Exfoliating is an essential part of any beauty routine and a ritual that should be incorporated weekly. It is the process of removing buildup from the surface of the skin, minimizing the appearance of pores, refining the skin’s texture and creating an overall smoothness and suppleness.
An even greater benefit of exfoliating is that all of your wonderful toners, serums and moisturizers can penetrate more deeply once you’ve prepped the skin for optimal absorption. Sounds like a pretty important step to include, would you agree?
While some exfoliators on the market contain harsh ingredients that can be too rough on the skin—leading to dryness or sensitivity—others have the perfect combination of gentle ingredients to help revive dull skin, revealing a more smooth, even-textured and radiant complexion. We’re excited to announce that our new exfoliating scrub fits this gentle category!
Meet: Kaolin Micro Exfoliant, a creamy exfoliating facial scrub formulated with hydrating aloe vera, gentle surfactants from saponified oils, detoxifying green kaolin clay, silica-rich diatomaceous earth crystals, antioxidant-rich green tea extract and a wonderful blend of invigorating essential oils.
Not only does this facial scrub cleanse and detoxify impurities from the skin, it creates a rich exfoliating experience that replenishes minerals, stimulates for a healthy glow, and instantly leaves skin feeling flawless and restored.
Let’s explore some of the key ingredients in our new Kaolin Micro Exfoliant and how they beautifully renew the look of your skin:
Aloe Vera Juice
Many of our products contain a base of aloe vera juice and for good purpose. Aloe contains over 75 nutrients alone including: amino acids, which support the skin’s integrity, vitamins like A, C and E which are all powerful antioxidants, and beautifying minerals calcium, copper, magnesium, zinc and polysaccharides, which have deep hydrating effects on the skin. The naturally occurring “saponins” in aloe also deliver a mild, cleansing action helping to remove impurities from the skin even more effectively.
Saponified Oils
Our gentle, pH balanced surfactant derived from coconut oil and plant starches/ sugars (also known as Sodium Lauryl Glucoside Carboxylate) enhances the exfoliating experience of this facial scrub, transforming it into a powerful cleanser and exfoliator in one. This natural plant-based surfactant contains excellent hydrating and moisture-binding properties. Like all of our cleansers, this scrub will not strip the skin’s natural oils and will not leave the skin feeling dry, tight or sensitive.
Diatomaceous Earth
What could be more earthy than Diatomaceous Earth? Made from fossilized “diatoms” (microscopic algae-like organisms from over 30 million years ago) this naturally formed sedimentary mineral rock is derived from rivers, lakes and oceans around the world. It’s chalky, micro-crystalline substance is 85% silica, which plays a vital role in promoting beauty and resilience within the skin. It gives a unique feel to our Kaolin Micro Exfoliant formula, with just enough granular texture to remove buildup from the skin, without being aggravating or potentially causing micro-tears (like other manual exfoliants can). In addition, silica improves the appearance of firmness and tightness in aging skin.
Green Kaolin Clay
Like all clays, kaolin remineralizes the skin, helping to soften, condition and rejuvenate its appearance. It also helps to absorb excess oils and toxins and toxic chemicals, while refining the look of enlarged pores. Kaolin makes a great addition to this formula, because what is an exfoliating scrub without deep cleansing and purifying benefits? Learn more about this incredibly versatile ingredient here.
Green Tea Extract
We’ve all heard about green tea and its potent antioxidant activity, so it only made sense to add our in-house extract of green tea leaves into this formula to help neutralize harmful free radicals, which can accelerate the aging process in the skin. Rich in polyphenols, green tea helps protect the skin from environmental stressors, resulting in reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Green tea has a profound impact on the skin!
Essential Oils: Lavender, Sage and Lemongrass
Aroma makes a formula go round. It’s true though, if you’re going to make exfoliating a skin care ritual, the scent has got to agree with you! We carefully selected our favorite essential oils of lavender, sage and lemongrass to give this scrub with a fresh, earthy and invigorating touch.
Essential oils are concentrated organic compounds extracted from plants that harness amazing healing properties. Lavender provides a calming effect on the skin. Sage stimulates the skin (and mood) and also delivers antioxidants. Lemongrass, with its uplifting scent, acts as a defense for the skin by eliminating impurities, keeping it clear and glowing.
While the Dead Sea Scrub may officially be discontinued (yes, we miss it too!), we are super excited to offer an even more sustainable and impressive formula to our line. This is a tried and true product by our entire team, with morning exfoliation gatherings in our office bathroom. We absolutely love the immediate results, but more importantly, the longer term ones.
I am wondering if any of Annmarie’s products are ph balanced to the skin. I am using a shower gel and lotion and a face cream that are 5.5 PH. My skin is responding with softness, plumpness, and smooth texture. Some of my fine lines are less visible. This is a big deal as I am closer to 70 than 60. I have used Annmarie’s products for a long time, and I still am. But I never asked the question about ph balance.
Hi Priscilla! All our products are pH balanced sitting around a 5.5 pH 🙂
Hello! This sounds terrific and I’m excited to try it but in what step would you incorporate this into your daily routine? Also how often do you recommend to use it weekly for combination skin?
Thank you!
Hi Kimberly 🙂 You would use the Kaolin Micro Exfoliant after cleansing, or in place of cleansing because it has saponified oils, 3-4x a week. You can choose to use it morning or night, whatever you’d like. This is a good protocol to follow for oily, combination, and dry skin. If you have sensitive skin, perhaps try scrubbing gently just once a week.