, get rid of some of it. It’s a bit like ‘out with the old and in with the new.’ Exfoliation – a process of removing dead cells from the skin’s surface with mild abrasives allows us to reveal and nourish living, viable skin. Healthy, glowing skin starts with a good scrub.
Please, please know that we do not advocate chemical exfoliants – ever! We believe all-natural, mild exfoliating scrubs are the best way to cleanse pores and rejuvenate the epidermis, the skin's top layer.
Scrubs can greatly improve the vitality and appearance of skin. But, this exfoliating process should be done gently and no more often than once a week. Exfoliating too frequently can damage the skin's natural oil production and disrupt its delicate balance, leading to dryness and irritation.
Now, you know the benefits of body and facial scrubs and our recommended frequency of use, but the most important aspect of exfoliating is selecting the scrub ingredients that are right for your skin type. Typically, we see sea salt, sugar, oatmeal, ground nut shells and even coffee added to a liquid base of oil or soap.
What drives us batty is when we see people selecting a scrub based on fragrance. Ay yi yi! Buyers giddy over a scrub scent often make wrong choices for their skin. Here’s something important to remember. You gain NO benefit from the fragrance! So, pick a scrub based on the most effective ingredients for your skin type, not the scent.
OILY SKIN
If you have oily skin, sea salt gets our vote for the exfoliant of choice. It will help dehydrate the blemish causing oil secretions built up in pores. Look on the label for a liquid base suitable for oily skin, such as olive oil or a water-based lotion that will provide a smoother, more radiant complexion. If you have skin irritation from cuts or scrapes, keep the salt-based scrub on the shelf until you’ve healed.
DRY SKIN
We believe sugar makes the best exfoliant for dry skin. Be it white, brown or raw sugar, these scrubs stimulate circulation and hydrate the skin. They don’t exfoliate as deeply as do salt scrubs, and leave the skin feeling renewed. Our preferred moisturizing base oils are: olive oil, sweet almond oil, argan oil or carrot oil.
SENSITIVE SKIN
Sensitive skin calls for a less abrasive exfoliant, so oatmeal is an ingredient often used for scrubs. Ground seeds and shells can be used as a base in body scrubs for normal skin, too. But, they must be finely ground to avoid micro-cuts on the skin’s surface. Then, there is coffee with its antioxidant properties and reported ability to shrink varicose veins as well as reduce the appearance of cellulite.
We want you to walk through the cosmetic aisle with this thought in mind:
Your skin absorbs a significant portion of what it comes in contact with.
So, what you are scrubbing into your skin is being absorbed into your blood stream. With so many chemical cosmetic ingredients proven to disrupt hormones, it’s important to select natural ingredients to do what’s best for your body. If the scrub label looks like a chemist's shopping list, we suggest you step away from the jar!
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