Scrubs, Exfoliants and Exfoliators in Skin Care Products
Exfoliating is the fastest way to get glowing skin. Scrubs, exfoliants and exfoliators take off the top dead layer of the skin, leaving it smooth and radiant with an increased ability to reflect light. Some people call smooth, exfoliated skin “glass skin” because of the ability of the skin to reflect light and glow. The desire for glowing skin prompts many people to exfoliate too often, but over-exfoliating skin is not good. This blog discusses exfoliants to use for exfoliation of the face, body, legs, hands and feet.
Many skin care ingredients exfoliate skin- but the exfoliant best for you depends on your skin type and other products in your skin care routine. This blog is a guide to how to safely exfoliate and which scrubs, exfoliants and exfoliators to choose and use.
Do you really need to exfoliate? It depends upon your Baumann Skin Type.
How to Exfoliate Skin
To exfoliate your face using a physical exfoliant, start by cleansing your face with your regular cleanser. After washing your face, take a small amount of the exfoliant product and gently massage it onto your skin in circular motions, making sure to avoid the sensitive eye area. Continue massaging the exfoliant for the recommended time specified on the product, usually around 30 seconds to a minute. Rinse off the exfoliant thoroughly with warm water and then gently pat your skin dry with a clean towel. To complete the skincare routine, consider following up with a hydrating mask, serum, or moisturizer for added nourishment and hydration.
It is easy to exfoliate your skin at home. Many skin care products will do this. The hard part is knowing which exfoliators are best for your Baumann Skin Type. Below I discuss what types of exfoliants there are.
Shop for Scrubs, Exfoliants, and Exfoliators
Facial Scrubs
Facial scrubs are a good way to exfoliate. The abrasive ingredient in them determines if they are good for your skin type or not. Different types of particles used in physical exfoliants can be tailored based on one’s skin type. For individuals with oilier skin, larger and more abrasive particles like pumice or magnesium oxide crystals are recommended as their skin can better tolerate these. On the other hand, those with drier, sensitive skin should opt for products containing softer less spiky granules such as ruby crystals and jojoba beads. It is important to be cautious when selecting exfoliants as certain natural ingredients like crushed nutshells, seashells, ground fruit pits, and seeds may have uneven edges and irregular shapes that can potentially harm sensitive skin.
Most facial scrubs have one of these types of mechanical exfoliators:
Apricot Seeds : Crushed apricot seeds are used in some scrubs for their abrasive texture, which helps manually remove dead skin cells.
Jojoba Beads : Smooth, round beads made from jojoba oil that gently exfoliate without causing skin damage.
Sugar Crystals : Naturally abrasive, sugar is used in scrubs to exfoliate and also offers humectant properties to hydrate the skin.
Salt Crystals : Similar to sugar, salt is used for its abrasive properties and is often found in body scrubs.
Coffee Grounds : Used in scrubs for their gritty texture, coffee grounds can help exfoliate and are thought to improve circulation.
Microbeads : (Note: Microbeads were commonly used but are now banned in many countries due to environmental concerns. They are small plastic beads.)
Bamboo Powder : A fine, gentle exfoliant derived from bamboo, suitable for more sensitive skin.
Rice Bran : Ground rice bran is used for its gentle exfoliating properties and is popular in Asian beauty products.
These are exfoliating facial scrubs that I recommend to my patients:
Peels
Peels use acids to dissolve attachments between cells. This can burn your skin if you have very sensitive skin or a thin stratum corneum. Do not use peels unless you have guidance from a skincare expert- and NEVER go in the sun after using an at home exfoliating peel on your face or any exposed areas.
These are peels that we like for some skin types:
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Toners
Exfoliating toners may be found in skin care routines to treat acne or melasma routines. These are some toners that we recommend mostly to Oily Baumann Skin Types.
