When you reach for a scrub, you probably think about how your skin will feel afterward. Softer. Smoother. A little more cared for.
But there’s another question worth asking: what, exactly, is doing the exfoliating?
Those tiny particles might be jojoba esters, sugar, mineral particles or, in some formulas, plastic. A recent announcement from Australia’s New South Wales Environment Protection Authority is a reminder that the distinction still matters.
Why microbeads are back in the news
In September, the NSW EPA reported that eight businesses, including major beauty retailers Mecca and Sephora, had been ordered to stop supplying products containing banned plastic microbeads. Twelve products had been subject to stop notices during the year, spanning scalp scrubs, face and body exfoliators, and industrial hand cleaners.
The action came almost four years after NSW banned plastic microbeads in rinse-off personal-care products in November 2022. It raises a useful question for anyone buying skincare: how much do we know about the particles we rinse away? Read the EPA announcement.
What are plastic microbeads?
Plastic microbeads are small, solid plastic particles less than five millimetres wide. In exfoliating products, they can provide the physical action that helps remove dead skin cells as you massage the formula over your skin.
The word “bead,” however, doesn’t automatically mean plastic. Exfoliating particles can be made from different materials. Understanding what a scrub contains means looking beyond its appearance or texture to the ingredient list. Sometimes, it also means asking the manufacturer for more information. NSW EPA guidance.
Why does it matter what goes down the drain?
Rinse-off skincare has a life beyond the bathroom sink.
The NSW EPA explains that plastic microbeads can escape screening during wastewater treatment and enter waterways. Once there, they persist and can carry pollutants into the food chain.
That is why the conversation about a scrub’s environmental impact needs to include the formula as well as the packaging. The bottle or tube is the part we can easily see and sort for disposal. The particles washed away during use are much easier to overlook.
Exfoliating ingredients to look more closely at
Start with the full ingredient list, rather than the claims on the front of the packaging. When checking a rinse-off scrub, these are names the NSW EPA flags for further investigation:
| Ingredient name | What you might see on the label |
|---|---|
| Polyethylene | Polyethylene or PE |
| Polypropylene | Polypropylene or PP |
| Polyethylene terephthalate | Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET |
| Polymethyl methacrylate | Polymethyl Methacrylate or PMMA |
| Nylon | Nylon, sometimes followed by a number |
| Cellulose acetate | Cellulose Acetate |
| Polylactic acid | Polylactic Acid or PLA |
The EPA lists these ingredients across its microbead guidance and recent enforcement announcement.
Finding one of these names is a reason to ask for more information. An ingredient list alone may not tell you the material’s physical form or whether the finished product contains prohibited microbeads.
Ask the brand: “Does this ingredient occur as solid plastic particles in your formula, and what provides the exfoliation?”
A useful answer should identify the exfoliating material and explain its role. Terms such as “polishing beads” or “smoothing particles” don’t tell you what those particles are made from.
Alternatives to plastic microbeads
Other materials can give scrubs their polishing texture. Names you may encounter include:
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Jojoba esters: Used as exfoliating particles in some formulas, including Occeanne’s Ocean Waves Refining Hand Scrub. Ask the brand about their role if the label alone is unclear.
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Sugar: Often listed as sucrose and used in body scrubs.
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Salt: Often listed as sodium chloride or sea salt.
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Ground seeds, kernels and shells: Used in some physical scrubs, with texture varying according to the material and how finely it is processed.
These alternatives help you understand what provides the exfoliation, but they aren’t a ranking of which scrub is best. A particle’s size, shape and concentration affect the experience, as does how much pressure you use. “Natural” does not automatically mean gentle.
Likewise, “plant-derived” does not establish that an ingredient is plastic-free or that a finished product is harmless to waterways. Look for a clear explanation of the exfoliating material rather than relying on a broad claim on the front of the pack.
What exfoliates in Occeanne’s hand scrub?
In Ocean Waves Refining Hand Scrub, the exfoliating ingredient is jojoba esters. They provide the polishing action within a creamy formula containing shea butter, tucuma seed butter and glycerin.
We publish the full ingredient list and explain each ingredient’s purpose, so you can see what provides exfoliation and what supports the rest of the formula. You can explore those details in the Occeanne hand care collection.
For an ocean-inspired brand, that attention belongs in the everyday details: what we formulate with, how we package it, and how clearly we explain those choices.
The next time you choose a scrub, take a moment to find out what gives it its texture. What is doing the exfoliating, and what are you washing away? They’re small questions that deserve clear answers.