Green Exfoliating Face Scrub?
December 29, 2009 10:20 AM Subscribe
So my Nivea Energizing Face Scrub has been plasticizing the ocean. This won't do. Can you recommend a greener (yet still exfoliating) alternative for men with "average" skin?
They range from homemade to pricy, but you might try a sugar scrub. (Stay away from apricot scrubs...they use ground up pits, which are, well, natural, but which can also cause microtears to the skin.)
posted by availablelight at 10:28 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by availablelight at 10:28 AM on December 29, 2009
In the winter, I use a squirt of jojoba oil and a spoonful of sugar, mixed together, then rubbed gently around my face and rinses well. If you have normal or oily skin, that will probably not be cleansing enough; just sub in cleanser and sugar (or cleanser and baking soda, which has finer particles). I've used salt as runningwithscissors suggests, but if you have a cut or scrape, it can be irritating.
posted by Elsa at 10:29 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by Elsa at 10:29 AM on December 29, 2009
sand, cheaper then salt-- just buy a sack, then keep a small amount of it in the bathroom in a jar/salt-pig etc. When you come to clean your face, take a pinch, add your regular cleanser and scrub away as usual.
posted by Static Vagabond at 10:33 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by Static Vagabond at 10:33 AM on December 29, 2009
Oh, I guess I should have mentioned that. Do not use salt if you have any cuts or shaving nicks on your face. It will make you do a shrieking dance of pain.
posted by runningwithscissors at 10:34 AM on December 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by runningwithscissors at 10:34 AM on December 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
Use a washcloth for exfoliating.
posted by hermitosis at 10:38 AM on December 29, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by hermitosis at 10:38 AM on December 29, 2009 [2 favorites]
Earth Therapeautics makes a great-smelling Honey and Oatmeal scrub. I think it's intended purpose is a body exfoliant, but I know several people who use it as a facewash and really like it.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:48 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by pintapicasso at 10:48 AM on December 29, 2009
"plasticizing the ocean"
Not to derail--but what? This sounds like something I should know about but it is resistant to Googling.
posted by LarryC at 10:59 AM on December 29, 2009
Not to derail--but what? This sounds like something I should know about but it is resistant to Googling.
posted by LarryC at 10:59 AM on December 29, 2009
Angels on Bare Skin from Lush is friggin awesome. Also good is Ocean Salt Cleanser, although a little pricy.
posted by idiotfactory at 11:06 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by idiotfactory at 11:06 AM on December 29, 2009
sand, cheaper then salt-- just buy a sack, then keep a small amount of it in the bathroom in a jar/salt-pig etc. When you come to clean your face, take a pinch, add your regular cleanser and scrub away as usual.
Not all sand is the same. Some is smooth, some is angular. It also can contain all sorts of other random stuff (tiny bits of plastic or glass is not fun to rub on your face).
Sugar is good, and so is salt. Sugar produces glycolic acid which is a natural alpha hydroxy acid. Salt is anti-bacterial. Both are gentle because they dissolve in warm water as you scrub.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:06 AM on December 29, 2009
Not all sand is the same. Some is smooth, some is angular. It also can contain all sorts of other random stuff (tiny bits of plastic or glass is not fun to rub on your face).
Sugar is good, and so is salt. Sugar produces glycolic acid which is a natural alpha hydroxy acid. Salt is anti-bacterial. Both are gentle because they dissolve in warm water as you scrub.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:06 AM on December 29, 2009
Sugar is good, and so is salt.
