Plenty of people want to achieve healthy and glowing skin. But, due to people’s bad lifestyle habits, dehydration, excessive sun exposure and pollution makes their look less bright. However a face scrub is an excellent choice and is popular as it helps with clearing out the dead skin cells and surface impurities from the skin and gives a more even and smoother look on the face.
Yet many people often make some mistakes while using the face scrub that leads to damaging their skin barrier, skin irritation and dryness. That’s why it is important to avoid these mistakes to get better results and avoid skin problems.
Therefore in this blog we will talk about some common face scrub mistakes such as over exfoliation or mixing powerful active ingredients and how to exfoliate effectively which will help you to avoid these bad face scrub mistakes and using it effectively will give you brighter skin without any unnecessary skin related problems.
Common Face Scrub Mistakes
These are some of the common mistakes that most people make during face scrubbing that totally damage their skin and related problems:
1. Over Exfoliation
One of the common mistakes many people make is exfoliating the skin too often. They think that more exfoliation means faster results and a smoother skin. But in reality over exfoliating the face totally contributes to stripping the skin’s natural oil, damaging the skin barrier and making the skin more vulnerable.
That’s why experts recommend people to use face scrub 1 or 2 times a day which helps in removing the surface contaminants while also allowing the skin to recover which avoids any skin related problems.
2. Rubbing the Scrub Aggressively
Most of us think that scrubbing the scrub violently on the skin will help in increasing the effectiveness of scrub and give better results. But in fact, aggressively scrubbing the skin can totally cause micro tears on the skin and result in destroying the skin barrier.
Gently massaging the scrub on the skin in an upward circles motion for around 45-60 seconds is generally safe and helps in properly removing the dead skin cells without causing any skin damage.
3. Using Scrub That Contains Harsh Particles
Many physical scrubs contain walnut shells or sharp edged exfoliating particles which are harsh to the skin and can fully cause micro injury on the skin which also damages the skin’s protective barrier.
So, if you like to use the physical scrubs then you should choose a scrub that contains ultra fine or powdery form exfoliating particles as it gently glides over the skin and eliminates the dead skin cells from the surface without causing any skin harm.
4. Using Body Scrub On The Face
Some people think body scrubs can also be used on the face, however using the body scrub on the face can cause micro tears, clogged pores and strips the natural moisture of the skin because it contains heavy particles, a heavy formula which is suitable for body skin and not for face skin.
So always use a scrub which is specially designed for the face and you should strictly avoid body scrubs to avoid any unnecessary skin issues.
5. Ignoring Your Skin Type
Most of us use a face scrub which is not suitable for our skin type. For example using a harsh physical scrub on a dry or sensitive skin can totally cause micro tears and damage the already weakened skin barrier which can make the skin more prone to skin related issues.
That’s why most experts suggest looking for a scrub which is suitable for your skin type as it helps in avoiding unwanted skin problems.
6. Forgetting Sunscreen
Forgetting sunscreen after scrubbing the face is a critical mistake as exfoliating removes the upper damaged layer of the skin that removes the skin in-built natural barrier against UV, fresh and new cells are exposed to sunlight and are highly prone to immediate sun damage.
That’s why it is important to apply sunscreen having a broad spectrum and spf of 30 or above on the skin to protect yourself from the UV damage. Moreover, scrubbing in the night is also a great way to reduce the exposure of new cells to direct sunlight.
7. Neglecting Moisturizer
A scrub removes the top layer of dead skin cells from the surface, which makes the skin barrier relatively weak, avoiding moisturizer can result in increased water loss from the skin barrier and result in dehydrated and dry skin.
For that reason, it is best to put on a hydrating and non-comedogenic moisturizer within 60 seconds after exfoliating the face to fully lock in moisture and prevent skin dryness.
How to Exfoliate the Face Effectively?
Face scrubbing needs proper technique and using the wrong method can totally damage the skin barrier. Follow the below tips to exfoliate effectively:
- First pick the face scrub which is suitable for your skin type.
- Make sure you avoid rubbing the skin violently while scrubbing the face.
- Gently massage the scrub on the face in a circular motion for around 1 minute and clear off the residue with lukewarm water.
- Apply an oil free and hydrating moisturizer on the skin for locking moisture.
- Make sure, you avoid using any powerful active ingredients when you have used face scrub.
The Bottom Line
A face scrub is a great way to remove the top layer of accumulated dead skin cells which increases the rate of skin cell turnover and gives a brighter and smoother looking skin. However, many times people often make some common face scrub mistakes which totally lead to skin damage.
This is why having knowledge about these common face scrub mistakes and how to prevent help in avoiding any unwanted skin problems. On top of that, knowing about experts tips to exfoliate the face effectively helps you to exfoliate the face properly, which will remove unwanted surface impurities while giving a fresher and energetic looking skin.
