Why is St. Ive's Apricot Scrub So Bad For Us?

Ok, you've probably heard it before - a gasp anytime someone mentions St. Ives Apricot Scrub. Possibly you've grown up with it. Most likely you've seen a lot of people have it in their bathrooms when you visit. Maybe you've fallen victim to their "more natural option" marketing by having a picture of a fruit on the bottle (insert face palm). Possibly you've heard whispers about it not being the best for your skin, but you've always used it, and nothing bad has happened yet...

Anytime St. Ive's is mentioned in my treatment room either a combination of or one of the stories above is shared. I would not be acknolwdleging reality if I didn't admit that St. Ive's infiltrated our culture as a leading exfoliating cleanser for as long as at least us millesimals can remember. I remember growing up nearly every friend of mine used it - or at least had it in their bathroom. Hell, I remember using it for a period of time!

The thing is, aside from how salacious and sometimes polarizing the claims are about how terrible it is for our skin from the esthetician, skincare and medical communities, they're true. Although I have not been conducting a formal study, I have seen a patterns in my treatment room from the clients who come dressing concerns and saying they use it.

The average client who has used St. Ive's Apricot Scrub and arrives in my treatment room is dealing with all or some of the concerns listed below:

• Redness

• Irritation

• Inflammation

• Uneven Texture

• Congestion

• Dry/Dehydrated Skin

• Triggered Skin Conditions like: Rosacea, Eczema etc.

All of the things above lead to decreased health of the skin cell - leading to a list of concerns like accelerated aging, discomfort, and appearance in general, among other things. The fact of the matter is that each time you use St. Ive's Apricot Scrub your skin has to heal itself after. When your skin needs to do this with anything that is in our daily lifestyle we are not providing an opportunity for it to thrive and ever live outside of a state of survival. Eventually when used repeatedly it starts not being able to keep up and all the issue above really begin to compound.

So what's the stitch...what makes it so awful?

The main reason St. Ive's is so harmful to the skin are the uneven apricot pieces that make up the scrub. Mechanical (ie: physical scrub) exfoliants, can already be a little harsh on the skin, especially when used aggressively or with too much force. The uneven and sharp pieces create little uneven micro tears in your skin as you are cleansing wrecking havoc on your skin barrier and the regenerative process your skin is in. These micro tares create inflammation, redness etc. almost immediately and over time creates an uneven texture. All of this agitation commonly triggers preexisting or new skin conditions and also trigger congestion due to the inflammation. Even sometimes - the little apricot pieces can even nestle into the skin and form congestion themselves. Yes, I have extracted "apricot" pieces from the Apricot Scrub from client's skin in which case the scrub itself was clogging the pore. And this is not a unique encounter, this has been reported across the board from many of my peers as well.

Here are two microscope images of Walnut scrub particles from St Ives Apricot Scrub. The left is at 4x magnification and the right side is 10x. The main thing I want you to notice are the rough & spiked edges. From this you can see and tell how and why this exfoliant can leave our skin agitated and harmed. It is also important to note how unforgiving this ingredient is (it does not bounce, dissolve or have any give) this creates a sandpaper like environment when exfoliating which is of course not ideal.

The good news is, even though you may have some healing to do, the solution is easy! All you have to do is stop using it! Give your skin a break from the product, throw it out for good, and visit your provider for a way to tackle any of the concerns it may have caused.

To be honest I think we have all been victimized by St. Ive's Apricot Scrub at one point or the other, so if you're reading this and feel that way, you're not alone. The good news is, the solution is easy: switch up your cleansing/exfoliating routine to something safer, even, and not so harsh.

Here is a list of great exfoliants you can trust and see great results with here:

LINK: SHOP SCRUBS/EXFOLIANTS YOU CAN TRUST