Scrub a dub dub...

So I pledged to be a more routine exfoliator this year and what better way than to gather up my favourite exfoliators and put them all to the test and give you guys a review?! I'll admit I was a little shocked at the sheer number of exfoliators I had in my possession given I have no actual exfoliation routine and just really do it ad hoc when the mood takes me...or usually, truth be told, just before a spray tan! Anyway I've been scrubbing away for the last few weeks and while buffed to near perfection at this stage I'm bringing you my top 4 exfoliators from my collection and also my 2 favourite exfoliating tools!! (and yes I do have even more than 4 exfoliators which is perhaps why I also pledged to stop hoarding products and buying new ones before the originals have run out). My name is Suzi and I have a problem!

The Details:

Right well my top tip is to invest in a shower body brush (dry body brushing is a blog in itself which I will cover in the future) or a pair of exfoliating gloves. These can be used daily with your regular shower gel giving you a nice gentle exfoliation and keep you beautifully buffed. Unsurprisingly I have both - my brush is a QVS one from Superdrug and my gloves are from Sainsbury's as that was the only place I could find black ones (to hid tan stains). Neither are recent purchases but I expect you are looking at under €10 for the brush and €2 - €3 for the gloves. Now onto my lovely exfoliators, in no particular order:

1. Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Body Scrub, 50ml €3.39 (200ml €9)

A nice light exfoliator which is suitable for daily or frequent use (depending on your skin condition). It contains natural pumice as the exfoliant, orange oil to moisturise/hydrate and patchouli which compliments the scent very nicely. Personally I cannot abide orange scented anything (including the actual fruit) so for me to have this in a top 4 is pretty impressive. There is also an amazing salt scrub in this range which comes in a big jar or in individual sachets and worth checking out as a reasonable alternative to number 2 below...

2. Sea Spa Salt Scrub,  400gm €55

Well I got this one as a gift and think its possibly my favourite of the four closely followed by Pulp Friction below. Its from those Dead Sea Spa concession stands you find in shopping centers and large department stores with very annoying salespeople. I realise it doesn't look very appealing from the swatch below but it is simply AMAZING! Its very thick and luxurious and basically  looks like rock salt in oil! Its more abrasive than the last one and is therefore better used less frequently. This product works best in a warm bath where you can allow the oils absorb into your skin. Its so rich that I never have to moisturize after as the oils leave my skin glowing and hydrated!  The ingredients boast dead sea salt (which I am very dubious about I must admit), sandalwood and lavender oil and vitamin a & e. I asked at a stand one day how much it cost and was quoted a ridiculous €55 but I reckon you can haggle them down by about 50% if you have the time, inclination and will!!

3. Soap & Glory Pulp Friction Invigorating Body Scrub, 250ml €11.18

Now I am absolutely LOVING this one. Like number 1 above its a nice light exfoliator suitable for frequent use. I am admittedly a Soap & Glory junkie so when I unwrapped their "Big Splendour" from himself on Christmas morning I almost exploded with excitement! This is one of their products I'd never used before so happily took it for a road test and cannot step into the shower without bringing it along now! It actually looks like melted ice-cream and smells fab too. It has and I quote: "Fig powder, pumice, peppermint oil, lemonade tree liquid, orange waterjuice™ and vitaminballs™ (A,C,E)" {source: www.soapandglory.com}

4. Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub, 300ml €13.50

An award winning body smoother this is a thicker, more luxurious scrub than Pulp Friction and fantastic for the bath as opposed to the shower. It includes oats, shea butter and sugar amongst its ingredients and with it's maple fragrance it actually looks and smells edible so be careful!! Personally, I find the smell a wee bit sickly but if you are the kinda girl who likes chocolate and honey scented products this will go down well.

The Images:
So first up the brush and gloves:

Now onto the collection of exfoliators/body scrubs:

Finally a few swatches of them in the same order they are listed above 1-4 from left to right:

  
The Sciencey Bit:
Right well while I was sorely tempted to find a diagram of the skin to show you all I decided I'd spare you! It's not really that important and any of you who did Home Ec., Science or A&P will probably still have it burned into your brain anyway!! So basically new skin cells are created in the skin's lower layers and make a journey to the surface. As they go along their 30 day journey the cells die and absorb more and more keratin until they become saturated (this is a structural protein which is responsible for protecting the skins outer layer). Exfoliation removes the dead layer of skin revealing the newer layer beneath. 

Why do we need to exfoliate regularly then I hear you ask; Well its not a process developed just to remove those horrible remnants of fake tan after it starts to break down.. nope far from it. It is an important part of your skin care routine as it unclogs pores, exposes hair follicles (ie helps prevent ingrown hairs - ick!) and basically keeps your skin nice and clean therefore reducing the risk of pimples and other blemishes. Convinced yet?!

Now I should warn you that it is possible to over exfoliate but with my track record that's gona be a difficult task!! Ha ha, no seriously though, you can over exfoliate which will irritate and dry out the skin and we all know dry skin causes wrinkles - aaaaaahhh! So exfoliate with care and ALWAYS follow with moisturiser. Thankfully when it comes to body scrubbing its not as sensitive or wrinkle prone as your mush so you can get away with doing it more frequently.

The Conclusion:
Four pretty amazing scrubs there ladies - I purposely selected two lighter frequent use ones and two thicker more abrasive ones so you had a couple of options in each catagory. I'd recommend them all and must admit that their fragrance, texture and effectiveness help combat the laze monster when it comes to this element of skin care! As I mentioned above the only negatives for me are the scent of S&G The Breakfast Scrub but that's just personal preference and also the astronomical price-tag on the Sea Spa Scrub. I've been on the look out for S&G's Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em one which carries their fabulous "Mist you Madly" scent as a very desirable replacement for The Breakfast Scrub and Sanctuary Spa's Salt Scrub is a much cheaper alternative for the Sea Spa Scrub. 

Other perfectly nice and functional exfoliators that I found lurking in my bathroom included Dove Beauty Bar exfoliating soap, Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Salt Scrub and St Ives Exfoliating Apricot Body Wash. Also the skin and blister got a St. Moritz tan set as part of her Christmas present from yours truly and it had a lovely smelling exfoliator included that i must nick borrow!

Let me know your thoughts, your top products and most of all let me wish you all Happy Scrubbing!!