How to Choose the Best Face Scrub for your Skin

Give yourself a radiant complexion! How do exfoliating scrubs work and why are they so good for our skin? Make exfoliating a regular part of your skin care routine. Find out what’s important here.

Give yourself a refreshing treatment!

Our skin cells renew themselves regularly: our skin is good as new every 28 days! An exfoliating scrub not only removes dead skin cells – it also stimulates circulation to the skin at the same time. It will leave your skin ready to absorb care products and looking radiant and rosy.

Exfoliating scrubs: a fresh start for the skin

Exfoliating scrubs are especially great in spring. This is when we want to give our skin a fresh start and remove the grey fog of those cold winter days.

Important: don’t overdo it! Every time you exfoliate, a regeneration process is set in motion, and this causes stress for the skin. Healthy skin should be exfoliated no more than once a week, and dry skin only once a month. Oily skin can even be exfoliated once or twice a week. Try NIVEA Gentle Exfoliating Scrub to help refine texture and refresh your skin while maintaining a natural moisture balance.

Facial scrub: skin care in three steps

1. Exfoliate: Give your skin a good scrub.

2. Tone: Use a facial toner to remove any last traces of dirt.

3. Moisturise: Depending on the time, use a day cream or night cream to add moisture back to your skin.

Spoilt for choice: finding the right scrub

Not every exfoliating scrub is suitable for every skin type. But which is the right one? You can make a rough distinction between natural and synthetic exfoliating scrubs. The best one for you depends on your own individual skin type.

Natural scrubs with fruit pips or sea sand

Mechanical peeling uses abrasive materials such as sand, ground apricots or silicone microbeads to gently remove the top callused layer of skin. That grey layer will disappear and the skin will once again look rosy and healthy. If you have sensitive skin, use extra gentle scrubs with very fine and rounded abrasives.

For oily skin that is more prone to blemishes, a product with an antibacterial effect is more suitable. NIVEA Wonderbar Anti-Pimple Face Scrub, with Kaolin Clay & Green Tea Extract, purifies the skin and refines the skin’s texture by reducing the size of the pores.

The best time of day to exfoliate

TIP: always exfoliate in the evening! This gives the skin enough time to recover, and you’ll start the next day with a radiant complexion.

Fruit acid peels – aid for blemished skin

Fruit acid peels or chemical peels work without any abrasives. They contain fruit acids as their active ingredients, such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), lactic acids or glycolic acids. These natural organic acids come from fruit and other plants and exfoliate your skin due to the reaction between the acid and the skin’s pH level. Fruit acid peels are especially suitable for acne, blemished and large-pored skin or pigment or age spots. Even small wrinkles or acne scars can be removed when applied regularly.
Attention! Never perform a fruit acid peel yourself. It’s better to have a treatment in a beauty salon. And make sure you only ever have a fruit acid peel during the winter months, as it makes your skin much more sensitive to sunlight.

GENTLE EXFOLIATION WITH ENZYMES

An “enzyme peel” may sound somewhat synthetic, but the exfoliating effect is actually created through purely biological processes. Enzyme peels use the cleansing power of fruits: the fruit enzymes split protein elements and separate dead skin cells from the intact skin. As they only soften the top layer of skin, but don’t peel it off, enzyme peels are ideal for sensitive skin.
Applying an enzyme peel is somewhat more complex: to ensure the enzymes can work properly, repeatedly lay a warm compress over the peel. Don’t use enzyme peels any more than once a month, as your skin needs enough time to regenerate after a treatment like this.

How to use a facial scrub

Use your fingers to apply the facial scrub to your forehead, nose and chin.
Work your way from the centre of your forehead to your temples.
Rub gently from the bridge of your nose towards the tip.
Make more intensive circular movements in the area around the edges of your nose and very gentle movements on your cheeks.
Work along your jawbone to your chin.
Finally, move down your neck from your chin.
Always make sure to avoid the eye and mouth areas.

Beware of the sun!

Never go out in the sun immediately after you exfoliate. After fruit acid and enzyme peels, you should actually avoid sunbathing for up to four weeks. Find out more about sun protection for your face here.