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Your body sheds a few million dead skin cells every day (but don’t worry, there are 37 trillion more where they came from).
Exfoliating can help your skin feel refreshed, and rejuvenated, and a bar of soap or body wash may not be enough to restore your skin’s natural radiance.
That’s where body scrubs come in.
How Do Body Scrubs Work?
A body scrub is one of the most popular exfoliation methods used for physically removing the layer of dead skin cells. As the name suggests, it contains fine particles with a grainy texture of salt or sugar suspended in an oil or gel base.
The mixture is then applied to the skin. This process reveals healthy baby skin underneath the dead cells and leaves you feeling soft and smooth by drawing out pollutants from the skin.
How to Use Body Scrubs
1. Prepare your skin
For body scrubs to work like magic, you should prepare your skin by removing any dirt and dust collected on your body. Cleanse your body thoroughly by showering in lukewarm water to open up your pores. Use a body wash or soap before you apply scrub to your body.
The water should not be hot as it may be too harsh on your skin, and you might end up with a burn. Therefore, it is best to use a moderate temperature to prime your skin for exfoliation. Wait for 5-10 minutes until you get that soft feeling on your skin.
2. Apply the scrub
Before applying the body scrub, you should make sure that the skin is warm and damp. Then, apply the required quantity of scrub on your prepped skin. Use a circular motion while maintaining gentle pressure on your skin.
For your convenience, start from the feet and work your way upwards gradually towards your chest. This method helps to enhance circulation as you massage and scrub your body.
Take time to scrub your body thoroughly, even the soles of your feet. Pay special attention to parts of your body that are unusually rough and dry, like arms, elbows, legs, knees, and feet.
Avoid scrubbing too hard as it might cause abrasion and damage your skin.
3. Rinse off the scrub
After you have scrubbed every nook and corner of your body, run yourself through lukewarm water to rinse off the scrub. You can use the same circular motions to brush off the excess particles from your skin.
It’s easy to overlook a few areas where scrubs tend to get stuck; It might cause skin irritation. Therefore, you don’t want any of those grains left behind after this routine.
4. Moisturize your skin
No skincare routine is quite complete without moisturizer. It is even more important for your skin after body scrubbing. This is because the pores are open, allowing your skin to better absorb the product you apply to it.
The exfoliation process draws the moisture along with dead cells from your skin. Without a moisturizer, your skin will look and feel dryer than ever. Using moisturizer cream helps to rehydrate your skin and make it feel soft.
Okay, but how often?
Body scrubs come with several benefits to your skin, but they aren’t meant for everyday use. The purpose of exfoliation is to remove the dead cells, oils, and dirt from your skin. That’s it. Scrubbing your body every day–as opposed to merely washing your body with soap–will hurt and damage your skin.
Give your skin enough time to heal before you exfoliate it. If you are just incorporating body scrubs into your routine, do it once a week to avoid skin irritation. As your skin gets adjusted to the process, you’ll want to repeat the scrub not more than about two to three times a week, though once weekly will usually provide the smooth, silky results you’re looking for.
