If you know me, you'll know that even though I love beauty, I hate high-maintenance beauty routines. I don't like to apply body lotion after I take a shower or before I go to bed, I don't like having to draw my eyebrows in every single day, and I wish I had naturally curly lashes.

So naturally, when it came to adding another step in my beauty routine, I was hesitant, and a little skeptical as to whether or not I even needed to.

Exfoliating the skin on your body seems like a redundant task. Some of you may be thinking, 'My skin looks fine, why should I fix something that isn't broken?' and I'll be the first to say that I thought the exact same thing!

Here's the thing. Your body sheds dead skin cells each minute, thousands and thousands of them too! These dead skin cells don't just flake away. Instead, they stay on top of your skin, building and building up until they clog your pores and cause rough skin.

Here's what exfoliating your body can do for you:

It helps to prevent body acne.

It clears out your body's hair follicles, so that you can avoid ingrown hairs.

It can help even out your skin tone.

It helps bring your new skin to the surface, so that your skin is soft and smooth.


I tested out three body exfoliators that I had in my beauty cupboard, and here's what I thought:

1. The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Body Polish
This scrub contains multi-sized scrub particles, and moisturises your body beautifully with Community Fair Trade honey. This is by far the most moisturising scrub of the three. It contains vanilla extract, and smells very strongly of vanilla. If you're a fan of vanilla-scented products, this is the perfect body scrub for you. I, on the other hand, am not a big fan of vanilla, so this isn't my favourite product.

2. Uriage Gentle Total Exfoliant
This scrub is unique in that it was formulated for both the face and body. This is perfect if you have slightly sensitive skin, as it is soap and paraben free. It utilises micro-spheres and botanical AHAs to exfoliate, and has a lovely smell similar to ocean-themed soap scents. This is what I have in my shower stall at the moment, because I absolutely love the scent, and the exfoliating spheres are quite pleasant to use on my skin.

3. L'Occitane Magical Leaves Exfoliating Shower Gel
It's no secret that L'Occitane products are some of my favourites (read about my all-time favourite lavender perfume). The Magical Leaves range was limited edition and is no longer available, but L'Occitane regularly releases new exciting fragrance ranges, with the same moisturising, beautifully-scented properties. If you love being able to select from body scrubs with a wide range of scents, all of which are equally moisturising and smoothing on the skin, then check out your nearest L'Occitane boutique or stockist.

I hope you found this post helpful! I will leave you with this last little tip: If you live in a country with a warm climate, or have oily skin, you need to exfoliate a little more! Oil and sweat helps speed up the accumulation of dead skin cells, so scrub at least 3 times a week. Do not exert too much pressure when you exfoliate - be patient and you will see amazing results!