Essence
Essences, which are another name for facial toners, may contain exfoliating ingredients such as hydroxy acids and enzymes. The best exfoliating face toners for oily skin or combination skin have salicylic acid to clear pores. The best essences and face toners for dry skin should have hydroxy acids like glycolic acid.
glycolic acid
Types of Exfoliants
There are two main types of skincare products that exfoliate skin:
Mechanical exfoliators
Chemical Exfoliators
Skincare products to exfoliate the skin may contain mechanical exfoliators, chemical exfoliators, or both. Other products that you might not realize are exfoliants are retinoids and ascorbic acid.
Choose exfoliators by your Baumann Skin Type for best results. You can shop and read reviews by your skin type. Once you take the quiz – look for your skin type octagon with your skin type number and color. This will guide you to the best exfoliants and exfoliators for your skin type. If you do not see the octagons- it means you need to take the quiz or log in.
Mechanical Exfoliators
Mechanical exfoliation is also called physical exfoliation and is a skincare method that involves using a hard substance or tool to manually remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. This process can be achieved by applying a liquid, gel, or scrub containing granules like microbeads or sugars, or by using tools such as sponges, towels, or brushes. The manual exfoliation technique essentially works by gently ‘scrubbing’ the skin to slough off dead cells and reveal a smoother complexion. While physical exfoliation offers various benefits, there is a risk of over-exfoliation if too much pressure is applied or if the process is repeated too frequently. Additionally, the abrasiveness of some exfoliants can potentially cause skin irritation and compromise the skin’s natural barrier function. It is crucial to choose the right physical exfoliant based on individual skin thickness and sensitivity to avoid these issues and achieve optimal results.Mechanical exfoliators use a rough substance s to scratch the surface of the skin removing dead skin cells.
Types of mechanical exfoliators are:
sugar
apricot seeds
jojoba beads
aluminum crystals
face brush
face scrub
loofa
microdermabrasion
dermaplaning
azelaic acid
Chemical Exfoliators
Manual exfoliation involves using a physical tool, liquid, gel, or scrub to physically slough off the dead surface cells from the skin. On the contrary, chemical exfoliation involves the use of alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), or enzymes to break down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together, allowing them to be shed more easily. In essence, manual exfoliation physically scrubs away dead cells while chemical exfoliation chemically dissolves them. The two methods differ in their mechanism of action and the potential level of skin irritation they may cause. Chemical exfoliation is generally considered gentler and more suitable for sensitive and acne-prone skin due to its less abrasive nature, while manual exfoliation can be more aggressive and may not be suitable for all skin types.
Chemical exfoliators that use low pH ingredients such as acids or enzymes help dissolve the attachments between cells.
Types of chemicals exfoliators are:
AHAs
Azelaic acid
Gluconolactone,
Glycolic acid
Hydroxy acids
Lactic acid
Papaya enzymes
Pumpkin enzymes
Salicylic acid
What happens when you don
What happens if you don’t exfoliate?
The skin exfoliates itself in a process called desquamation- so using extra exfoliation is not necessary to maintain skin health. However, exfoliation can make your skin glow and look radiant instantly.
When the skin’s surface is not smooth, dead skin cells heap upon the top layer of the skin. This decreases light reflection.
5 things that can happen if you do not exfoliate skin:
Your skin will look dull
Your skin will not glow
Your skin will feel rough
Darker skin may get a grey and ashy
You may have tiny dry lines
Signs you need to exfoliate
When dead skin cells heap up on the skin’s surface, your skin looks less radiant and stops glowing.
7 signs that you need to exfoliate:
Ashy skin
Skin feels rough
Skin is dull
Skin does not reflect light
Skin is not radiant
Your skin looks old
Crepey skin with a rough texture
How Often To Exfoliate
How many times a day or week you should exfoliate depends upon your Baumann Skin Type. If you have a Resistant Baumann Skin Type, you can exfoliate every day. Below is what I tell my patients about how often to exfoliate depending on their skin type.
How often should you exfoliate sensitive skin?
Sensitive Baumann Skin Types should be careful and only exfoliate 2-3 times a week. Some subtypes of sensitive skin such as rosacea prone skin, may not be able to exfoliate at all. Never exfoliate if your skin if it hurts, or is red or stinging.
