Do you remember the method where you ‘scrub’ your face with an oil cleanser for a few minutes (not seconds), and grits will come out of your skin? That’s skin gritting.

First things first, what classifies as the ‘real’ grit? It’s the tiny particles that are grey in colour. If it’s black, then most probably those are just remaining skincare products that are still sitting on your skin. Some are big and some are super tiny, but most importantly, they all have one thing in common: they’re very waxy in texture.

So how does skin gritting work? Skin gritting is one of the many ways to remove grime and gunks from your pores. The most popular method is to simply use an oil cleanser and patiently massage in the oil until you can feel the visible nasties on your fingers. But according to some dermatologists, they believe that the job should be left for the professionals instead as manually skin gritting doesn’t really do much to your skin. 

However, there’s another elaborate method to skin gritting. This involves an oil cleanser, a facial acid, and a clay mask. It’s a bit tedious but many people swear by this trick. First, you’ll clean your skin with an oil cleanser to remove all of the dirt from your face. Then you will chemically exfoliate your face with a facial acid like a Beta-hydroxy acid (BHA), as an example. You’re gonna leave the acid on your face for 20 minutes and apply a clay mask right on top of the remaining acids. Wash off the clay mask and massage your skin with the earlier oil cleanser to end the routine. But, there’s a catch to this though as you might possibly experience skin irritation from ‘mixing’ the acid with the clay mask right after.  

Dermatologists believe that there’s no solid proof that skin gritting actually removes the grits as more often than not, those are just dead skin being rolled off your skin. Not only that, but you’re also risking your skin from being overly dry from too much cleansing and excessive exfoliation. 

How to know where to draw the line? Always massage your skin gently and don’t scrub your face too harshly. Remember, your skin is super delicate, don’t treat it as if you’re hand washing your reusable makeup pads. Another tip is to avoid massaging your face for too long. Just keep it within a few good minutes. Lastly, don’t use too many products at one go and if you think any of your skincare products are causing irritation, chuck it out!