Exfoliation is a skincare technique that has been around for hundreds of years. It is, therefore, a word we all should be quite familiar within 2018. Before learning the best exfoliating methods, it is important to know and fully understand what exfoliation is. It is also important to know why exfoliation is so great for your skin.
What is skin exfoliation?
Exfoliation is the removal of the dead, keratinized skin cells sitting on the skin’s surface. It leaves the skin smoother and fresher looking and makes it easier for facial products like serums to penetrate the skin’s surface. It is an important part of both professional facials and body treatments. However, exfoliation is a double-edged sword. It is easy to overdo facial exfoliation, especially, at home with overzealous scrubbing and cheap products. The skin on the rest of your body can take more vigorous exfoliation, more frequently than the skin that is on your face.
Why you shouldn’t over-exfoliate the skin
If you exfoliate your face too much, your skin can become sensitized. This means you have literally made it prone to redness and irritation. By over-exfoliating, you can actually make your skin worse than it was before. You also have to be careful about exposing yourself to the sun after you exfoliate. For instance, it would not be smart to get an aggressive chemical facial peel at a spa and then go lay in the sun.
The skin does give us signs when it is being over exfoliated. If your skin becomes overly shiny, especially on the forehead, you might be over-exfoliating. The shininess occurs when light reflects easily off of over-exfoliated skin because you have smoothed out the natural textures of your skin too much. Puffiness is also something that can occur due to over-exfoliation. This happens because too much exfoliation can break down the skin’s protective barrier.
Why is exfoliation important?
As we age the process of cell turnover slows down. Cells start to pile up unevenly on the skin’s surface, giving it a dry, rough, dull appearance. Exfoliation is beneficial because it removes those cells that are clinging on, revealing the fresher, younger skin cells below. If your facial skin has a dull, pasty look, as it often does in older people who don’t exfoliate, an exfoliating treatment will make you look younger.
Two types of exfoliation
There are two main types of exfoliation. Mechanical exfoliation literally rubs the dead skin cells off with some kind of abrasive, anything from jojoba beads to a diamond-tip microdermabrasion machine. Chemical exfoliation uses acids. This means anything from gentle fruit enzymes to powerful peels to dissolve the glue-like substance that holds the cells together.
- Mechanical Exfoliation: The dead skin cells are physically rubbed off with an abrasive. Examples of mechanical exfoliation include a salt glow, a body scrub that might use sugar or coffee grounds, or skin brushing. On the face, scrubs should use small, round, gentle abrasives. Stay away from harsh products that can cause micro-tears in your skin. A more aggressive and effective approach to mechanical exfoliation is microdermabrasion, which comes in two types, crystal, and crystal-free.
- Chemical Exfoliation: Enzymes, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) loosen the glue-like substance that holds the cells together, allowing them to be moved away. Facial peels are a form of chemical exfoliation. Chemical peels can either be very gentle or very aggressive, depending on the acid. Body treatments might use mild chemical exfoliants like pineapple enzymes.
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