Transform Your Skin Through Exfoliation
Through my work as an esthetician I have seen my fair share of exfoliation nightmares. It’s one of those tricky areas where it’s needed but going overboard by just a little can do a lot more harm than it does good.
Often times I feel the term exfoliate is a bit over hyped. This can create an atmosphere of people being aware of the word and feeling the need to incorporate it into their body care routine but not really knowing what to use or how often to be exfoliating.
From the age mid 20’s and onwards skin turnover is starting to slow down just a little …… or a lot if you’ve had a ton of sun exposure. But if your skin is essentially already normal and you are implementing the proper skin care steps of a moisturizer and sunscreen you may be ready for the extra va-va-voom which comes in the form of exfoliation.
I hope by the end of this article you’ll feel confident in the knowing the importance of exfoliating but also how to practice it in a way that is healthy for your skin. Which in turn, gives the beautiful glow up we all are wanting!
Understand What Exfoliation Is Achieving
In order to properly exfoliate it is important to understand what exfoliation is and why you do it.
Without letting myself get too “skin care nerdy” basically the top layer of your skin is made up of five layers. Each layer is made up of skin cells all at different stages of their lives. The bottom layer is the newest baby cells and as they mature they move upwards to the top layer of the skin. Once they get there, they are at the end of their life and are basically dead. They flatten out creating the very surface of our skin which is our protective layer.
This layer acts as a barrier and protects our skin from irritants getting in but most importantly it helps keep water in your skin.
So….. when we exfoliate – essentially we are taking away part of this protective layer and evening out the top dead layer of skin.
Ultimately, exfoliation does have the advantage of smoothing out the textured surface of our skin and enhance it’s appearance. It also does make it easier for active ingredients within our beauty products to penetrate deeper. There are locations on our body which have a higher likely hood of not properly shedding dead skin cells. Using exfoliating products helps to even the playing field and keep skin refreshed and not looking dull.
The big BUT comes into play when over exfoliating happens. As I mentioned, the top layer of our skin keeps water in. If you over exfoliate your skin – you are taking away that protective layer. This leads to dry skin because you’ve taken away your skin’s ability to retain water and you’ve increased the chances of an irritant creating a negative affect (like a rash, acne or infection). Different skin tones need to take different precautions as well. Severely damaging your skin barrier can create lightened or dark spots.
Like all things exfoliation is wonderful but it definitely needs to be used in moderation.
I’ve put together a quick list explaining where and how often you should be regularly exfoliating in order to achieve the best version of your skin!
Materials
Physical
Exfoliants
These are things like scrubs, brushes, pumice stones, washcloths, shaving, basically any product with the ability to be abrasive(rough) to this skin. They work by manually removing the dead skin by a scrubbing action.
Chemical
Exfoliants
These are acids or enzymes. The two most common are alpha hydroxy acid (AHA, glycolic or lactic acid) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA, salicylic acid). They work by loosening the bonds which hold the skin together and break dead skin free from the surface. These products are great for their ability to be tailored specifically in order to address certain skin types.
How To Achieve Glowy Skin Through Exfoliation
FACE
Method: Physical or Chemical
- It’s important to know the active ingredients in your skincare products. A lot of cleansers have acids in them and if you are using a physical exfoliant and a chemical exfoliant during the same treatment – you can run into creating skin barrier problems.
Frequency: Start off with once a week. If your skin tolerates it just fine then you can increase to twice a week. If you have sensitive skin or if your skin freaks out then be sure to space out the exfoliation treatments to more time in between.
Be sure to hop over and read: The Top Three Skin Care Products You Must Have after you finish up here. It goes over the best ways to promote cell turnover and the best preventative measures in order to erase fine lines and wrinkles.
BODY
Method: Physical
Frequency: Two – Three times a week
Method: Chemical
Frequency: Once a week
- There are different levels of skin thickness throughout your body. Be sure to take awareness to areas of thinner skin and maybe skip treating them if you notice they are becoming irritated with frequent exfoliation. Gentle exfoliating in delicate areas is a must.
FEET
Method: Physical or Chemical
- Be sure to check out my post dedicated to the benefits of exfoliating feet. You’ll get an in-depth review on how to get baby soft feet!
Frequency: Twice a week.
Always, Always, Always
Follow up an exfoliation treatment with a moisturizer! This is a crucial step in any skincare routine and it’s important to hydrate your skin!
In order to rid dull skin and achieve beautiful, glowy and smooth skin you must nourish it. Read why this body butter is my absolute favorite product to use!!
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. If you are currently treating a skin care condition or are experiencing skin care issues please seek advice from a physician.