The Best Body Scrubs For Your Skin Type

Finding the right body scrub for your skin type can be a fine art. But, that doesn’t mean it needs to be hard!

Each person has skin that fits into a broad category: “normal”, oily, dry, combination, and sensitive. You may have heard these terms used specifically for facial skin, but it applies to body skin as well.

And, just like how the face can have an oily T-zone, or patches of different kinds of skin, the body can as well. You might have dry legs and an oily back, for example. There is a lot of skin to work with, so it’s normal to have varying skin types all over!

You must also remember that your unique skin will have its own reactions and preferences when it comes to skincare products. So, even though you may fit into a broad category, make sure you listen to what your skin is telling you about your care regimen!

Read on to find out how to select the best body scrubs for your skin.

THE 5 SKIN TYPES: WHICH DO YOU HAVE?

The first and simplest thing to determine is your skin type(s).

Before your next bath, examine different areas of your body to see how your skin is doing. Check the neck, décolletage, arms, belly, legs, back, and buttocks. You may have a uniform skin type across the board, or you might have a few different types in different areas.

Normal: Skin appears non-irritated, rather smooth, not flaky, and doesn’t leave excessive oils behind when it touches something. To the touch, it is rather soft and likely doesn’t turn too red when slightly agitated, for example, by lightly rubbing it with a finger. It feels supple, not itchy, and not tight.

Oily: Skin appears non-irritated, shiny or greasy, smooth, not flaky, and will leave excessive residue behind when it touches something. Body acne may be present. To the touch, it is soft and supple, slick, and likely doesn’t turn too red when slightly agitated. It feels comfortable, not tight, and not itchy.

Dry: Skin appears non-irritated, dull and ashy, with a powdery appearance, smooth, perhaps flaky, and will leave little to no residue behind when it touches something. Cracks in the skin may be present. To the touch, it may be soft and smooth, or rough, depending on the type of dryness. It is most likely flaky. It probably does turn red when the skin is agitated and may become itchy. It feels tight, uncomfortable, and possibly sensitive.

Sensitive: Skin can be sensitive AND normal, oily, or dry. The sensitivity refers to how much the skin reacts to agitation from chemicals, temperature, humidity, and physical touch.

Non-sensitive skin will not turn too red when agitated, and will not change the level of dryness too much due to soaps or temperature. It may be affected by humidity (like getting dry in the winter), but not so badly that it’s a problem.

Sensitive skin will turn redder than it should when agitated, and may even become raised (dermatographia). 

Soaps, even gentle ones, may cause rashes, itching, hives, and flakiness. Temperatures that are too hot or too cold may do the same. Low humidity may cause the skin to suddenly become so dry that cracks form.

Combination: This refers to having a mixture of dry, oily, sensitive, and normal skin (in any ratio) over the whole body.

“Abnormal”: Skin conditions can be, for the purposes of this article, considered “abnormal.” This means that you may want to talk to your doctor or do more research before deciding if a body scrub is right for you.

ARE THERE DIFFERENT BODY SCRUBS FOR MEN AND WOMEN?

In short, no!

The stereotype is that men do not want to buy body scrubs because it is seen as “too feminine.” In reality, it’s just another tool to care for your skin, no matter who you are. Body products targeted at women typically have gentler scents and more plain packaging. Meanwhile, products targeted at men may have more “masculine” scents and the packaging may evoke the feeling of extreme sports.

Usually, the products are otherwise the same. Sometimes one will cost more than the other only because of the brand’s reputation. Don’t be fooled! Anyone can use any scrub, provided it suits their skin type.

Men and women can have any type of skin. Though the stereotype is that women tend to have more sensitive skin and men have drier skin, the truth is it all depends on your genes and the conditions your skin is exposed to, not your gender.

HOW TO CHOOSE A BODY SCRUB FOR MY SKIN TYPE

Firstly, we will look at the broad skin-type category you fit into.

