All scans / Exfoliants / St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask
St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask ingredients: is it worth it?
Decent scrub base, but the exfoliation is old-school and the fragrance lowers the appeal.
Decent scrub base, but the exfoliation is old-school and the fragrance lowers the appeal.
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The efficacy score is held up by a workable mix of mild surfactants plus two physical exfoliants, but it is pulled down by the lack of any evidence-based chemical exfoliation, the likely abrasive nature of walnut shell powder, and the fact that the soothing oat/honey ingredients sit too low to meaningfully change performance.
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DemythSkin rates St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask 2.9/5 for efficacy and 3.8/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Parfum. Most people tolerate them; patch test if your skin reacts easily.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (9)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate, Hydrated Silica, Decyl Glucoside, Acrylates Copolymer, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Acrylates/Palmeth-25 Acrylate Copolymer, Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder, Phenoxyethanol, Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Parfum, Disodium EDTA, Polyacrylamide, Honey, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract, CI 77891
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (19)⌄
- Water
- solvent, formula base
- Glycerin
- humectant, skin hydration
- Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate
- cleansing surfactant
- Hydrated Silica
- physical exfoliant
- Decyl Glucoside
- mild cleansing surfactant
- Acrylates Copolymer
- film former, thickener
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- co-surfactant, foam booster
- Acrylates/Palmeth-25 Acrylate Copolymer
- film former, stabilizer
- Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate
- cleansing surfactant
- Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder
- physical exfoliant
- Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
- Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
- conditioning surfactant
- Parfum
- fragrance
- Disodium EDTA
- chelating agent
- Polyacrylamide
- thickener, film former
- Honey
- humectant, marketing ingredient
- Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
- preservative
- Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract
- soothing extract
- CI 77891
- Pigment / opacifier in this formula — not acting as a UV filter.
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract: Listed in the formula and commonly used for soothing/supportive care; supports a mild secondary soothing claim.
Hydrated Silica: Physical exfoliant listed high in the INCI, indicating a meaningful abrasive role in the scrub.
Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder: Physical exfoliant listed in the formula; contributes to mechanical scrubbing rather than chemical exfoliation.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask: common questions
Is St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask worth it?
St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask scores 2.9 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Underpowered) and 3.8 out of 5.0 for safety (Mostly Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Decent scrub base, but the exfoliation is old-school and the fragrance lowers the appeal.
What are the key active ingredients in St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask?
St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask as documented irritants: Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder, Parfum. This product does contain fragrance.
How is St. Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Scrub & Mask scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
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