How often should you exfoliate dry skin?
Exfoliate dry skin one to two times a week. Only exfoliate if your skin is dull or is flaking. Exfoliate in the day time or before an event. There is no need to exfoliate your skin before bedtime because the dead skin cells will build up on the top layer of your skin again overnight.
Can exfoliating too much cause dry skin?
Yes! Exfoliating skin injures the skin barrier. If you want to exfoliate your dry skin, use a barrier repair moisturizer afterwards.
dry skin types need a barrier repair moisturizer
Barrier repair moisturizers to use after exfoliating dry skin:
Benefits of Exfoliating
The skin naturally exfoliates itself in a process called desquamation. In some instances, the face needs help exfoliating because it is not desquamating enough, resulting in retained skin cells on the surface of the skin.These dead skin cells on the surface of skin make the skin feel rough. When the surface of the skin is not smooth, the skin looks dull because light is not reflected well. Exfoliants renew skin and make it radiant and glowing.
10 benefits of exfoliating skin are:
Fading age spots and dark spots
Reducing fine lines and wrinkles (temporarily)
Increasing absorption of other products
Unclogging pores
Shrinking pores
Improving the appearance of aged skin
Smoothing skin
Removing hard skin
Thin calluses
Get rid of bumps on skin
How Many Exfoliators To Use In Your Skin Care Routine
You probably do not realize how many exfoliators are in your skin care routine. Many ingredients such as Vitamin C exfoliate but you do not realize it.
When starting a new skin care routine, most Baumann Skin Types should only use 1 type of exfoliation per day. However, some skin types can use 2-3 types per day.
The key is to not over-exfoliate. When you begin a new skincare routine, do not use more than 1 or 2 types of exfoliators at once or you can over-exfoliate the skin. The amount of exfoliators you use, the frequency that you exfoliate every day, and which exfoliator is best depends upon your Baumann Skin Type®.
Take the Quiz
What skin treatments exfoliate?
Many medical spas offer skin treatments to exfoliate. These are the types of exfoliating treatments to ask your doctor or medical provider about:
Body Scrubs
Dermaplaning
Exfoliating Masks
Face brushes
Facial scrubs
HydraFacial
Microdermabrasion
Chemical Peels
Laser
What skin care ingredients exfoliate?
List of exfoliating ingredients found in skincare products:
List of exfoliants and exfoliators in skin care products:
AHAs
BHA
Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
Azelaic acid
Defensins
Hydroxyacids such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, and phytic acid
Jojoba beads
Retinoids
Salicylic acid
Natural and Clean Exfoliating Ingredients:
There are many natural exfoliants and exfoliators that meet clean ingredient standards. Some examples are:
Apricot Pits- finely ground
Almonds- finely ground
Oatmeal- ground
Papaya enzymes
Pumpkin enzymes
Sugar
Sea salt is very rough on the skin so if you choose to exfoliate with kosher salt or sea salt- be very gentle. Sugar is a better natural option to exfoliate skin.
Do not use baking soda to exfoliate your face! Baking soda has a pH of 8 and is very alkaline and irritating to your skin. You can cause a chemical burn.
Environmentally Friendly Exfoliants and Scrubs
There are many face scrubs to exfoliate the face, however, many have come under scrutiny because they can hurt the environment. In fact, plastic microbeads have been banned from beauty products in the US because of plastic buildup in the waterways.
Environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, sustainable face scrub ingredients include:
Coffee grounds- Can have sharp edges that are too rough for sensitive skin
Jojoba beads – Do not have rough edges that can damage the skin. Come in different sizes that can determine mild, moderate, or deep exfoliation.
Oatmeal- Best exfoliating ingredient for sensitive skin but not very exfoliating
Sugar- A very common DIY at home exfoliator, but very harsh and irritating due to small size and large surface area, causing increased amounts of friction.
Vitamin C
Is Vitamin C an Exfoliant?
Ascorbic acid is an exfoliant. Vitamin C is an acid called ascorbic acid.
