Physical Exfoliation Is Back
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In the past decade, exfoliating scrubs have been reduced to memes about St. Ives Apricot Scrub and how using it wasakin to using a cheese grater on your skin. The physical exfoliant became popular because it was cheap and good at making skin feel buffed and clean, and it was later abandoned when people learned that using ground-up apricot to slough off dead skin cells can have adverse effects. The problem with it, and most physical exfoliants like it, is that the exfoliating particles are abrasive and can cause small tears and cuts in the skin. Using it once likely won’t trigger this, but over time, this cancompromise the skin barrierand cause irritation (ask me how I know). But recently, there’ve been murmurings of a physical-exfoliation renaissance.
In February, beauty columnist and esthetician Rio Viera-Newton wrote about conquering herclosed comedonesand said that using a scrub can be transformative. “It might seem sort of old-school, but scrubs have come a long way since St. Ives,” she wrote. Her recommendation, co-signed by acne whisperer and esthetician Sofie Pavitt, is theDr. Loretta Resurfacing Enzyme Polish, a physical- and chemical-exfoliation hybrid formulated to buff away dead skin cells and smooth fine lines. The return of scrubs coincides with a bigger manual-exfoliation trend, which includes face shaving using tools likeDermaflashto remove dead skin cells and peach fuzz and washcloths, which offer more friction than just your hands and ensure your skin is super clean.
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What’s happening with the new physical exfoliators?
“Physicals are definitely making a comeback,” says esthetician and founder ofStälle StudiosElizabeth Hand. The return, she says, coincides with the conversation around barrier repair due to overexfoliation. Hand says it also fits into a broader trend of opting for “low and slow acids” like mandelic and azelaic acids, which tend to be better tolerated and less irritating, pointing to the recent release ofSofie Pavitt’s mandelic acidandShani Darden’s Rescue Serum(the main ingredient is azelaic) — two esthetician-founded brands. This thinking extends to scrubs, which, as Rio noted, have evolved. The newer products often contain enzymes, which are physical exfoliators but don’t rely on beads or other granules to scrub skin. Hand says she’s noticed newer clients have been loving theTatcha Rice Foaming Enzyme Powder, a cleanser that contains rice powder and has a fine grit that dissolves into a foam.
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Should I be adding a physical exfoliant to my routine?
Many dermatologists and estheticians are hesitant to recommend them outright.Samantha Mims, an esthetician atBrooklyn Face and Eye,says she isn’t a big fan of physical exfoliants because of how reactionary they can be for skin. She says her clients who favor physical exfoliants tend to be concerned about texture and congestion and rely on physical exfoliants to smooth skin, and while they may see results in the short term, she cautions against using them too frequently. “Physical scrubs can get a little bit aggressive,” she says, especially if you have sensitive and compromised skin. If you do choose to use a physical scrub, regardless of skin type, Mims recommends using it once to twice a week and opting for a product with gentle, exfoliating particles. Dermatologist and owner of Art of Skin,Dr. Melanie Palm, also cautions against using a physical exfoliant with large, abrasive particles, recommending to save that for body parts with thicker skin like elbows and knees. “Using a physical exfoliant on the face can be really harsh, and over time it can also cause such irritation to the skin that maybe you’re provoking broken blood vessels and changes in the vasculature,” she says.
What if I have sensitive skin or am already chemically exfoliating?
If you do want the sensorial feeling of a scrub without the side effects, the answer may be a gentle cleanser with a sensorial element, like gommage, a chemical exfoliator that pills up as it washes off. Gommage is a type of cleanser formulated with enzymes and polymers. These ingredients bind to the oils on your skin and break up dead skin cells. This results in that “pilling” effect. The remnants look a bit like eraser shavings, which can be satisfying to anyone who wants to “see” their skin care working. Because there aren’t any abrasive powders or beads, there’s no risk of impacting the barrier while mechanically exfoliating, but you still get that satisfying visual of bits coming off your skin. Dr. Palm likes to use the Sakura Silk Gel for Face & Body, which she uses on the days she uses a retinoid. “You rub it on your face and it just kind of peels up the dead keratin and you rinse it off,” she says. “It does a beautiful job.”
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