My shower has been out of action for months.  (Like most modern families, we also have a bath, in case you were worried about my standards of hygiene in the mean time).  The shower had sprung a leak, which my husband assured me would cost a fortune to fix.  ”We’ll have to dig up the floor.  Order new tiles, and I don’t even know if they still make those tiles,” he warned.  The horrors magnified.  We didn’t know anyone we could trust to fix it.  The water would flood down into the kitchen.  Never mind the world economic crisis, the ensuing dramas with our shower would be apocalyptic.   “Can’t we just put some more sealant down? Maybe give that a try first?” I pleaded.  He hates the shower anyway.  Reminds me regularly that he hasn’t taken one shower in it since we blew our entire building budget on the pebble tiles I insisted on having.  Finally one day, I run into The Tile King of West London, Michael Cahill, who gives my husband the number of Rudy, who not only applies sealant the way others ice cakes, but does a whole lot of other odd jobs besides.  And for a fee that frankly seems like a bargain. 

There are some things that work in a shower that just don’t work in a bath.  I have my own formula for smooth skin that requires a shower, for example.  You stand in it, and dry brush all over working in an upwards direction on each limb.  It’s absolutely the best thing for cellulite, and in winter when your skin takes on a grey sheen, it lifts off the dead skin cells and leaves them conveniently on the shower floor, ready to be washed away.  You can’t do that in a bath, unless you stand in the bath with no water, then get out while you fill the bath, which in our flat takes forever as the water pressure’s rubbish.  Then with the shower running, I use an exfoliant, in the same way others use a shower gel - pretty much every day.  

I’ve been testing MD Skincare’s Antioxidant Enzyme Buff, they’re better known for their facial skincare products and I often rave about their Alpha-Beta Daily Face Peel pads, so I was interested to see how good they’d be with bodycare.  The answer is very good.  Like many of my favourite scrubs - Origins do fabulous ones - it has brownish granules in it and a waxy base.  It’s time-saving,  as it leaves a thin slick of  oil on your skin, even after rinsing, so you don’t have to apply a body moisturiser afterwards.  And although you can also use it in the bath, I’m glad to have my shower back, glad to be able to rinse it all away easily.  Who wants to be scrubbing brown granules off the sides?  

What I like about it: Texture is like sugary paste, easy to work into scrub.  Packed with anti-oxidants, yet no paraffin waxes.  Enough science behind it to make me feel this is not something I could have knocked up myself in the kitchen with some sugar or porridge oats. 

What I don’t like about it: Fragrance is a little nothing, but I’m really picking holes here, there’s not much I dislike. 

Value for money: Think of it as a two-in-one as you won’t need to moisturise afterwards.  It comes as part of a duo with some detox bath salts. 

Where you can find out more: http://www.mdskincare.com/

Marks: 4 out of 5.