Most vitamin C serums are at a low acidic pH. The Vitamin C serums that are pH 3 or lower are exfoliants. For example, SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic is an exfoliant.
Vitamin C creams are not a low pH in most cases- so Vitamin C creams do not exfoliate skin like serums do.
However, Vitamin C serums are strong exfoliants. They are also antioxidants and tyrosinase inhibitors.
Hyaluronic acid
Is Hyaluronic acid an exfoliant?
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is not an exfoliant. It is a glycosaminoglycan and a humectant. It helps skin hold onto water but HA does not exfoliate skin.
It increases penetration of other ingredients and can increase effectiveness of exfoliants and exfoliators.
niacinamide
Is Niacinamide an exfoliant?
Niacinamide is not an exfoliant. It is an anti inflammatory ingredientand a skin lightening ingredient that blocks the PAR-2 receptor.
It can be used to soothe over-exfoliated skin.
retinol
Is retinol an exfoliant?
Retinol and other retinoids are one of the best exfoliants which is why you peel when you first begin a retinoid.
The exfoliant properties of retinoids is part of the cause of side effects seen with retinol.
Be careful when beginning retinoids. You can easily over exfoliate. I recommend using no more than one other exfoliant when beginning retinoids.
Best Exfoliators By Skin Type
The best exfoliant for your face is one that will make your skin glow but will not over exfoliate. Which is best for your face depends upon your Baumann Skin type and what other products are in your skin care regimen. Here is some general advice and tips to help learn about which exfoliators are best for your face or body.
Our top recommendation is to take the quiz and shop for scrubs, exfoliants, and exfoliators by your Baumann Skin Type.
Take quiz to shop for skin care
Best Exfoliators for Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin is more prone to inflammation. Too much inflammation can lead to uneven skin pigmentation and skin aging.
Exfoliators can increase inflammation in sensitive skin types and hurt your skin! They can also cause hyperpigmentation if you get inflamed from overuse.
If you have sensitive skin, you should only use exfoliating ingredients that are right for your Baumann Skin Type®. This is important because every day in our dermatology practices we see patients who have made their acne, rosacea, or irritated skin worse by using the wrong exfoliating ingredients.
Salicylic acid cleansers might be right for you if you have oily sensitive skin and hydroxyacid cleansers might be right for you if you have dry sensitive skin, but please take the quiz and get our recommendations before using any type of scrubs, exfoliants and exfoliators.
Misuse of exfoliators is one of the biggest mistake that I see my sensitive skin patients make!
Best Exfoliators Dry Skin
The best exfoliators for dry skin are hydroxyacid cleansers or creams that contain hydroxyacids. Here are some low strength hydroxyacid creams that can be used to exfoliate dry skin:
Vichy LiftActiv B3 Serum Dark Spots & Wrinkles Anti-Aging Serum
Exfoliating Face Wash for Dry Skin
The best face washes to exfoliate dry types are hydroxyacid face washes.
Chemical Exfoliants for Feet
There are many benefits of exfoliating the feet using chemical exfoliation products like glycolic, malic, and lactic acids. These can be applied as a mask, peel, cream or gel and lead to shedding of rough skin layers on the feet within a few days. These foot masks and peels give you smoother and softer feet fast and address rough spots on the feet. You most likely will need to use these once a week.
This is the most popular and and best foot peel on the market. I use these myself.
Scrubs and Physical Exfoliants for Feet
The bottoms of the feet, known for rough spots, benefit from physical exfoliation methods like scrubs, stones, and files. For a more intense treatment, use chemical exfoliation first and follow with a scrub or pumice stone.
Leg Exfoliators
Always exfoliate before shaving your legs – not after. To exfoliate the legs, start with a brush or loofa using gentle pressure to loosen cell attachments. You do not need to do this step if you just shaved your legs because the razor has a similar effect. I like to do this in the shower. Then use a chemical or physical exfoliator. For chemical exfoliants, massage into the skin and follow the directions on the product label. For physical exfoliants like scrubs, wet the legs with warm or hot water. Rub into the legs in a circular motion in the shower and rinse off with warm water.
