Review: Alba Pineapple Enzyme Scrub

One of the things I have tried to do as I go more "green" is to look at my usage of products, and try to decide if I actually need them. When you think that the average woman uses 12 products a day which include 168 chemicals (according to Environmental Working Group), it's easy to see that we shouldn't just be making sure each product is green, but that if we cut out a product or two, we'll save adding a few more chemicals to our systems. Because even green products have chemicals, so unless you are prepared to make everything from scratch, it's hard to avoid them.

So, toner has gone from my shelves, as has eye cream, as has shower gel. I'm trying to cut down on my perfume addiction, but it's hard. At least I'm trying not to buy more! But then I got to exfoliants. You could argue that it's a product that we don't really need, and therefore it's an easy one to ditch. But my skin reacts well to exfoliants and they definitely help me to feel like I'm looking more fresh-faced and healthy, so I don't really want to give them up. What I try to do is not use them in addition to cleanser, but to find an exfoliant that I can use once or twice a week instead of cleanser.

I quite like the Alba pineapple scrub, but there's something lacking. There aren't many exfoliating grains in it, as presumably it relies more on the enzymes than on a physical scrubbing action. But half the time, I don't think the enzyme are really enough. I want more grains! The scrub has quite a creamy feel, and has a pleasant pineapple-papaya scent to it. It doesn't really lather, but that's just fine in my book. It is quite gentle on the skin, and would probably be good for sensitive skin. It also has a nice cleansing action, so I don't feel like my skin has been cheated out of a step if I use it in place of cleanser in the morning. However, I always want to dump a teaspoon-full of brown sugar or something into the mix, in order to boost the exfoliating power.

Maybe one of these days I really will become a proper greenie, and start making my own exfoliant, but in the meantime, this one is average-to-good. It usually retails for about $11.99 although I notice that drugstore.com currently has it on sale for $9.59.

Two and a half stars.