Tried & tested: the best body scrubs
Winter wasn’t great for our bodies, was it? The pale and only-interesting-to-a-dermatologist skin that we’ve been developing over the past 6 months is starting to worry us a bit. It doesn’t matter as much when you can cover it up with opaques, boots, cardigans and a big scarf, but the thought of having to reveal all when the weather gets warmer is making us anxious.
But there is something that can save us: the trusty exfoliating body scrub. We’ve tried and tested some that will get take you from flaky to fabulous in a matter of minutes …
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1. Crystal Body Polish, Crystal Clear, £32, www.crystalclear.co.uk
The claims: it’s a dual effect treatment that features a special blend of anti-ageing ingredients, essential oils and garnet to have the effect of a microdermabrasion treatment, leaving your skin feeling smooth, supple and revitalised. Matrixyl 3000, a powerful active complex of anti-ageing peptides helps prevent wrinkles and reduced elasticity with added essential oils such as sweet orange, geranium, santal and grapefruit.
We thought: The packaging is classy and minimalist white (which we like because it doesn’t make your bathroom look messy) and as soon as you unscrew the lid, you know you’re in for a treat. It smells like a spa, it’s got that distinctive smell that transports you back to days before the recession when you used to get a treatment each week. The product itself rubs in easily, and the fine exfoliating particles (the size of sand grains) really seem like they’re getting rid of dry skin. You leave the shower with your skin glowing and ready to drink in moisturiser. After just one use, skin felt noticeably smoother, and with use over a week, dry skin was banished. No wonder this is the celebrities’ choice!
2. Hammam Hot Scrub with ginger and fresh eucalyptus, Rituals, £12.90, www.rituals.com
The claims: it’s a unique combination of nourishing natural oils and pure exfoliating sea salt. It contains the natural ingredients ginger and eucalyptus to provide your skin with a dazzling hot after feel. It instantly relieves fatigue and lifts your mood.
We thought: It’s green. And it smells really strongly of the natural ingredients of eucalyptus and ginger. But if you can get over those two things, then this is a brilliant product. Because the exfoliating particles in this are sea salt, it’s very coarse, so you can’t scrub too hard. Use it with a wash cloth and gently massage it into your skin then you can feel it getting to work. Skin starts to tingle and feel warm, and the effects last even after you’ve got out of the shower. The fragrance, although a bit overpowering, is actually great in the mornings when you need to be woken up. After a week of almost daily use, skin was less flaky and more radiant.
3. Formula silky smooth body scrub, Marks & Spencer, £7.50, www.marksandspencer.co.uk
The claims: it effortlessly smooths away your dry, rough skin whilst working on ‘bumpy’ areas to stimulate circulation and help detox. An emollient rich cocktail of olive oil and Brazillian murumuru butter replenish and nourish, pampering your skin into extreme softness, your boy is revitalised, brightened and radiant.
We thought: The texture is thicker than most exfoliators, verging on gloopy, but this makes it easy to really smother your skin with it. The particles are a mix of sea salt and sand, which means you get the advantages of both polishing and deep exfoliating. The fragrance is floral and pretty, so it’s good that it lingers with you even after using the product. Skin is left tingling, pink and thoroughly exfoliated, but also brilliantly moisturised. Overall the effect helps to make your skin look younger.
4. Citrus glow hydrating sugar scrub, Champneys, £7.70, www.champneys.co.uk
The claims: it’s a natural body exfoliator specially designed to boost circulation and remove dead skin cells. Formulated with coconut fibres and a blend of demerara and organic brown sugars, the scrub stimulates dead and lifeless skin leaving it feeling smooth and moisturised.
We thought: The fragrance of this product reminded us of holidays, of beaches and suncream, which made us like it even before we’d used it. The smell is a combination of lemon, coconut and kukui oil, and we couldn’t stop inhaling it. When we rubbed it on in the shower, we liked the consistency – lots of small particles suspended in a fairly thick but not sticky base. Rather than feeling the individual grains in this product, you can feel the overall effect of many grains combining to exfoliate your skin. The result is lasting softness and after a few uses, skin is ready for showing off.
5. Organic coconut candy scrub, Essential Care, £28, www.essential-care.co.uk
The claims: 100% organically grown and produced, handmade in the UK. It contains fair-trade sugar cane and deliciously fragrant virgin coconut to leave skin silky smooth and deeply moisturised.
We thought: we were told by Essential Care’s press people that this product was so pure, it was literally edible, although they did point out, that we probably shouldn’t actually eat it. When we opened the pot though, we were tempted. The fragrance was sweet and buttery. As you spread it on to your skin, it transforms from being the consistency of butter-cream icing to a clear oil with lots of fine sugar particles in it. It glides on effortlessly, exfoliating without the need for harsh rubbing. Afterwards skin felt smooth, moisturised and protected, almost as if we had applied a body oil. And the added bonus with this one is that you know it’s not going to contain any nasty chemicals that could cause an allergic reaction.
6. Silky refining scrub, Taer Icelandic, £19.51, www.taer.com
The claims: it’s a sumptuous, creamy scrub containing yarrow and angelica to purify and detoxify, fine walnut dust to gently exfoliate and lime oil to brighten and uplift.
We thought: As with all Taer Icelandic products there’s a distinctly medicinal fragrance to this refining scrub, which makes it seem like it will be super-duper good for you. This is the perfect product if you just want a very light exfoliation (the particles are not large and there aren’t loads of them). We like the way it smoothes on easily like a moisturiser and leaves skin plumped and brightened. It’s so gentle that you can use it on your face as well as your body, which is handy.
