Many individuals struggle with stubborn acne breakouts on their body especially chest and back acne. This is because their skin produces excess oil and managing both concerns becomes difficult.
The excess oil sits on the surface and gets mixed with other impurities resulting in clogged pores which can lead to acne breakouts. Oily and acne prone skin requires special care so you need to opt for suitable skincare products in order to clear out the excess oil from the body and prevent acne breakouts.
Selecting an optimal exfoliating scrub for oily skin is important as it immensely helps in clearing out the buildup of oil from the surface and pores. The ingredients need to be chosen correctly and they must be gentle yet effective.
If used twice or thrice a week consistently a scrub would help in keeping the skin under control and prevent acne breakouts.
The reason behind oily and acne-prone body
The skin produces sebum naturally and the sebaceous glands are responsible for doing so. Sebum is the natural secretion which keeps the skin moisturized and protected. When these sebaceous glands get hyperactive or triggered due to triggering factors and results in excess oil production.
The oil production is more prominent on the body due to presence of more active sebaceous glands and the pores are also enlarged on certain areas of the body. The skin on the body is denser as compared to the face so the oil production is more.
This excess oil disturbs the natural skin renewal process where the dead skin cells shed and reveal new skin cells. The oils mix with the dead skin cells and form a sticky mix which gets worse due to deposition of dirt, sweat, skincare products buildup.
This mix settles into the pores and forms a hard plug inside the pores. This prevents air from passing through and creates an oxygen deprived environment in the pores. The acne causing bacteria Cutibacterium acnes can thrive in this environment and result in inflamed acne breakouts.
How does exfoliation solve this problem?
Exfoliation helps in clearing out the buildup of dead skin cells from the skin which is mainly responsible for clogging the pores of the skin. Exfoliation works to dissolve the buildup of dead skin cells, oil and dirt which prevents formation of hard plugs inside the pores.
It helps in preventing formation of comedones so prevents acne causing bacteria to act. This helps in smoothening the texture of the skin. It also helps in keeping the oil production under control.
Why are traditional scrubs not ideal?
Traditional scrubs incorporate harsh exfoliators with rough edges which might not solve the problem of oily and acne prone. Instead, it would worsen the problem of oil production. These scrubs have a harsh scrubbing action which strips the moisture barrier of the skin and strips the natural oil from the skin.
This triggers the sebaceous glands and they start producing excess oil as a response to replenish the loss. Harsh scrubs damage the moisture barrier of the skin which makes skin prone to acne breakouts as well due to lack of skin protecting barrier.
Ingredients to consider in your body scrub
You need to consider some active ingredients in your body scrub in order to deal with oily and acne prone skin.
Salicylic acid
It is a chemical exfoliant and works deeply to exfoliate the skin because it is a beta hydroxy acid that has oil soluble nature which allows it to cross the oil barriers of the skin. It works inside the pores and dissolves the bonds of dead skin cells and helps clear them from the pores along with other impurities.
Neem
Neem is a natural antibacterial ingredient which works to kill the bacterial infections by damaging their cell walls and prevents acne breakouts. It is also an astringent which helps in clearing out the excess oil from the skin and helps in lifting the impurities gently from the skin. Helps greatly in calming down the skin inflammation.
Tea tree oil
A natural antibacterial oil which helps in killing the bacterial infections and prevents acne breakouts on the skin. It also provides a calm and soothing effect to the skin which helps in reducing inflammation due to breakouts.
Charcoal
An adsorptive ingredient which pulls out the dirt and oil based impurities from the skin and helps in providing clear skin. It works like a magnet to pull out the impurities.
Right method of using a body scrub
- Wash the body with water
- Take a gentle amount of scrub
- Apply it on the body using hands
- Exfoliate by gently massaging it on the skin
- Rinse off the product after one or two minutes
- Pat dry the skin with towel
- Apply non comedogenic hydrating body lotion
Wrapping up
Body scrubs are a vital skincare step to include in your weekly routine. For oily and acne prone skin it works really well to clear the buildup of impurities from the skin and provide clear skin. When used twice or thrice a week it helps in controlling excess oil and also prevents clogged pores which could cause acne.
