Helloooo, beauties! I haven't posted in over 24 hours and oh how I've missed you! I thought I'd do a follow-up post today on a previous post: "When Exfoliators Don't Exfoliate." In that post, I talked about my distress over finding a good exfoliator that has enough scrubby particles to actually scrub away dead skin. It seemed that every drugstore product I tried just didn't have enough oomph to get things done in the way that my beloved Rachel Perry scrub does, in terms of leaving my face smooth and flake-free (I had to stop using the Rachel Perry scrub because, sadly, it's just too expensive for my current budget at $16 a jar.)
Little did I know that I would receive sooo many wonderful ideas and suggestions from you all, and today I'd like to tell what I've tried, what worked, what didn't work, and what I've settled on for my new exfoliator.
First of all, since so many of you like the good ol' St. Ives Apricot Scrub, I decided to revisit it, just for old time's sake. Sadly, it didn't do the job. The carrier is too runny, the scrubby particles are too big and sharp, and there just aren't enough of them to give me good "traction" (a word that I now use to illustrate the denseness of the particles within the carrier, thanks to Josi at TheDailyBeautyBreak!). But OH how I envy the people who have luck with this one--it's so widely available, it smells delish and it's cheap! You lucky gals, you.
The second product I tried was a reccomendation from, again, Josi at TheDailyBeautyBreak. Understanding my need for particles that are uniform and give good traction, she recommended Neutrogena Oil-Free Acnes Stress Control Power Scrub-Clear. At under $10 and so widely available, it was a no-brainer for me to purchase this. The pros: It smells great (like cucumbers), it's light seafoam green in color (if you're a loyal reader of this blog you know I have a weird obsession with seafoam green beauty products!) and the scrubby particles are awesome little crystals that remind of my now-discontinued Avon ANEW Clinical Micro Exfoliant. But sadly, as much as I love the scrubby crystals, this product is just a tad too runny for me and it doens't enable me to get that deep, good exfoliation that my thick, oily skin so desperately needs. But I will say that if you need a good exfoliator and you don't have my issues, you should really consider giving this one a try. Thanks, Josi. :)
Getting increasingly more desperate by the minute, I decided to go the D.I.Y. route and take the advice of several readers and try the following three items: 1) baking soda 2) sugar 3) salt. Let me break these down for you:
First I tried about a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with my normal facial cleanser. At first I thought the baking soda, which is pretty fine, would jut disintegrate into my cleanser when I mixed them together in the palm of my hand. Um, I was so wrong! I applied to this my face and rubbed in circular motions and oh my goodness! I could feel it scrubbing my skin, in a good way, and really getting in there and doing its job. I absolutely LOVED how this felt on my skin! And when I rinsed, OMG, my face has simply never felt as soft. Ever. And not in a drying, tight or stripped way. Seriously, why did I wait so long to try this?? It's freaking amazing!
Second, I tried good ol' white, fine-grain sugar. Again, I put about a tablespoon in my palm and mixed it with my usual cleanser. While I liked the consistency and the scrubby feel of sugar, I did not like the way my skin felt afterward. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as that baking soda. Plus, if you don't rinse your face thoroughly enough, your skin can feel a tiny but sticky (duh, it's sugar!).
Third, I tried table salt. Once again I added about a tablespoon to my palm and mixed it with my cleanser. Now, let me say that I was a little bit scared the entire time I was exfoliating because, well, who wants salt in their eyes? You have to be VERY cautious with this combo, but the results are terrific. My face was so soft and smooth but not tight or dry-feeling after I rinsed. But I've got to say, it wasn't *as* soft as when I used baking soda--but it felt good in a different way. I can't quite explain it, but I really like using salt and I think I will use it to exfoliate my legs and elbows as well (mixed with body wash).
After all of this experimentation, I can honestly say that I will never again purchase a drugstore exfoliator. I will continue to use baking soda and salt, depending on how I want my skin to feel. Either way, these items are wonderful, cheap, and more effective than any other drugstore exfoliator I've purchased in the past year.
Also, I want to thank ALL my wonderful readers who took the time to leave comments on my original post. Even if your particular suggestion didn't work for me, it was wonderful to read what works for YOU. I feel so lucky to have you all as such great resources in my quest to save money on beauty products!
Also, to the anonymous reader who posted about her love of baking soda, I want to say that I have another reader who took your advice and mixed some baking soda in with her shampoo for a clarifying treatment. She wrote to me to tell me that it has truly improved the texture of her hair, so thank you, thank you for that great tip! I will be sure to try it as well, especially since I now keep both baking soda and salt in my shower!
Oh, and if you're wondering how I store my baking soda and salt in the shower, I want to tell you that I went to Daiso (a Japanese dollar store) with my boyfriend the other day and he spotted some plastic shaker containers with flip-top lids that are absolutely PERFECT for this! I put little stickers on them to tell them apart in the shower (yellow elephants for baking soda, pink elephants for salt!). Here are some pics in case you're curious:
Now I have to pick up some salt and baking soda to try them out!!! And good call on the shakers from Daiso...I need to check THAT place out too!
ReplyDeleteGoogle "acid mantle and skin" to find out why you should not use baking soda as an exfoliant.
ReplyDeleteLol, what happened to the multi-colored eye?
ReplyDeleteHave you tried non-coated aspirin with honey, as a mask? Lots swear by it.
Meredithelaine: You might want to read my latest post before you try baking soda. :) Also, you MUST go to Daiso. It's *amazing*! But be prepared to spend at LEAST an hour in there, if not more. I'm warning you...
ReplyDeleteAnon: Thank you so much for this information. Your words compelled me to write another post (see above). I hope you enjoy it, and thanks again!
Halifax: Due to the varied response about my old template vs. the eye vs. trying something completely new, I decided to go with this one! Luckily, many readers seem to like it so I'm very happy with the choice. :) I have been reading about the aspirin mask for years now, but given the recent controversy over baking soda, I think I'll wait a while before I try it. lol. :)
did you try brown sugar? doesn't that have more benefits than plain white sugar?
ReplyDeleteHi 26thballad! You know, I just used what I had on hand, but I would definitely consider trying brown sugar. I'll pick some up and see how it works! Thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteCouple more things about the baking soda: I have been trying to use more natural products because of reasons on so many levels, and use baking soda for many things. In fact, I usually buy 5 boxes at a time.
ReplyDeleteRe: acid mantle: use a toner that will restore the acid mantle. I use a homemade concoction of 1 part green tea (just brew up a cup and pour part of it in a little bottle) to one part apple cider vinegar. Add one crushed 81 mg aspirin. Shake well before using, and try to only make up a few day's worth at a time. You won't smell the vinegar very long. You might need to work up to this strength with the vinegar, and it's fine to start with a solution that is more diluted.
Add the soda to your bath scrubbie and get the benefits all over your body.
I have a waxy condition on my scalp called seborrheic dermatitis. It's thicker and heavier than just oily hair - think cradle cap, but in an adult.
More than any prescription or other product I have ever tried to use, the baking soda in the shampoo gets my scalp clean clean clean.
However, I also have highly processed hair, so I don't do that anymore. Instead, I sprinkle some right on my scalp BEFORE wetting my hair. Then work it around my scalp, trying to keep it as close to the roots as possible.
It rinses out completely while I'm wetting my hair preparing to shampoo, but without being worked along the delicate, processed strands.