Exfoliants play a major role in natural skin care. As dead skin cells build up on our skin, they trap toxins, excess sebum, and dirt. This can result in rashes, breakouts, uneven skin texture, and even infection. It’s important to keep your skin healthy, scrubbed, and glowing. Choosing the right exfoliant for each part of your body matters a lot. These are some of our most popular exfoliants, keeping exfoliation covered from head to toe.
Salts
Salts are the most popular exfoliants for body scrubs. Rich in minerals, insoluble in oil, and varied in color, texture, and origin, Salts give formulators a wide range of choices when creating both standard and creative body scrubs. Salts are also wonderful for use in soap making. Salt bars produce rich lather and superb exfoliation.
Sugars
5. Turbinado Sugar
6. Demerara Sugar
7. Light Brown Sugar
Natural sugars come in at a close second for use in body scrubs. These sweet crystalline exfoliants contain trace minerals and nutrients that help make body scrubs more appealing. Unlike salt, sugar will not irritate small scrapes or cuts on skin. It doesn’t seize in soap either. That makes sugar scrubs a great choice for body scrubs and exfoliating body washes.
Plant-Based Exfoliants
8. Banslochan Powder (Bamboo)
9. Almond Flour
10. Adzuki Bean Powder
11. Oat Flour, Fine
12. Grape Seed Powder
13. Rice Bran Powder
Plant-Based Exfoliants tend to be used in specialty formulations, facial cleansers, and fine grain body polishes. There is a huge variety of them available, coming mainly from fruit seeds, grains, and nuts. Natures bounty provides a multide of textures, particle sizes, and nutrient benefit with these ingredients.
Mineral-Based Exfoliants
14. Tahitian Volcanic Black Sand
15. Pumice
Reserved for only the most powerful exfoliation, like pedicure and dermabrasion formulas, natural minerals and sands provide intense scouring power. Try using these intense exfoliants in soaps and scrubs for maximum scrubbing action.
Thanks for this super helpful list. My all time favorite exfoliant is oat flour. It works so well on all body parts, and is gentle enough for face too. A truly all-around ingredient! I also love finely ground almonds and almond meal (flour). The oil in the almonds is just enough to provide super slip and they provide a nice texture to massage the skin as you exfoliate. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Donna Maria. Oat Flour is such an amazing ingredient. Its something I always keep on hand because it is great for so many kinds of recipes. I almost always include it in my facial cleansers. Almond Flour is a great choice for exfoliation too. Kibby formulated an ubtan once using Almond Flour as a base. It was amazing!