Go Beyond Soap And Water For Deep Cleansing. Get A Body Scrub

Soap and water alone can’t give you the clean, healthy glow you are looking for. Exfoliation is a must—removing dead skin cells and other impurities so that your skin is soft and radiant. And to do that, you need an efficient body scrub.

“When skin cells accumulate on the surface of the skin, they can make the skin look dry and crusty. They can also make pores look bigger and the texture of the skin look coarse while accentuating fine lines and wrinkles. Dead skin cells can also flatten out the colour of the skin, making it look dull,” Debbie Dickson, Head of Education and Research and Development for DMK Australia, tells Marie Claire.  

However, avoid using a body scrub on your face since the skin on your face is thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your body.  

Benefits of body scrub 

Besides removing dead skin cells, a body scrub can help fight dry skin patches. “Physical exfoliation can buff away dry skin patches caused by winter air and dramatically change skin texture,” New York City-based dermatologist Dendy Engelman tells Prevention.

But don’t go overboard. Too-much exfoliation can be harmful. “Over-exfoliation strips the skin from its natural oils and nutrients, causing overall dryness and irritation,” says Engelman.

Besides exfoliation, some body scrubs enriched with oils also polish your skin; as a result, you get that healthy glow. 

Salt or sugar-based scrub? 

Based on your skin type and needs, you can choose to go for a sugar-based or salt-based or salt and sugar body scrub. Sugar-based exfoliants are gentler compared to salt-based scrubs. Sugar-based scrubs condition and moisturize your skin—they are ideal for those with dry skin.

If you want to slough away the dirt and dead skin cells from tough areas like feet and elbows, salt-based scrubs will help you. If you can’t bracket your requirement under either salt- or sugar-based scrubs, and think you probably need both, you can look at scrubs that have both salt and sugar.