Scrubs – types and purpose

One of the essential steps in skin care is to exfoliate the skin. Scrubs are used by many women and they are also a popular treatment offered in all beauty salons. Discover what are the types of exfoliating treatments and their purposes. 

What is an exfoliating scrub?

It is a procedure during which the epidermis is exfoliated at various depth levels and using various preparations or devices. The procedure can be used in: treatment of various types of skin, improving the appearance and condition of skin, regeneration and firming of the skin. You can choose from medical and traditional peels. The first ones are performed only by professional and qualified dermatologists, and they consist in a controlled removal of lesions. Traditional peels can be done at home without any supervision. Scrubs are applied to all parts of the body, and the type of peel is selected to match the skin problem, age and its type.

Types of peels

Typically, three types of peels are distinguished. Mechanical (physical) peels consist of skin exfoliating diamond or corundum discs or corundum crystals. It also includes treatments performed with laser, liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, ultrasound (cavitation). Chemical and enzymatic peels are treatments that use chemical substances, most often acids with a concentration selected for a particular skin problem. The last type of exfoliation treatments is mixed peels. It is a combination of the above-mentioned treatments, which gives twice as good effects.

Depth of exfoliators

Due to the depth of action of the exfoliating substance or abrasive device, three types of peels are distinguished. These include:

1. Surface skin peels recommended for second-degree skin lesions. The treatment uses glycolic acid, TCA or Jassner’s solution. The following types of surface peels are distinguished: enzymatic, scrub, brushing, peel-off.

2. Medium-deep skin peels affect the epidermis and the upper layer of the skin. They are used for damage to the skin of II and III degree. During the procedure, which can be performed only by a doctor, TCA acid is used in a concentration of 25-40%.

3. Deep skin peels reach the deepest layers of the skin and are recommended for III and IV degree lesions. For the exfoliation, TCA acid at a concentration of 45-60%, a phenol solution of Baker Gordon or Exode (a substance composed of 12 peeling components) is used. The treatment can be carried out only by aesthetic medicine doctors or plastic surgeons. Deep peels include herbal peeling, exfoliation and dermabrasion.