Smart Shopping for Facial Scrubs

A patient came to me recently with a bright red, painful rash on her cheeks. She thought she was allergic to her new citrus facial scrub from Burt's Bees which she was faithfully using everyday. She wasn't allergic to her facial scrub; she was scrubbing her face too much. Facial scrubs are designed to remove a layer of cells from your skin every time they are used. Overusing a scrub, or choosing the wrong facial scrub for your skin type, can produce burned, raw skin. Here are some things to look for when choosing a facial scrub.

What to Look for

Facial scrubs can be an easy, inexpensive way to exfoliate dull, scaly cells from your skin's surface, leaving you with softer, more vibrant skin. Exfoliating dead skin also improves fine lines and wrinkles which can give you younger, healthier looking skin.

Facial scrubs can exfoliate your skin chemically or physically. Chemical facial scrubs use salicylic, glycolic, citric or lactic acid to chemically remove the dry, dead scales on your skin's surface. They vary in the strength and chemical concentration. Go for mild scrubs, such as citric or lactic acid, if you have sensitive skin.

Physical scrubs exfoliate with abrasives, such as ground apricot pits or almonds, sugars, salt, sand, or even tiny plastic beads. These abrasives are often mixed in an oil base (such as olive oil if it's homemade). When you scrub the mixture on your face, you physically remove the dull, scaly surface to reveal the healthy living cells beneath.

Although these dead cells can give you a parched, dull look, your skin puts those dead cells at the surface for a reason: to protect the delicate living cells below. Occasional exfoliating can make your skin softer and visibly brighter. But you must do this in moderation: once every one to two weeks (which is about how long it takes your skin to turn over).

Some people can tolerate scrubbing more frequently than this, but I suggest you start slowly and work your way to more frequent exfoliating. At some point, you may notice that using your scrub more frequently does not improve your complexion any further. That's because there are no dead cells left on your skin's surface. In this case, give your skin a break, and let it heal before you scrub it again.

Common Pitfalls

Excessively scrubbing with physical or chemical facial scrubs will not clean your pores, reduce your skin's oiliness, decrease your acne, or give you a permanent healthy glow. However, it will make your skin red, irritated and raw, and irritation can actually cause long-term brown hyperpigmentation of your skin. If you have sensitive skin or rosacea, then facial scrubs might not be a good idea for you at all. And remember: everything in moderation.