Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. Every month, the Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market’s most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are truly worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, completely uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations. To put it simply, stick with us, and buyer’s remorse will be a thing of the past.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors’ honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we’ll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors quite literally can’t shut up about. This time around, I’m highlighting Versed’s Buff It Out AHA Exfoliating Body Scrub ($18).
As someone who has keratosis pilaris (small, harmless bumps that cover the back of my arms) plus a propensity for razor burn and subsequent texture, I’m always testing new products to keep my skin soft and smooth. In other words, I basically hoard body creams and scrubs—so much so, that I currently have a whole basket of lotion under my sink and three half-used body scrubs in my shower.
As for the latter, I’ve tested countless formulas. I’m talking about everything from simple sugar scrubs to luxury products that cost me a good portion of my paycheck. Yet, my favorite body scrub is brand new, costs only $18, and combines three forms of exfoliation in one effective formula. After using it just once (yes, just once!), my skin was brighter, smoother, and incredibly soft—like high-end Italian silk soft.
For background, the skin on my chest, arms, and legs has a tendency to be dry, dehydrated, and a little bumpy. If I don’t keep up with regular exfoliation and moisturization, I start to notice a decidedly irregular texture (that’s not even considering my aforementioned keratosis pilaris…without some consistent TLC, it flares up and becomes red and bumpy).
While it’s difficult to depict a slightly bumpy texture in a photo, the dull and lifeless look of my skin was regrettably easily captured. After dispensing just a small amount of the body scrub onto my arm, massaging it in for about 10 seconds, and rinsing it off, my skin was visibly brighter. Once my skin was dry, it felt incredibly soft—like so soft that I creepily kept stroking my arm throughout the day—and it’s all thanks to a unique combination of three different (and complementary) exfoliating ingredients.
How does it work so well? To answer that question, I reached out to Dr. Geeta Yadav, board-certified dermatologist and founder of FACET Dermatology.
First of all, I wanted to know how often I should be exfoliating my body for the best results. According to Yadav, the magic number is three. “I recommend exfoliating the body about three times a week, depending on your skin’s sensitivity levels and how frequently you already exfoliate,” she says. “I always recommend exfoliating after washing your body and before shaving. This will allow the exfoliator to work on clean skin (so you won’t be wasting the scrub on dirt and grime!) while removing dead cells and lifting
body hair for a smoother shave.” Fun fact: this little tip has saved me from a lot of unnecessary razor burn, so I highly recommend incorporating it into your own routine.
I also wanted to know more about the different forms of exfoliation that this product combines. Was it possible this was the secret to its almost instant efficacy? According to Yadav, the answer is yes. “It makes for a more comprehensive exfoliation treatment,” she says. Together, the ingredients “can promote cellular turnover more powerfully than they would individually.”
The three forms of exfoliation are as follows: alpha-hydroxy acids (AKA glycolic and lactic acids), microfine pumice, and pomegranate enzymes. Let’s dive into each form of exfoliation and learn how it works, shall we?
The first one—the alpha hydroxy acids—offers chemical exfoliation. “Alpha-hydroxy acids like lactic and glycolic acid work by dissolving the bonds securing dead skin cells to the surface layer of the skin,” Yadav says. The second one—the microfine pumice—counts as physical exfoliation. This form “manually sloughs away those dead skin cells.” Finally, there are the pomegranate enzymes. These count as enzymatic exfoliation, which Yadav says is comparable to chemical exfoliation except it’s usually much milder.
Together, they offer the skin a comprehensive exfoliation, which explains why it makes my skin so incredibly smooth. It also explains why I prefer it over other, popular body scrubs. Other, more traditional scrubs, contain only one, maybe two, forms of exfoliation. This one on the other hand offers the best of, well, all worlds. If you use it, I trust you’ll have smooth, silky skin sans irritation just like me.
This physical sunscreen protects your skin with SPF 35. It even has a peach tint that prevents it from leaving a dreaded white cast behind.
I’m obsessed with this at-home dermaplaning tool, which keeps my skin smooth and my peach fuzz at bay. It also has a reusable metal handle and a stainless steel, single-edge blade, so yeah, it’s sturdy.
Bring the benefits of retinol to your body with this gentle body lotion. It contains retinol as well as cocoa butter and squalane to firm the skin, smooth texture, brighten dullness, and moisturize.
This hybrid product is one-half facial oil and one-half antioxidant serum. It contains good-for-skin ingredients like camellia oil and sea buckthorn extract to dial up your glow.
With a 100% plant-based and biodegradable alternative to microbeads, as well as antioxidant-rich black currant and raspberry leaf extract, this exfoliating cleanser can refine pores, smooth texture, and brighten the skin.
A milky toner that restores the pH balance of the skin, this formula hydrates even the driest, most sensitive complexions. It also offers a combination of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
A blend of jojoba, camellia, sesame, and sunflower seed oils make this lip oil so soothing and nourishing.
This brightening eye gel takes on dark circles with a mix of vitamin C, ginseng root extract, and niacinamide. There’s also coffee seed extract to support circulation.
Next, see the lash serum that gave one editor long, fluttery lashes.
