What Kind of Scrubber Are You?

Article by BR Amelia

Is there any part of your skin care routine as rewarding or refreshing as scrub day?  I love a good scrub - I can still remember the first one I used.  It was the St. Ives Apricot Scrub.

Anyone else remember this packaging?!

 It was also my mother's and during my first awful breakout spell she introduced me to a new skin care step.  Exfoliation.

For years it was a simple business, I'd use whatever facial scrub was on special and I'd scrub a couple of times a week.  Then I started to realise different scrubs acheived different things.  And boy oh boy were there a lot of different scrubs to choose from.  And then I started working for Beauty Review and a whole new scrub dimension opened, there were even scrubs without, erm, scrubby bits.  

Where's a girl to start?!

The Two Main Types of Scrub.

Mechanical exfoliation.  These types of exfoliators use an abrasive material to remove dead skin cells.  For products like body scrubs the abrasive material will be quite coarse - sugar or salt are common ones.

For facial scrubs more gentle methods like crushed nuts, kernals or shells are typically used.  The St Ives scrub range uses a mix of exfoliants across the range, from nice scrubby crushed walnut shell to hydrated silica, a mineral, - allowing you to choose the level of exfoliation you want.

You can also exfoliate your face or body using a brush, loofah, rough face cloth or sponge.

The key thing to remember with mechanical exfoliation is that to some degree, YOU control the harshness, so if you have sensitive skin you can massage more gently, as well as choosing a more gentle abrasive. 

Chemical Exfoliation.  A chemical exfoliant uses ingredients that effectively dissolve the dry, dead skin cells, leaving fresh new skin behind.  Those AHAs you've heard so much about?  Those are Alpha Hydroxy Acids, a common chemical exfoliant.  Fruit enzymes are another one.  St. Ives uses Salicylic Acid in two of their scrubs, a really effective ingredient if you're suffering from breakouts or acne.

How a face scrub differs from a body scrub.

We briefly touched on this earlier - but in a nutshell, body scrubs are going to contain much coarser exfoliating particles, making them far too rough for the delicate skin on your face.  Always look for a scrub that specifies it's for the face!

How often?

It depends on your skin type.  Generally, exfoliating 1-2 times a week is plenty to remove dead cells and keep your skin fresh, smooth and balanced.  Really oily, or thick skin could probably use an extra session or two a week.

Well which scrub is right for me?

I'm going to use the St. Ives range to give a quick guide of what ingredients to look for depending on your skin issue.  You can find the whole range of St. Ives scrubs easily at your local supermarket, The Warehouse, Farmers and Kmart - got to love an easy to find product that works for your skin!

Sensitive Skin - Look for a gentle mechanical exfoliant that you can control the depth of exfoliation.  The St. Ives Nourish and Smooth Srcub and Mask has their lowest exfoliation level, using Hydrated Silica and Walnut Shell powder to gently soften skin and smooth away dryness.  Oat Meal is a really soothing ingredient and awesome to have in a scrub.

Acne - If you suffer from acne you'll probably need a deep exfoliant to help slough away dry skin and balance the oilyness that comes with breakout-prone skin.  Look for a scrub like the St Ives Blemish Control  Scrub which contains Corn Kernel Meal and Crushed Walnut Shell powder for that much-needed deep exfoliation.  It also has some fantastic ingredients to help prevent blemishes and get that acne under control, including 2% Salicylic Acid.

Dull skin - if your skin is looking a bit dull and sallow, a scrub could really lift it out of it's funk!  I am personally a huge, huge fan of the St Ives Even and Bright Scrub.  It's a moderate exfoliant, containing Hydrated Silica to polish and buff your dull skin, and Pink Lemon extract and Mandarin peel - citrus ingredients that leave radiant and glowing skin behind.  

Blackheads - urgh.  Just urgh.  Another time to opt for a moderate mechanical exfoliant is when you want to clean out your clogged pores.  Using Hydrated Silica, the St. Ives Blackhead Clearing Scrub allows you to exfoliate while antioxidants in the Green Tea extract target blackheads, unclog pores and calm redness, promoting a smoother, more even skin tone.

Normal Skin - if your skin fits into the broad spectrum of normal (basically none of the above!) once or twice a week you could benefit from a deep exfoliation to reveal smooth skin.  Which brings us to the classic St. Ives Apricot Scrub.  Yes the one I used many, many moons ago.  A classic for a reason, the St Ives Fresh Skin Scrub is a beauty icon - combining Corn Kernel Meal and Crushed Walnut Shell powder for a truly refreshing scrub.

Any tips?

• Always choose a scrub for your skin type.
• Always scrub clean, wet skin.
• Massage the scrub gently, if it feels uncomfortable you're going too hard!
• Rinse really well, and always moisturise really well.
• Be sure to use SPF after exfoliating.  (Use it daily, actually, but especially when you've just revealed gorgeous new skin!)
• Scrub in the morning to wake yourself up!

So there we have it - my quick guide to facial scrubs - did you learn anything new?  How often do you usually exfoliate?  Do you opt for chemical or mechanical scrubs?  Do you pay attention to the ingredients?  

Come on, get chatting below, what kind of scrubber are you?