Choosing a natural exfoliant after microbeads

Plastic microbeads have been removed from cosmetic products across most markets, and the natural exfoliants that replaced them are not interchangeable. They differ in hardness, in the shape of their edges and in how evenly they are graded — and those differences are what a customer feels. This article covers how to choose one and how to build a scrub that survives its own shelf life.

Hardness and edge decide almost everything

The two properties that determine whether an exfoliant is right for a product are how hard the particle is and what shape its edges are.

Hard particles with sharp, irregular edges — the kind produced by crushing a shell or a stone — cut rather than roll. On the tough skin of a heel or an elbow that is exactly what is wanted. On a face, particularly on skin that is already inflamed by acne, the same particle causes micro-tears, and the visible result is redness and irritation rather than smoothness. Most complaints about facial scrubs trace back to this single mismatch.

Softer particles, and particles that are manufactured to a rounded shape rather than crushed into one, roll across the skin and abrade more gently. They are the appropriate choice for facial products and for anything aimed at sensitive skin.

Particle size and grading matter alongside hardness. A well-graded material has a consistent particle size; a poorly graded one contains occasional oversized fragments, and it only takes a few of those to produce a scratch the customer notices and remembers.

The exfoliants Cerium lists

The range is Almond Scrubs, Apricot Scrubs, Argan Scrubs, Avocado Scrubs, Multi Coloured Cellulose Scrubs, Olive Scrubs, Peach Scrubs, Pumice Scrubs, Sea Salt Scrubs and Walnut Scrubs.

They fall into four groups that behave differently.

Shell and stone-fruit materials — almond, apricot, peach, walnut, argan, olive, avocado. These are ground from shells and kernels. They span a usefully wide range of hardness and are the workhorses of the category.

Pumice. Volcanic stone, and the hardest option here. It belongs in foot scrubs, heavy-duty hand cleansers and body products for very rough skin. It has no place in a facial product.

Sea salt. Distinct from the others because it dissolves. That makes it self-limiting — the abrasion stops as the salt melts, which is a genuine advantage for a body scrub. But it also means it cannot be suspended in a water-based product without dissolving, so salt scrubs are almost always built in an anhydrous oil or butter base.

Cellulose. Manufactured rather than ground, and therefore consistent in size and shape in a way crushed materials are not. That consistency, plus the colour, is why it is the usual choice for facial products and for scrubs where appearance is part of the sell.

Formulating a scrub that actually works

Suspension is the problem that defines the category. Particles are denser than the base and will settle. A scrub that separates in the jar delivers all its abrasive to whoever reaches the bottom, and none to the customer who bought it last week.

The general approaches are: build the product thick enough that the particles cannot migrate; use a suspending system designed for the job; or work in an anhydrous base where settling behaves differently and is easier to control. Which is appropriate depends on the product, and this is worth resolving early because it constrains everything else.

Two more points that come up repeatedly:

• An anhydrous scrub — oil, butter and particles, with no water — has fundamentally different preservation requirements from a water-containing one. This is one of the few product types where a full preservative system may not be required, but that judgement depends on the formula and on how the customer will use it. A jar that gets wet fingers in a wet bathroom is not as anhydrous as the formula sheet suggests.
• Drain and disposal behaviour is part of why microbeads went. Where an exfoliant sits on that question is a reasonable thing to ask your supplier about and a reasonable thing to tell your customer.

Confirm particle size, grading and recommended use level against the documentation for the material you buy.

Matching the exfoliant to the product

• Facial scrub, normal to sensitive skin: the softest, most consistently graded options. Cellulose is the usual starting point.
• Body scrub: the mid-range shell and kernel materials, or salt in an oil base.
• Foot and heavy-duty hand products: pumice, or the harder shell materials.
• Anything for acne-prone skin: treat physical exfoliation carefully. Scrubbing inflamed skin makes it worse, and the gentlest option in the range is the right one if a scrub is used at all.

Sourcing

Cerium supplies all ten exfoliants above from Nairobi, along with the oils, butters and surfactant materials that make up the rest of the base. If you are choosing between two for a specific product, send the brief through the enquiry form and the team will talk it through.