Remember that we were looking at your pre-bath skin to determine the type. After a bath with warm (not too hot!) water, pat your skin dry and take another look. See if the water, temperature, current body products, agitation from the towel, or sudden temperature change from getting out has any effect on your skin. If yes, you might need to re-evaluate to decide if you have sensitive skin that you didn’t notice before.

Normal: When you have normal skin, the world is your oyster. Choose whichever body scrub you’d like! However, keep in mind that not all scrubs are created equal. Choose products that do not contain harmful chemicals like TEAs and DEAs, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, MIT and CMIT, and sulfates.

Find the full list of harmful chemicals here. All skin types should avoid these ingredients!

Oily: For oily skin, you will want to choose a product that contains balancing ingredients like kaolin or bentonite clay, aloe, neem, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), coffee, glycerin, jojoba oil, citric acid, salicylates (like white willow bark), tea tree, chamomile, meadowfoam oil, and witch hazel. Try to avoid denatured alcohols, which can make the skin produce more oils. Also, avoid comedogenic ingredients (clogs pores) and silicones.

Dry: Dry skin is typically also quite sensitive, so aim for soothing ingredients that also moisturise. Look for jojoba oil, shea butter, avocado oil, aloe, sunflower oil, coffee, glycerin, stearic acid, vitamin e, meadowfoam oil, Gotu Kola, rosehip oil, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), turbinado sugar.

Avoid denatured alcohols, salicylates, and sulfates. Certain skins may also have adverse reactions to phenoxyethanol and citric acid.

Sensitive: You will probably know right away if something you use is not good for sensitive skin. It may become irritated after just a few seconds of use, but sometimes you won’t know until a few hours or days later if the product you’ve used doesn’t agree with your skin.

Look for ingredients that are generally calming, like chamomile, aloe, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), turbinado sugar, coffee, kaolin clay, sunflower oil, rosemary oil, MSM (a naturally-occurring molecule that contains sulfur), reishi, lavender, oatstraw extract, rosehip oil, neem, jojoba oil, and meadowfoam oil.

Sensitive skin will absolutely want to avoid overly-abrasive exfoliants like nutshells as well as harsh substances like AHAs, glycolic acid, denatured alcohol, ALS and SLS, and synthetic fragrance.

Combination: If you have combination skin, you may choose to use one scrub that is suitable for all your skin types, use different scrubs for different areas of the body, or scrub only certain areas and leave the sensitive ones alone.

HOW TO USE BODY SCRUBS FOR MY SKIN TYPE

When you’re using body scrubs for exfoliation, you may be tempted to scrub until you feel a stinging sensation because we tend to believe that that means it’s “working.”

You must avoid doing this!

Body scrubs are meant to scrub away the dirt, oils, and dead skin that is ready to go, but having a hard time coming off on its own. If you’ve ever gotten a divot or a discolouration in your nail, you’ll know that you simply have to wait for it to grow out on its own. You can trim your nail down to the quick, but if you try to cut down to the divot, you’ll just be hurting yourself.

At a much more microscopic level, exfoliating with a body scrub is the same idea.

You can only scrub off the things that are ready to leave. You can only cut off the part of the nail that is ready to be cut.

With this in mind, the general advice for all skin types is: scrub lightly, in circles, and for a short period of time.

Normal: Light pressure, circular motions, comfortable speed, scrub for no more than 3-8 seconds per spot to avoid creating micro-tears in the skin. 1-2x per week.

Oily: Light pressure, circular motions, comfortable speed, scrub for no more than 3-5 seconds per spot to avoid provoking the skin into creating even more oil. 1x per week.

Dry: Extremely light pressure, circular motions, slow speed, scrub for no more than 3-5 seconds to avoid irritating the skin further. 1-2x per week.

Sensitive: Extremely light pressure, circular motions, very slow speed, no more than 1-4 seconds per spot to avoid creating microtears and irritation in the skin. 1x per week or less. You may want to skip exfoliating if it causes more irritation than relief.

You can leave the scrub on your skin for a few seconds or minutes so the nutrients can absorb more, but resist the urge to scrub for ages.

Be sure to use other products with your exfoliants to properly moisturise, protect, and maintain healthy skin.