Scrub your dead skin away

Of all the cosmetic products designed to guarantee deep pore facial cleansing, scrubs seem to be the most effective — and the trickiest, writes Sonal Kalra.

Of all the cosmetic products designed to guarantee deep pore facial cleansing, scrubs seem to be the most effective — and the trickiest. First, let us see why it’s good for your skin to use face scrubs. With ageing, dead cells tend to accumulate on the skin, making it look dull and lifeless as we go about our daily rigmarole.

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While the fancy face-wash lotions and soaps do away with the dust particles in the upper most layer of the skin, they aren’t as effective in sloughing off the layer of dead cells which clogs the pores of the skin. This is where face scrubs come in handy.

The tricky bit is which scrubs to use and more importantly, how often to use them. Dr Rashmi Taneja, consultant cosmetic surgeon, Artemis Health Institute Gurgaon says, “Although facial scrubs are good exfoliants for the skin and act as cleansers, one should not use them more than twice a week because they can cause irritation.”

Amongst a wide array of facial scrubs of all kinds that flood the market, the best and the safest option is to go for herbal or natural facial scrubs which have fruit seeds in place of any synthetic exfoliating beads as the latter may containing harsh chemicals which can prove damaging for the skin.

Amongst the natural fruit based face scrubs, apricot happens to be the most widely used, as apricot kernel powder is compatible with anionic and cationic surfactants, is non ionic and helps to promote a clear skin, removing impurities and has a pleasant odour. You can also choose from those based on cranberry, strawberry, papaya, rosehip, pineapple or go in for unusual options like coffee or honey almond to leave refreshing fragrance on a glowing skin.