Chemical or Mechanical Exfoliation, How To Choose Your Scrub?

Equipped with grains more or less big, a mechanical scrub means in reality the action to apply your scrub under the shower, or not. In this article, we will speak about scrub.  It frees the pores from the impurities that have become embedded in the skin. This allows the skin to fully absorb the active ingredients contained in the treatment. Grainy scrubs are suitable for all skin types if the grains are fine. However, if they are too large and therefore too abrasive, they are not recommended for damaged skin (dry, sensitive, acne-prone skin).

• The disadvantages of mechanical exfoliation:

Used too roughly on the skin, mechanical exfoliants often end up altering the hydrolipidic film that protects the epidermis. As the grains are too large and not adapted to certain fragile areas, they often cause micro-lesions, invisible to the naked eye, on the most sensitive and reactive skin. Be careful not to use body scrubs on the face, which are generally equipped with large grains.

• The best composition:

Exfoliants with grains consist an oily and scrubbing substances. If the lipidic part must come from vegetable oils like thenourishing body scrub with sweet almond oil or the radiance face scrub with rose hip oil, and not mineral oils because they are very comedogenic. As for the grains, they are softer when they come from fruit kernels like apricot. We speak then about micro-grains, which make it possible to exfoliate the skin gently.

Requiring no rubbing, a chemical scrub is simply a scrub whose active ingredients act on the skin and rid it of its dead skin and impurities, allowing the pores to breathe again. Formulated with enzymes or fruit acids, chemical or enzymatic exfoliants are both the gentlest and most effective of exfoliants. This type of treatment is applied once or twice a week to clean your skin. Gentler than grainy scrubs, acid (or enzyme) scrubs are ideal for dry, fragile or problematic skin. In fact, the absence of grains makes them gentler and less aggressive for dry or even acne-prone skin.

• The disadvantages of chemical/enzymatic exfoliation:

While they are very gentle and effective, chemical or enzymatic exfoliants require careful use. Available in lotion, powder or serum form, they all have a pause time that must be respected. If they remain in contact with the skin for too long, their active formula can be particularly astringent. This is why they are not recommended for sensitive/reactive skin, as they can cause allergic reactions or irritation. However, less abrasive than theglycolic acid exfoliating serum, the gentle lactic acid peeling serum may be better tolerated by the skin. However, we still recommend that you apply the product to the crook of your elbow 24 to 48 hours before the first application to the face, to see if it causes any reaction (redness, itching, etc.).

• The best composition:

In order to find the perfect formula, you must first target your needs. If salicylic acid has antibacterial properties, lactic acid boosts hydration and acts on the radiance of the complexion. Glycolic acid acts against the signs of aging by stimulating the cell renewal system and the synthesis of hyaluronic acid.