I find facial scrubs to be a super awkward category of beauty products. People get really excited about exfoliation, with most decently formulated products you see pretty immediate results: smoother, more even toned skin and your other products suddenly work so much better. As is human nature, there is a temptation to exfoliate more often in the hopes that it will be even better for your skin. Doing that isn't really a great idea, it could interfere with your normal skin function and make it sensitised. To top it all up I don't believe that everyone even needs to exfoliate, and most definitely not all the time. If you are using konjac sponges or muslin cloths daily, you are not likely to need a weekly scrub as you are in away already exfoliating your skin. Generally speaking exfoliators are more useful when we get older, because the rate at which our skin regenerates slows down. If you do decide to go down this route, there are two types: physical or chemical. Here is where it gets even trickier as physical scrubs require harder particles, and depending on what is used, could be abrasive as they effectively use the rubbing action of these particles to buff away the dead skin cells. Chemical exfoliants involve acids (in this case AHA, BHA, and LHA) and instead of you physical polishing off the dead skin cells, they do their business over time by just sitting on the skin (that is probably why most effective products are supposed to be the ones you can leave on, i.e. toners, face creams, and things like acid face washes aren't considered effective as they simply don't stay long enough on the skin). I tend to go on what is happening with my skin day by day, so I end up exfoliating a couple of times a month (let us not forget I am in my thirties), with a mild physical scrub. I don't really like leave on products with acids and as the wash off products are supposedly a waist of money, they just did not seem relevant to my skin care.
So how on earth did I end with The Body deli blueberry fusion micro-scrub? Well because it has blueberries, obviously! On a more serious note, I tried several Body deli products, which I really liked, curiosity and a discount code did the rest. What is very interesting about this product is that it is a sort of fusion, it contains AHAs in the form of lactic, malic, and citric acids (from milk, fruit, and citrus fruit respectively), but it also has a physical exfoliator in the form of diatomaceous earth (remains of oceanic unicellular algae). The presence of puree from blueberries and acai, plus juices from pomegranate and black cherries, also made this product extremely interesting to me. As a rule, since AHAs are water soluble, products containing them are recommended for people with normal skin, as it won't dissolve oil plugs. I am not too in love with the idea of a static skin type, your skin changes with the season, climate, stress levels, so unless you are in a country with pretty constant weather, and everything else in your life is rather constant, chances are you will experience your skin going through several reincarnations. Judging by the info on the jar it claims to effectively remove dull, dry, and damaged skin cells (am I the only one who slightly cringes at the word dull when used to describe skin?). So clearly this was not designed to help combat blackheads. I do find that I enjoy using the blueberry scrub a lot more during the colder months, but even in the summer when my skin is more oily I do find it to be effective.
It is pretty easy to use, once you have cleansed your face, apply a quarter amount and gently massage in circular motion. Do not leave it on the skin, wash off straight away, this stuff is pretty potent and you will do more harm than good if you don't. I find I have to be pretty speedy, I'm not massaging my face for 5 minutes with this one, it is pretty much, put it on wash it off. The result is very smooth skin and an even complexion. So I don't know if it is the combination of all the ingredients, and not just the AHAs (or possibly the strength used), but I see a real difference. The only time I have experinced a slightly negative reaction was when I got distracted by a ringing phone, and did not wash of immediately, skin was pretty red for almost half our (and I'm talking serious here, I was considering if I should go see someone, but thankfully it went away). It is recommended to be used 2-3 times a week for best results. For me, I don't feel that it is necessary, once a week is plenty. It smells awesome, I definitely detect blueberries, sort of reminds of those berry smoothies, that you know aren't really the healthy kind, but they do taste nice.
The jar is 2oz (60g), at my level of use it is pretty good value for money. Especially since it stays fresh for 12 months after opening, means I don't have to rush to finish the jar. If you did use it 2-3 times a week, my guess is it would last you somewhere around the 3 month mark. It has definitely made it to the list of my top 2 exfoliators, yet still I don't think it is a necessary product for anyone who is much younger than myself (effective basic skin care routine and an occasional face mask is more than plenty for most).
In UK the body deli is exclusively available at the a beautiful world, unfortunately at the moment this scrub is out of stock, but you can join a waitlist.
Have you tried this scrub? Anything else from the body deli? Let me know in the comments.
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