In this article:
How can you tell if a scrub is gentle?
Do all face scrubs damage skin?
Can you scrub blackheads away?
Can scrubs get rid of blemishes?
Are natural face scrubs better?
If a scrub tingles, does that mean it's working?
Are sugar scrubs good for your face?
When and how should you use a face scrub?
How are face scrubs different from leave-on exfoliants?
Should you use a face scrub and an exfoliant?
Many people like to use face scrubs as part of their daily skin care routines. Historically, we haven’t been big fans of most scrubs for one significant reason: most of them are way too harsh and abrasive for skin (and we’ve evaluated hundreds over the last 30+ years). But we’ve always said that a gentle scrub used gently (yes, over-scrubbing is a thing!) can be a great option as an extra cleansing step for all skin types.
How can you tell if a scrub is gentle?
Reading ingredient labels alone isn’t the most reliable way to determine a scrub’s gentleness. Even if the ingredients sound mild, the particle size, shape—round is best— and the quality of the cut or how finely it’s milled each factor in.
Try testing the scrub on the back of your hand. If it feels even a tiny bit scratchy, do NOT use it on your face (or body, for that matter). Another approach is to rely on trusted and research-driven brands to formulate gentle, skin-safe products (that’s our mission at Paula’s Choice Skincare!).
Now, let’s get to some of the most common myths about face scrubs. You’ll soon have the facts on the best type of scrub to use, which scrubs to avoid, and when to use a scrub in your routine.
Myth: All face scrubs damage skin, even if you’re careful.
Fact: Any scrub that contains large, irregularly shaped particles damages skin by causing micro-tears on its surface. Common culprits include ground-up shells, fruit pits, and volcanic rock. Micro-tears gradually weaken skin’s barrier, making skin more prone to dry, flaky patches, redness, and signs of sensitivity (1). With daily use, especially if you’re zealously scrubbing with these ingredients, skin loses its ability to restore itself and look healthy.
This issue is made worse if the abrasive scrub also contains irritating fragrance, whether it’s natural or synthetic.
Although they’re few and far between, you can use a gentle, fragrance-free face scrub once or twice daily without worrying about hurting your skin.
Myth: You can scrub blackheads away.
Fact: If only it were that easy! Blackheads form deep in the pore, well beyond where even the best face scrubs can reach. A face scrub for blackheads might be able to remove the uppermost, visible portion of the blemish, but it can’t remove the matter within the pore, so the blackheads will be back within days. Think of it like using a lawnmower to remove weeds. The mower lops off the top portion of the weed, making it less noticeable, but doesn’t get to the root, which is what a leave-on BHA (beta hydroxy acid) exfoliant does beautifully.
Another reason blackhead scrubs don’t work well, if at all: those black dots at the opening of your pores aren’t caused by dirty skin in need of a deep clean. The black colouration results from the mix of oil and dead skin oxidising once it reaches the surface. These black dots can also be sebaceous filaments (which are also gray, yellow-ish or clear in color).
Myth: Scrubs can get rid of blemishes.
Fact: Just like with blackheads, you can’t scrub away blemishes. Treating blemishes requires more than one product and using a harsh or abrasive scrub on active blemishes is likely to trigger more redness and irritation, while doing zero to clear your skin.
A gentle scrub used with minimal pressure can be part of an anti-blemish routine by providing extra cleansing, but you’ll still want to use proven blemish-fighting products, like those with BHA, to get this issue under control.
Myth: Natural face scrubs are best.
Fact: Many of the natural ingredients used to formulate scrubs are terrible for skin. For example, salt, nuts, and fruit pits are all natural but each of these is too rough on skin. In contrast, some natural ingredients like jojoba beads, oatmeal, silica, and rice bran can be incredibly gentle and effective. But even then, it comes down to the overall formula, including how fine the scrub particles are, whether they’re formulated to dissolve during use to avoid overdoing it, and whether the formula also contains hydrating and soothing ingredients.
When creating The UnScrub, we went with the natural, dissolving bead approach. Our goal—create the world’s gentlest face scrub that delivers all the benefits of a conventional scrub, without the risk of skin abrasion. This scrub’s perfectly round jojoba beads are specifically designed to cleanse skin’s surface without scratching or tearing it, yet still work to provide thorough cleansing and the removal of sunscreen and stubborn makeup.
Myth: If a scrub tingles, it’s cleaning deeply.
Fact: Some face scrubs contain ingredients like menthol, peppermint, and eucalyptus that tingle on contact and leave a cooling sensation after you rinse. Don’t mistake these sensations for deep pore cleaning! That tingling is your skin telling you it’s irritated, so always avoid scrubs that contain these sorts of ingredients.
Are sugar scrubs good for your face?
While sugar scrubs have smaller, smoother particles than salt, nut, or fruit pit scrubs – meaning the risk of damage is lower – they're still not the best option. The fact remains that sugar is crystalline, with uneven and potentially jagged edges that can lead to irritation, especially with frequent and repeated scrubbing.
When and how should you use a face scrub?
No matter your skin type, you can use a gentle scrub once or twice a day or as needed, based on personal preference. During the day, you can use it as your sole cleanser; at night, you can use your chosen gentle scrub as part of double cleansing, before or after your favourite traditional cleanser. After rinsing and patting skin dry with a towel, proceed with the rest of your skin care routine.
How are face scrubs different from leave-on exfoliants?
Scrubs and AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) or BHA exfoliants have completely different benefits and work in very different ways. Scrubs simply refine the very surface of skin, they cannot remove the thick, built-up layers of dead skin that result from sun damage or a misbehaved pore lining. Scrubs also can’t diminish white bumps or other blemishes like leave-on exfoliants can.
AHAs and BHA can reach all the dead layers, help skin look younger, and hydrate beyond the surface. Plus, BHA can exfoliate directly inside the pore and improve how the pore works—no scrub can do that.
Should you use a face scrub and an exfoliant?
This is perfectly fine to do, especially if you love the extra-clean (but never tight or dry) feeling a well-formulated scrub provides. Remember, face scrubs are about extra cleansing and softening benefits. They don’t do the same thing that AHA or BHA exfoliants do; rather, their benefits complement each other.
Learn more about facial cleansers.
References for this information:
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Clinics in Dermatology, May-June 2012, pages 335–344
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The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, September 2011, pages 22-42
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Bulletin of National Institute of Health Sciences, volume 129, 2011, pages 93–99
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Yonsei Medical Journal, June 2006, pages 293–306
