Jessica Turner From treatment room to DIY, the body scrub is back…and making a mess all over the country, writes Ashleigh Sharman.
Exfoliating dead skin cells to reveal a healthy, radiant appearance, there’s no rocket science behind the basic principles of the body scrub.
Around the country this humble service is on the rise as clients look to wellness and full-body rejuvenation from their treatments, even if it is only 60 minutes, with ingredients that can help to cleanse, stimulate and detox.
From ginger and lime to coffee and green tea, there is an array of natural ingredients ready and waiting to be turned into a salt or sugar scrub.
“While the natural granules of sugar and salt both offer effective exfoliating action, the inclusion of mineral-rich salts in a scrub help to draw out impurities, demineralise the skin and help to remove toxins from pores, promoting better circulation and improved skin texture,” says Noella Gabriel, Director of Product and Treatment Development Elemis, whose hero scrubs include the Lime and Ginger Salt Glow and Exotic Frangipani Monoi Salt Glow.
“Salt is porous so carries the oil – after the scrub you are left with a veil of the carrier oil – while sugar scrubs dissolve more easily in warm water, are less abrasive, and are generally better for those with sensitive skin.”
Exhibiting at this year’s Salon Melbourne, Babescrub drew attention for their dry body scrub formulas that build on sugar and salt bases with ingredients such as antioxidant-charged green tea and tissue-stimulating caffeine.
Popular with salons and end-consumers, founder Kim Pierce attributes the gain in popularity to inner-wellness’ penchant for DIY.
“Using fresh and natural products in beauty routines was standard from Roman times and I think the swing to DIY is an extension of the modern consumer wanting to connect back to simpler times in terms of understanding exactly what is going into the products they are using,” Kim says.
“There’s something intimate and luxurious about making any sort of recipe from first principles, and the resurgence of DIY is a nice way to get in touch with this.”
Babescrub’s philosophy is aligned with traditional herb lore, and with the basic premise that what goes on your skin should be safe enough to eat.
It all sounds wonderful but how do you keep this service a mess-free experience for both your treatment room and the client?
To prevent clients from turning completely DIY, Noella says protocol is all-important.
“Impeccable training, preparation and client care is the key to ensuring the whole process is seamless from start to finish, and to avoid any mess,” she says.
“So that the client has an incredible experience and to ensure a return client, all elements of the treatment must be executed with the utmost care and precision.
“In Elemis treatments, the scrubs are either removed in the shower or with hot mitts, and protocol is followed to the very last detail to ensure a comfortable and indulgent experience.”
Bathrooms, and bodies, all over the country then are being turned upside down, covered in scrub.
From massage clients who are after inner and outer rejuvenation to tanning clients who want lasting results, it’s time to shed an extra layer and enter a new wellness era with this ancient service.
