Beauty bloggers and magazine articles are always talking about adding body scrubs into your weekly self-care routine. Body scrubs are a skincare essential and just as important as your body wash, shave cream, and body lotion.
Okay so, what exactly is a body scrub and how are you supposed to use it?
Body scrubs are products made with a combination of cleansing, moisturizing, and (most notably) exfoliating ingredients that offer several benefits to your skin when used properly and regularly.
Let’s dive in and check out some of the reasons you should incorporate a body scrub into your regular routine and the best ways to do that.
The Purpose of a Body Scrub
Why even use a body scrub? The purpose of a body scrub is to exfoliate and moisturize your skin all over your body. It is important to note that body scrubs and facial scrubs are two different products with levels of intensity, and are often not interchangeable.
A body scrub clears away the dead cells on your skin's surface to reveal the healthier and newer skin underneath. Additionally, body scrubs offer a therapeutic experience that brings relaxation when properly lathered and massaged in. Here are some elements to look for when purchasing a body scrub so you can be sure you’re getting the best one for your body.
The Best Type of Body Scrub
When shopping for a body scrub—or anything you’re putting on your body for that matter—look for natural ingredients that are moisturizing and smell great. Extra points if it contains Vitamin E, an antioxidant known to protect and smooth the skin.
Avoid harsh chemicals with names you can’t pronounce or artificial fragrances that may be irritating to your skin. Again, it is important to note that body scrubs are made differently and often stronger than facial scrubs. Facial scrubs designed for the delicate skin of your face are often too gentle for exfoliating the body’s thicker skin layers.
Body scrubs that use essential oils to provide a natural fragrance and add soothing and calming benefits are especially great for sensitive skin. Bubbly Belle’s body scrubs combine the power of essential oils, antioxidants, and exfoliating ingredients like sea salt or coffee beans to help you reveal your best skin.
Fill your shower with the relaxing aroma of lavender, coffee, almond, or coconut and enjoy massaging in all-natural ingredients that feel good and are good for your skin.
Bubbly Belle Body Scrubs
Our Bubbly Belle body scrubs have never been tested on animals and contain:
- NO Parabens
- NO Phthalates
- NO Sulfates
- NO Propylene Glycol
- NO Mineral Oil
Body scrubs that contain chemicals like parabens or sulfates can lead to irritation by stripping the skin too much of its natural oils or preventing it from getting oxygen. It’s best to avoid these ingredients and instead look for natural elements you recognize such as lavender and coconut.
Benefits of Regular Use of a Body Scrub
Using your body scrub regularly can promote smoother, better-moisturized skin and keep you feeling fresh.
They are even known to help increase circulation to improve the color, texture, and plumpness of your skin. Let’s discuss some of the benefits you’ll enjoy from keeping a body scrub as part of your shower routine.
Smoother Skin
Our skin cells regenerate every 28-40 days through a process called cell turnover. The dead cells will often stay sitting on the topmost layer of our skin’s surface, leaving us looking dull or feeling rough and itchy.
We’ll feel this way until the new cells can push through to replace the dead ones. Exfoliation speeds up cell turnover, brings younger cells to the skin’s surface layer, and encourages the body to shed those dead cells more efficiently.
When our top layer has too many dead skin cells, this can also prevent products like lotion from fully absorbing into the deeper layers of the skin because it acts as a barrier.
Use a body scrub regularly to slough off the top layer of dull, dead cells and encourage new cells to emerge—revealing the smoother, healthier skin layers underneath!
Softer Skin
Scrubbing away the dead cells that rest on the top layer will allow the moisturizing ingredients in your body scrub, and any lotions you put on afterward, to get down into the deeper layers of your skin.
Body scrubs are a vital step in any skincare process because they allow any products that follow to really work their magic. Products like lotions, self-tanners, or medications will be able to be absorbed better and thus be more effective. Using a body scrub will get you softer, more moisturized, and overall more comfortable skin.
Clearer Skin
The exfoliation from body scrubs will unclog pores and help remove dirt, toxins, sebum, and other things that can get stuck in there. Clogged pores mean bumpy, red, and irritated skin.
Body scrubs help open up your clogged pores so the dirt can get out and your acne medications or other creams can get absorbed more effectively. Anyone who struggles with acne or congested skin needs to incorporate a body scrub into their regular routine.
Better Circulation
As you massage in your body scrub, you’re bringing blood flow to the surface which improves circulation and lymphatic drainage.
As the oxygen-rich blood comes to the surface, your skin is stimulated and nourished, as well as continuously encouraged to speed up the cell turnover process. This increased circulation and blood flow beneath the skin is what leaves people with that “glowing” look we all aim to achieve.
Fewer Ingrown Hairs
A key reason to use a body scrub is to prevent and treat ingrown hairs. Use your scrub to exfoliate around your bikini line, stomach, and anywhere else you typically get those annoying ingrown red bumps. Exfoliation will help open the follicle and release the hair inside, keeping ingrowns from forming again in the future with regular use.
Exfoliating with a body scrub is an absolute must when it comes to your shaving routine—especially in the summer months when you’ll be reaching for your swimsuit.
The Best Ways To Use a Body Scrub
The best way to use your body scrub is in a warm shower. The warm water prepares your skin to be opened up and exfoliated, and the shower will wash away the remnants of the product once you’re done scrubbing.
Never use an artificial scrub that contains microbeads—small plastic beads that contaminate the water supply when washed down the drain. Always choose good-for-the-earth ingredients with natural exfoliators. Now that you know which type of product to reach for, here are some of the best ways to maximize the use of your body scrub.
Use Weekly
Everyone’s skin is different, with different needs and reactions to exfoliation. It is usually recommended to use your body scrub at least once or twice a week. Some people may use it more frequently, but you can monitor what’s best for your skin depending on your needs and reactions.
Those with more sensitive skin may want to stick to once a week. You’ll see that only a small amount of product is needed to cover the most desired areas, so you can save money and use your product efficiently.
Before Shaving
One of the best ways to use your body scrub is before shaving in the shower. The exfoliation and moisturizing ingredients work together well to open the follicles and prepare the hairs to be shaved.
You’ll be able to grab more hairs with your razor and see fewer issues with ingrowns afterward. Hello, smooth and sexy skin!
Before Sunless Tanning
Most labels on self-tanning products will advise you to use a body scrub before applying their lotion or mousse. This is because you’ll get a more even and longer-lasting sunless tan if the product is able to be applied to a fresh layer of moisturized skin. Scrub off the top layer of dead skin cells so your new, sunless tan can go on smooth and absorb deeper.
During Dry Months
Our skin usually struggles to retain moisture in the dry winter months. A body scrub can help remove the dead layers of dry skin and lock in moisture to the lower layers.
For best results in the wintertime, exfoliate with a body scrub and apply a lotion immediately upon exiting the shower. This will help seal in your moisture and absorb it deep into your skin’s layers. No more dry, itchy skin during the winter.
Final Thoughts on Body Scrubs
In conclusion, when shopping around for the best body scrub, be sure to opt for natural ingredients and exfoliators that nourish the skin and are good for the environment.
Essential oils in your body scrub will offer calming benefits and soothing aromas to create the ultimate luxurious shower experience.
Body scrubs as a part of your regular shower routine can help your skin stay soft, moisturized, and clear with fewer bumps and ingrown hairs. They increase the effects of any products you layer on after a shower like lotion or sunless tanners by creating a freshly exfoliated canvas. Put your best skin out there and increase cell turnover with an all-natural body scrub.
Sources:
Skin anti-aging strategies | NCBI
How Cell Turnover Links to Acne Development | Very Well Health