To piggyback, if these are both good, is there any reason not to use them together? Like, use your regular facial/body cleanser, but keep a little tub of a salt/sugar mixture to add in while scrubbing?
posted by sarahsynonymous at 11:24 AM on December 29, 2009
To piggyback, if these are both good, is there any reason not to use them together? Like, use your regular facial/body cleanser, but keep a little tub of a salt/sugar mixture to add in while scrubbing?
posted by sarahsynonymous at 11:24 AM on December 29, 2009
Response by poster: LarryC: Nivea Energizing Face Scrub uses tiny plastic nodules as an exfoliant. They eventually end up here.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:36 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by entropicamericana at 11:36 AM on December 29, 2009
I have really sensitive skin, so I exfoliate by gently using a rough wash cloth and warm water. It's not as snazzy as your fancier products, but it works really really well.
posted by ErikaB at 11:38 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by ErikaB at 11:38 AM on December 29, 2009
What about adding baking soda to your facial cleanser? I add 1/2 tsp to a dollop of Cetaphil every now and again and it works well.
posted by Lycaste at 11:46 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by Lycaste at 11:46 AM on December 29, 2009
I second the baking soda--either in cleanser or just a paste with water.
posted by beckish at 1:45 PM on December 29, 2009
posted by beckish at 1:45 PM on December 29, 2009
If you want the spend a zillion dollars, Dermalogica has a rice-based "Daily Microfoliant" that I use. It doesn't feel rough or grainy at all and it works really well.
posted by matildaben at 1:51 PM on December 29, 2009
posted by matildaben at 1:51 PM on December 29, 2009
""plasticizing the ocean"
Not to derail--but what? This sounds like something I should know about but it is resistant to Googling."
I'm not certain, but, I assume he was referring to the practice that some manufacturers have of using tiny plastic "beads" in their products to do the exfoliating (you see them in some body wash products too). There was an article a year or so ago that mentioned that these beads don't dissolve and will eventually end up in the ocean and it's anyone's guess as to what damage they may do to the environment once they have accumulated in sufficient numbers...
posted by Hanuman1960 at 1:56 PM on December 29, 2009
Not to derail--but what? This sounds like something I should know about but it is resistant to Googling."
I'm not certain, but, I assume he was referring to the practice that some manufacturers have of using tiny plastic "beads" in their products to do the exfoliating (you see them in some body wash products too). There was an article a year or so ago that mentioned that these beads don't dissolve and will eventually end up in the ocean and it's anyone's guess as to what damage they may do to the environment once they have accumulated in sufficient numbers...
posted by Hanuman1960 at 1:56 PM on December 29, 2009
Exfoliating gloves are good, and the ones The Body Shop sells are really nice. I prefer using them to a scrub because I have a little bit more control over how rough/gentle I can be when I'm scrubbing.
posted by kosher_jenny at 3:29 PM on December 29, 2009
posted by kosher_jenny at 3:29 PM on December 29, 2009
Gently massage your face after cleansing with a damp microfiber cloth. I do this about once a week to get rid of any flakies and exfoliate.
posted by wiretap at 4:02 PM on December 29, 2009
posted by wiretap at 4:02 PM on December 29, 2009
I find salt and sugar granules much too scratchy for my skin- they leave me looking raw and swollen.
My perfect secret is this:
Wet your palm and face.
Put in about a tablespoon of baking soda,
and one squirt of foaming face wash (I use this kind but any foaming liquid cleanser would work).
Stir with one finger to mix it up in your palm (it won't mix very well, it'll be clumpy and dry)
Apply to wet face anyway, and gently massage in, adding a little more water as needed.
Rinse with warm water, rubbing it in even more as you rinse.
Use gentle toner and moisturize.
Sleep.
I do this at night about once a week- it makes my (combination, prone to whiteheads) skin look absolutely DIVINE the next morning. You won't believe it. It's like mircodemabrasion or something.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:20 AM on December 30, 2009
My perfect secret is this:
Wet your palm and face.
Put in about a tablespoon of baking soda,
and one squirt of foaming face wash (I use this kind but any foaming liquid cleanser would work).
Stir with one finger to mix it up in your palm (it won't mix very well, it'll be clumpy and dry)
Apply to wet face anyway, and gently massage in, adding a little more water as needed.
Rinse with warm water, rubbing it in even more as you rinse.
Use gentle toner and moisturize.
Sleep.
I do this at night about once a week- it makes my (combination, prone to whiteheads) skin look absolutely DIVINE the next morning. You won't believe it. It's like mircodemabrasion or something.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:20 AM on December 30, 2009
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posted by runningwithscissors at 10:24 AM on December 29, 2009