Hey everyone,

How's your week been? Ready for Monday?!

As one of my beauty resolutions is to keep dry skin at bay, I decided to post below my top 6 body exfoliation products which I have used right from my teens up to now, (in my 22s!)

The products in this gigantic post below are of course for use on the body areas only, I don’t use these on my face or neck area, as this skin needs a totally different kind of exfoliation. Although I consider my face to be sensitive to different kinds of products, my body doesn’t get reactive to too much. However as with any products mentioned when about to use on yourself, check with the ingredients first!

It makes sense to invest in a great exfoliant because the end results can differ quite a lot depending on what you are willing to spend. For instance one of the cheaper alternatives mentioned below, although effective, can feel like it’s drying my skin out – which seems a little counter productive to me (don’t you exfoliate to get rid of dry skin?!).

The more expensive ones can offer a feeling of nourishment on the skin like no other drug store brought product can, so much so that you don’t even have to think about moisturising afterward. Which if you don’t always want to be moisturising like me, then these products are a great find.

Exfoliating is something I have to be really ready to do; it’s an effort at twice a week! I treat it with the enthusiasm of going to work out, so I sometimes combine the use of exfoliating gloves and the actual exfoliating product to give a double action approach.

Some people wince at the thought of scrubbing off dead skin cells, however my kind of exfoliator needs to be rough & tough. I like to be able to feel the beads in the product working and sloughing the skin away, but different skin types will like different approaches.

The feeling a good exfoliating session can give you once or twice a week is a great one, especially if you epilate or shave before / after. Exfoliation can transform not just the way your skin looks but how you feel about it.

Let’s hop right into the nitty gritty stuff!

St. Tropez Body Polisher | 240ml | £12.25 (Currently on SALE - RRP £15.32)

This is not just a product to be used in conjunction with other St. Tropez tanning products, as I found in my teens, it works great on it’s own! This turquoise in colour, not too rough in texture polish, works wonders. This is a great product that is to be used on wet skin in circular motions pre-tanning or not. It leaves a light and fresh scent, and can be used on it’s own or in conjunction with a body polish mitt. I like the fact you don’t need much of this either, yes it can be a pain to get out of the bottle, but it's worth it!

For this product always have a scout in your local discount shops or TKMAXX as I have often brought this at a considerable discount in there, even if the packaging is a little old – the product remains the same.

LABELL Body Care Scrub | 150ml

I brought this at a local supermarket whilst in Portugal last November. This was the only thing that remotely looked like an exfoliator, so I played safe, and it paid off. I believe LABELL is the equivalent of something like Nivea or Garnier in the UK, so something like this should be easy enough to find in the supermarkets.

Described as a gentle exfoliant I think this definitely does the job, however it can dry my skin out, as there isn’t much of a moisturising agent listed in the ingredients. What this product this does have included in it’s ingredients though is Vitamin E, a great one for skin benefits.

The beady-gel like product feels like it is meant to tone your skin’s appearance too which would make sense if it does feel like it is drying it out. The scent is refreshing, although I think a little too ‘washing up liquid’ after a while of scrubbing.

If gentle is your thing when is comes to exfoliating and you happen to have a Clarisonic, most models come with a body brush head which gives you the option to use an exfoliater with the aid of the vibration of the brush head. It is suprising what wonders the Clarisonic can do.

Yu-Be - Foaming Skin Polish | 200ml | £14.50

Yu-Be is The #1 Selling Medicated, Vitamin-Enriched Skin Care Cream in Japan*. I had also heard good reviews about this brand from my mum, who had received samples and was impressed! This foaming skin polish, is suitable for both face & body (I know I wouldn’t really use this on my face). Furthermore it is free of Sulphates, Parabens and contains a whole host of goodies for your skin. It is nice to know that whilst you are sloughing dead skin away, the new skin is being nourished. Due to lack of Sulphates you would think this product wouldn’t make a lather, but it does! I have been using this since I received it as a surprise for christmas and am pleasantly pleased with it. Amongst the ingredients are extracts of Ginger Root, Ginseng, Green Tea aswell as Rice Bran and Bamboo! The Japanese clearly know how to source their products. This exfoliater does make me want to try more from the brand, as it soothes yet refreshes tired skin.

* stat taken from Yu-Be's own website.

Dry brushing your body, with a body brush in strokes up towards your heart can get rid of dead skin cells, promote ciruclation and also help to keep slim!

Caudalie Vinotherapie Crushed Cabernet Scrub | 150ml | £19.35

As a premium beauty brand I picked this 99% natural exfoliater up on sale from FeelUnique expecting a huge tub, however on arrival was a little disapointed at it’s size. I like to pile my exfoliater on to make sure it works in all the areas needed so I do ration this exfoliater, there is just not enough in the pot for me to be honest.

The consistency of this paraben free, great smelling product is not like the aforementioned. It is a full on kind of paste, which claims to slim the body, and yet deliver tough exfoliation. I love the packaging and the texture of the product which nourishes the skin greatly, (although this can leave your bath tub in a bit of mess), it is also better used without any kind of mitt or gloves, as it wont deliver a big lather. This product works in a similar way to a L'Occitane Mediterranean Sea Scrub I have stashed away, which smells amazing and has real sea salt included in there. This combination leaves your skin feeling fabulously smooth and soft.

To intensify your exfolition session don’t use the exfoliater on really wet skin, the less water on your skin the harder and more scrub the beads in the product will give. If you want a more gentle scrub, add more water and lather up!

Dead Sea Spa Magik Salt | 500g | £11.97 (Currently on SALE @ FeelUnique RRP £13.30)

I first received these salts in a Glossybox and was amazed at the way they left my skin feeling and looking illuminated and healthy with no need to moisturise after. They are not your typical exfoliater which you would rub into your skin in circular motions, these are bath salts to be added to your bath water. These salts are really invigorating and relaxing which makes using these an ultimate treat. They claim to help joint pain and muscular stresses as well as helping to retain moisture in your skin and a glowing complexion. This is the ultimate spa treatment at home, which exfoliates while you relax!

Be careful not to slip when using salt based products such as these as they can leave your bath and other tiled surfaces really slippy!

Exfoliation Gloves | £2.49

If there is one thing that you take away from this post, let it be the exfoliating glove! This is as cheap as you will get when it comes to sloughing dead skin – and it works too. You can combine another exfoliater with these, or just use in conjuction with a showergel or oil. I particularly like the Weleda Bath / Shower oils, great in the winter or on summer holidays to maxmise your tan. The gloves also work if you are having a shower and don’t want to be messing around with your products, just use some shower gel and exfoliate with these instead of watching your products waste away down the plug hole.

So they were my Six Skin Scrubbing Secrets, I have a whole list of different exfoliaters I want to try next, do you have any reviews?

Let me know what your favourites are!

Natalie xx