Skin Exfoliation Benefits

What Does Exfoliating Do For Your Skin?

Exfoliating your skin is an important skin care step that is required to achieve a healthy and glowing skin, especially for those who are in their late twenties and thirties. When you reach your thirties, your skin renewal and skin cell turnover process begins to slow down and skin exfoliation benefits these processes.

Before you start your exfoliation journey, it’s important to remember that, regardless of what type of exfoliation you choose, there are several key steps that you need to follow to ensure you get the most out of your skin care treatments.

This article will cover :

• What Does Exfoliation Do?
• Physical Exfoliation
• Chemical Exfoliators
• Exfoliation Do’s And Don’ts
• Exfoliating Normal Skin
• Exfoliating Dry Skin
• Exfoliating Oily Skin
• Exfoliating Combination Skin
• Exfoliating Sensitive Skin

Why Exfoliate? 

The main purpose of exfoliation is to remove the dull surface layers of dead skin cells from your skins surface to reveal new, younger skin beneath.The depth of the exfoliation depends on the type of skin peeling treatment you receive. You will find exfoliating helpful with unclogging pores, smoothing out the appearance of the skin, improving skin tone, and reducing wrinkles and fine lines.

Exfoliating can improve the appearance of your skin in several ways and below are a few ways a face scrub can help you.

Skin Exfoliation Benefits

When done properly, regular exfoliation can leave your skin looking brighter and improve the effectiveness of other skin care products by enhancing absorption. In addition, skin exfoliation benefits collagen production. Collagen is key to achieving glowing and vibrant skin. Collagen is a protein that also promotes skin elasticity, minimising the appearance of fine lines and related sagging.

One option for exfoliating is a physical exfoliant, which is usually a scrub. Or you can choose chemical exfoliation which is an acid-based peel. Physical exfoliants are fine granules, with a gritty texture that you can massage onto your skin to scrape off dead skin cells.

Chemical exfoliants make use of acids like AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) or BHAs (beta hydroxy acids) to improve skin texture. Usually, a chemical exfoliant with a BHA, like salicylic acid, is ideal for acne-prone and oily skin types, because it penetrates the skin’s surface and the pores, allowing it to target blackheads and whiteheads. On the other hand, AHA exfoliants, like glycolic acid or lactic acid are great for dry or mature skin. This is because AHA exfoliants work on the skin’s surface and focus on the visible signs of ageing.

Skin Exfoliation Benefits: Dos And Don’ts

Do: Determine Your Skin Type

To get the most skin exfoliation benefits and avoid any unpleasant side effects (like acne breakouts), familiarise yourself with your skin type. You should always remember that a skin type is different from a skin concern.  Skin types are classified into just five categories, whereas skin concerns are the multitude of conditions that you want to treat, and can include blemishes, wrinkles and sun damage.

The five skin types are:

• Normal
• Oily
• Dry
• Combination
• Sensitive

Organic Machine’s gentle, organic Decadent Delight face scrub is effective and safe for use on all skin types. You can check it out here.

Don’t: Exfoliate Irritated Skin

If your skin feels irritated and sore, do not exfoliate until it heals. Whether it’s a sunburn, acne breakout, or a skin reaction caused by another product, any type of irritation or redness is a good reason to avoid exfoliation. In this case, scrubbing away at your skin could cause more harm than good.

Over-exfoliating the skin may compromise the outermost layer known as the skin’s natural moisture barrier. The skin barrier helps our skin retain moisture and provides protection from environmental threats. A compromised barrier can lead to the skin feeling red, irritated, inflamed or overproducing oil, which can lead to potential breakouts. We recommend delaying any type of treatment until your skin has completely recovered.

Do: Follow Exfoliation With SPF 

Once you’ve removed dull layers of your skin, it immediately becomes more vulnerable. After exfoliation, your skin is more susceptible to damage from the sun or other environmental pollutants, which means it’s even more crucial to apply an SPF moisturiser.

Don’t: Use Synthetic Exfoliants

Not only can synthetic exfoliants like plastic microbeads harm your skin, but they can also cause intense damage to our environment. You can opt for skin care products that use natural and organic alternatives to plastic microbeads. In addition, you can use ingredients from your kitchen to exfoliate your skin, like brown sugar. If you’re exfoliating your body, a body scrub of coffee granules applied with a dry brush can smooth out your skin and improve circulation.

Do: Follow With Moisturiser

Exfoliating can be drying to the skin. Apply moisturiser immediately after exfoliating to keep your skin healthy and hydrated.

Don’t: Be Harsh To Your Skin

If you use a scrub or chemical exfoliator, apply the product gently using small, circular motions. Do this for about 30 seconds, and then rinse off with lukewarm, not hot water. If you use a brush or sponge, use short light strokes.

Do: Find The Right Schedule That Will Work For You

How often you exfoliate depends on your skin type, skincare routine, and exfoliation method. Generally, the more aggressive the exfoliation, the less often it needs to be done. Be careful not to over-exfoliate, as this could lead to skin that is red and irritated.

In conclusion, whether you should stick to DIY scrubs, opt for over-the-counter products, or seek out professional treatments ultimately depends on your individual skin care needs. If you aren’t sure what skin type you have, or if you have questions about exfoliating, see a board-certified dermatologist. A dermatologist can evaluate your skin and help you decide if exfoliation is beneficial for you.