Getting Clean

Yikes! Grains, salts, polish, scrubs, gel, bubble bath, soap, not-soap--getting clean are an embarrassment of riches or confusion. Here's what you need to know.

Bath salts and salt scrubs sometimes create froth (like Soothing Seas Foaming Bath Salts), sometimes don't. Generally, salts are excellent muscle- and joint-soothers and have been used for centuries by athletes, post-exertion, to help minimize soreness.

Cleansing grains, body polishes and scrubs are all exfoliators. The exfoliating or polishing agents are generally particles that you can see, and feel, in a formulation that's either water-, gel- or cream-based. Exfoliating products generally don't create foam.

Non-exfoliating gels, foams, and bubble baths are wonderfully soothing and, depending on the ingredients, may also invigorate. Bubble baths build the most froth. Gels and foams create foam, too, but not as much; their plus is the versatility of being both shower- and bath-compatible.

Body washes are usually creamy cleansers to pour into a bath for gentle allover cleansing, or to dab onto your scrubbing glove or loofah in the shower. They're excellent for dry skin.

FYI: A cleanser's formulation, whether a bar, gel, salts, etc., doesn't dictate whether or not it contains soap, so if you're soap-sensitive, read labels carefully.