I truly loathe when I can feel my skin get dry and tight during the winter months. I feel like I do everything possible to keep my skin in good shape, but I know one culprit that I just can’t stop, and that’s having a near-boiling hot shower (my husband thinks boiling, I disagree) which can strip the skin of moisture leaving it feeling uncomfortable. Usually, when this happens, I notice I get more ingrown hair on my calves and my elbows get a little scratchy.
One of the obvious solutions to this is to use warm water and not hot, but in the middle of winter, my bathroom can feel like it’s 50 degrees in there and any part of the body that isn’t being sprayed with cascading hot water feels frozen. So that option is out, I just can’t go lower.
The other obvious solution is to moisturize — which I do and feel like I’m doing 24/7 with lotions in every bag I own and on even level and room of my home! But the real skin transformation comes when you do a little exfoliation to get those rough spots smoothed out and fresher skin uncovered. I’ve been doing this with traditional scrubs, but in the Winter we like to up the ante with a chemical and physical exfoliator that means business. There are two scrubs I have come across in my experience that can handle extremely dry skin beautifully and can address dry skin issues like keratosis pilaris, and that’s Kopari’s new Bumps Be Gone, and First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser.
First Aid Beauty’s scrub has been around since last year and I went through two tubes of it because I loved how it made my skin feel afterward, while Kopari’s option is being released 1/24/22 so this is sort of a sneak peek of what’s to come on the Sephora site soon!
Both options are very similar but there are a few differences between the two that may help you decide which one may be better for you.
Similarities
Let’s talk about what’s similar about the two. Each are intended to help dry skin and offer relief to those who deal with Keratosis pilaris (chicken skin bumps). Both use similar squeezy tube packaging which helps control the amount you use. If this were in a tub I’d use it up way too quickly because I love using scrubs and want to be a slippery seal. I should mention that these scrubs are potent with their chemical and physical exfoliators and should only be used a couple of times a week to assess tolerance.
The scrubs both use a 10% AHA mixture of glycolic and lactic acids to gently exfoliate the skin chemically, lifting dried, dead skin and unclogging pores to reveal fresh skin underneath. I don’t know if one uses more of one or the other, but I feel they are on par with each other. Both scrubs also contain glycerin which is great for drawing moisture to the skin. Glycerin is one of those ingredients that if I don’t see an HA (hyaluronic acid) in it, then I look for glycerin. Lastly, and most important for some, they are both fragrance-free. I scoured the ingredient lists looking for any indication they were in either and see (and smell) none.
Kopari Bumps Be Gone
Now let’s take a look at Kopari Bumps Be Gone by itself. The one thing that immediately set this scrub apart from FAb’s version is the coarseness of the scrub. I find that this one is more refined and LESS coarse than FAB’s. The granules feel smaller and come from a combination of volcanic sand, pumice, and coconut shell powder.
Kopari’s Bumps Be Gone also includes a variety of skincare ingredients that make this an interesting choice. Green Tea Extract and Camellia Sinensis extract have antioxidant benefits, while licorice root and oat kernel can soothe and act as anti-inflammatories for less-than-happy skin. Willow bark has long been known to help treat acne in a gentle way, and Lactobacillus Ferment is a new one to me, that I had to look up. It’s a probiotic that can also help fight body acne and can strengthen the skin’s natural defense mechanisms.
Kopari Bumps Be Gone comes in an 8oz tube that retails for $24.
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser
First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser is definitely more coarse than Koapri’s. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing at all — but it is a preference for some! I love the feel of a really gritty scrub (for my body). I like that the KP Bump Eraser is available in a few sizes; it makes it easier to try new things than getting stuck with a huge tube that will go to waste. Smaller sizes allow you to sample, and also allow you to travel with your favorite items.
First Aid Beauty wouldn’t create a skin or body care product that didn’t have some additional benefits though, so let’s look at the “extras” to see what it offers. Colloidal oatmeal is included which makes sense since it’s been a long time skin soother and protectant. Bisabolol, which comes from german chamomile, is also used to calm the skin while offering antioxidant benefits to skin. Vitamin E not only helps moisturize but lends a helping hand to our skin barrier making it stronger and more resilient — something that’s needed when it becomes dry (and fragile) in some areas.
I found the most interesting ingredient to be radish root ferment which is antimicrobial but also works as an emollient (a skin softener) for healthy, elastic skin.
First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser is available in two sizes (8oz. And 2oz) ranging in cost from $12-30. You can purchase at FirstAidBeauty.com as well as Sephora.com
FINAL VERDICT
These are very, very similar. The only discernable detail that sets each apart is the coarseness of the scrub. Do you prefer very gritty like FAB’s? Or something with a finer texture like Kopari’s? I can use both, personally but love the gritty feel more. I see each brand’s skincare benefits and while they don’t match bat for bat, I think the overall effect of both is consistent. Smoother, calm skin post-shower!
Will you be trying either of these? Share in the comments below!
I’ve used First Aid Bump Eraser before when I had KP on my arms and it worked wonders. I’d like to try the Kopari since I love their facial scrub. And I love a super hot shower too!
I don’t have KP so I have never tried a body product to address that issue. However, people sometimes ask me for recommendations for KP, so I will remember your comparative review
I love that both include 10% AHA mixture of glycolic and lactic acids! I generally tend to like slightly grittier scrubs in body exfoliants, but both of these sound quite good.