Lip Exfoliators
Lip exfoliators often contain sugar because sugar makes the lip smoothing product taste great. Sugar can be used to exfoliate the body and lips, but sugar is too harsh to use as a face exfoliator.
Bikini Area Exfoliators
Bikini area exfoliators can be used to help prevent and remove in grown hairs in the groin area. For the bikini area, it is recommended to use a sensitive-skin product and gently scrub along the bikini line before letting it sit for a few minutes. For manual exfoliants like scrubs, gentle scrubbing and rinsing with warm water are advised. If using a chemical exfoliant, massage into the skin and follow up with a fragrance-free moisturizer.
Salicylic acid cleansers and scrubs a great choice to help prevent and treat in grown hairs, but make sure you wash off nay cleansers completely before moisturizing.
This hydroxy acid scrub is both a physical and chemical exfoliator that is a great brightening scrub for the bikini area. It helps prevent and get rid of in grown bikini hairs. Use it gently and in a warm shower. I think that scrubs like PIdanti Smoothing Polish are the best exfoliators for the bikini area.
Skin Conditions
Acne
Although many of my patients have heard that mechanical exfoliating is good for acne, but over exfoliating the skin can make acne worse. If you have acne, you should avoid mechanical exfoliation such as scrubs which can irritate the hair follicle and cause breakouts and make it more likely that you will become irritated from your acne medications. If you have acne, exfoliate with chemical exfoliators like hydroxy acids and salicylic acids instead of facial brushes and scrubs.
Over-exfoliated skin in acne patients is very common because patients often feel that acne is caused by unclean skin and they think exfoliating will help acne. Over exfoliating disturbs the skin’s natural desquamation process and can lead to clogged pores and skin purging.
Salicylic acid is the best exfoliator for acne because:
Has anti-inflammatory soothing capabilities
Helps treat acne
Can unclog pores
Lowers skin pH so acne bacteria can’t thrive
Be careful when using salicylic acid with acne medications such as retinoids and benzoyl peroxides. This can lead to too much exfoliation and skin inflammation.
salicyilic acid
Eczema
Do not use a mechanical or chemical exfoliator is you have eczema. These can further disrupt the fragile skin barrier. Instead use a barrier repair moisturizer.
Psoriasis
Over exfoliation can worsen psoriasis. Patients are often tempted to use exfoliators to remove psoriasis scales and improve skin roughness from eczema. However, friction and injury can lead to the Koebner phenomenon (skin injury) which worsens psoriasis.
Black Skin and Skin of Color
If you have black skin, you may notice that the skin gets an ashy tone when dry. The best way to exfoliate black skin is by using one of the exfoliators discussed above, followed by a moisturizer. Make sure you do not over-exfoliate because that can lead to inflammation followed by hyperpigmentation. Using the best skincare routine for black skin that considers your Baumann Skin Type® will help prevent ashy skin.
Ingredients To Use After Exfoliating
The top layer of the skin is thinner after exfoliating so you need to be careful what you us on your kin. For example, don’t use alcohol or astringents after exfoliating. These are often in toners. Below I discuss which ingredients you can and cannot use after exfoliating.
Vitamin C
You can exfoliate before using Vitamin C. It is best to use a low pH cleanser like a AHA or BHA to lower the pH before applying Vitamin C serum. This helps the Vitamin C penetrate better.
Vitamin C serums are expensive so you want as much absorption as possible because ascorbic acid does not absorb very well.
Retinol
Retinoids are strong exfoliators themselves. For most skin types- it is best not to use another exfoliant in your skincare routine while using retinol. You can add a scrub or chemical exfoliator once you are using the retinol every night with no side effects.
Exfoliation is a normal skin process that sometimes needs a boost from exfoliants and exfoliators. Choosing the best exfoliants and exfoliators and using them properly is the key to good skin exfoliation.
Look for your skin type octagon when shopping for scrubs, exfoliants, and exfoliators so you know you are buying the best ones for your skin type.
