Come Back to Life with Exfoliation
If don’t regularly exfoliate your skin, you might just be walking around leaving little pieces of yourself here and there. Did you know that over a lifetime you will lose about 40 pounds of dead skin? Ewwww.
Exfoliation
When you exfoliate your skin you are removing the dead cells from the surface. This stimulates and renews skin cells making them healthy. The process creates a softer, smoother and younger looking you.
If that isn’t enough to convince you to rid yourself of your deadness, consider this. Aging slows cell regeneration. Removal of dead skin cells encourages faster cell replacement by allowing younger healthier cells to reach the surface sooner.
Exfoliation also prevents your pores from clogging. Clogged pores often leads to acne and pimples (just what you need, right?). After you exfoliate your skin, it absorbs moisturizers more efficiently. Exfoliation good for any skin type; and the results are immediate. It just doesn’t get better than that.
Methods to Exfoliate Your Skin
Mechanical (used on face and body)
An abrasive is used to physically remove dead skin cells. Examples include scrubs, brushes, loofahs and microdermabrasion (a mechanical form of exfoliation that uses a powerful vacuum to spray microcrystals of aluminum dioxide across the skin’s surface).
Note: Never use body scrubs on the face as they are too abrasive.
Chemical (used on face only)
There are two main types of chemical exfoliants:
- Light chemical peels – These are gentler peels which contain AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid) or BHA (beta-hydroxy acid) and are plant based.
- Heavy chemical peels involve the removal of skin blemishes or wrinkles by applying a caustic chemical such as acetone and phenol.
How to exfoliate your face
For exfoliation treatments at home consider a gentle mechanical option. Over the counter chemical treatments not strong enough and are minimally effective. Also, chemical treatments can be irritating to your skin.
Avoid exfoliants containing nuts, seeds, and nut shells as these can lead to microlesions in those with thin and/or sensitive skin and create more skin problems
You can exfoliate your skin once a week or less, but not more than every 2 days. The frequency of exfoliation depends on the skins sensitivity. For more sensitive skin do not exfoliate more than twice per week.
For an at home exfoliation we recommend the mechanical method using a scrub.
How to exfoliate your skin
- Dampen the skin with warm water
- Apply the scrub evenly with finger tips in a circular motion to your face and neck
- Massage gently for 30 – 60 seconds avoiding your eyes
- Spend a bit more time on the forehead and chin region where dead skin tend to collect more frequently.
- Gently rinse away the scrub and follow with a light moisturizer.
How to exfoliate your body
The easiest method is to put body wash on a loofah sponge and gently exfoliate your body while in the shower. Don’t be too rough on that skin of yours. However, give your heels a good rub.
Another method is to exfoliate your skin before you get into the shower. Rinse off in the shower then apply a second exfoliating scrub while you bathe or shower and rinse again.
Exfoliating your body is extremely drying if you exfoliate too often. Exfoliate your body no more than 2 to 3 times a week.
Now go have fun and relax.
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