Apricot Scrub.

"Design flaw. The particles are jagged and irregular, which means that they create micro tears in the skin barrier rather than gently buffing the surface. Those micro tears can cause inflammation, they can accelerate barrier breakdown, and they can worsen acne in people who are already prone to it. The apricot kernel specifically has a shape under a microscope that is genuinely damaging to the skin. There have actually been lawsuits about this, and the data is not on St. Ives Apricot Scrub's side."

"St. Ives is a long-standing object of hate amongst dermatologists. [...] The exfoliating agents in there, the harsh beads or like the ground up walnut, can potentially cause micro tears to your skin, affecting your skin barrier and causing more damage. [...] After water, the second ingredient is denatured alcohol, which is not a good thing. It's only going to dry out your skin. We've got citrus fruits in there as well, and all of these can be harsh for the skin barrier and increase your risk for phytodermatitis. So yeah, I wouldn't recommend it."

"St. Ives Apricot Scrub, and anything with large, jagged, irregular particles, has a fundamental design problem. These particles can create micro tears in the skin barrier rather than gently buffing the surface, and those micro tears trigger inflammation, can accelerate barrier breakdown, and can worsen acne in people already prone to it. The apricot kernel specifically has an irregular, sharp shape under a microscope, there's litigation about this, and the data supports the concern."

"My first experience with physical exfoliation was the St. Ives Apricot Scrub. It has little shards of walnut shells in it that are just tearing your skin. We just didn't know better, we were rubbing that stuff all over our face thinking it was doing something, but what it's doing is causing little micro tears all over your face and compromising your skin barrier. I typically don't recommend physical exfoliants very often because it is harsh on the skin and it can tear it."

"The classic is Saint Ives Apricot Scrub, and I know it was a staple of my teenage skincare routine trying to scrub away acne, and most of you have probably used it too. But when you use these harsh abrasive scrubs, they do break down your skin barrier and cause micro tears in the skin. That damage to the barrier leads to inflammation, which is unfriendly to your collagen and elastin, and puts you at increased risk of developing rosacea and skin barrier problems, and more likely to become allergic or sensitive to ingredients even if you have been using the same products for years."

"I used to love St. Ives Apricot Scrub as a teenager. [...] The apricot bits were harsh and jagged, and I do remember actually cutting my skin on one of these apricot kernel shards. [...] I have tried St. Ives Apricot Scrub recently. Was it the best? No. Was it as bad as I remember? Definitely not. I think St. Ives have kind of jet milled their scrub particles a bit more. It felt a lot less harsh. The only issue is, even though they say with Ceramides on the front, it's still incredibly drying. I just feel there is no need for a modern day product to leave your skin feeling that dry and tight."

"St. Ives Apricot Scrub is safe to use as long as you don't scrub like we used to in the '90s, gently and in moderation like any other exfoliant. Listen, it's not my favorite exfoliant, I think it's drying as hell, but if it works for you keep using it."

"St Ives Apricot Scrub and or the buff puff may be helpful here for stubborn cases of eruptive velis haris, where mechanical exfoliation can actually be helpful."

"The product that everybody loves to hate on is the St Ives Apricot Scrub. You guys know that product, it's abrasive, it can be very irritating. But some people use it, they don't have any problem with it, it doesn't cause them problems, they enjoy using it. If you're one of those people who uses that or any other facial scrub to exfoliate your skin, get your face wet first [...] before going in dry because [...] the skin smoothing effect that you are seeking is going to go much more efficiently if you have hydrated the stratum corneum first."

"I'm not a fan of these mechanical exfoliants because they can lead to a lot of irritation. [...] Some people do just fine with these, especially people who maybe have thicker oilier skin, but it can end up being irritating in the long run."