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Exfoliating your skin is a great way to keep it healthy and remove dead skin from your face and body. However, it’s essential to do it properly.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to exfoliate, its benefits and share some tips for exfoliating for different skin types.
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead cells from your skin. Without exfoliation, your skin may appear flaky and dry, so it’s important to do this fairly regularly.1
You may have heard that exfoliation scrubs away the top layers of dead cells on your skin, which makes it sound harsh, but there are a few different methods that you can use to exfoliate.
There are two main methods of exfoliation: mechanical and chemical.1
Usually, the mechanical method uses a scrub or a tool to buff away dead skin cells, whereas chemical exfoliation uses chemicals such as AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) and BHAs (beta hydroxy acids) to help break down the clusters of dead cells.1
Some of the different tools you can use for exfoliation include body brushes, exfoliating body mitts, sponges, and body or face scrubs. Scrubs are some of the most popular exfoliating products. They range from gentle, fine scrubs to more granular scrubs for those rougher areas of skin.2
When using a scrub to exfoliate, look out for ingredients like coffee or sea salt, as these are some of the best exfoliators.3
You can even make your own face scrub or a DIY body scrub from ingredients you’ll find in your cupboards at home!
Exfoliation has a wide range of benefits and can help keep your skin healthy. Of course, the most obvious benefit is that it removes dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, but that’s not all!
Firstly, consistently exfoliating can help brighten your skin. Dead skin cells can make your skin appear dull, but new cells can help change the appearance of your skin to be much brighter.4
Exfoliation can also help improve your skin’s texture, removing any rough or dry patches of skin, which can also help with making your skin appear much healthier overall. Brighter and smoother skin can help you achieve a more youthful complexion.4
Exfoliating can also help keep your skin hydrated. Removing the dead skin cells that clog pores can help your skin absorb other skincare products, such as moisturisers, more effectively.5
Everybody’s skin is different, but most of us fall into one or two skin type categories. Therefore, it’s essential to pay attention to your skin type when exfoliating.
Here, we’ve hopefully made it a little easier for you by detailing how to exfoliate for different skin types1:
Exfoliation can help to maintain youthful-looking skin, since removing dead cells can help brighten your complexion and improve skin texture.7
If you have drier skin, you may want to stick to exfoliating just once a week, using a gentle exfoliant, but if you have oilier skin, you may be able to exfoliate up to two times a week.1
It is always important, though, to listen to your skin. If your skin feels sore after using any exfoliant, you should avoid using the product again. You should always start slow, too, and work your way up to exfoliating more than once a week.1
If you over-exfoliate, this can cause some side effects such as8:
Make sure to pay attention to your skin type and the exfoliators you’re using to avoid over-exfoliation.
Exfoliation is an essential part of your skincare routine, but it can cause problems if you don’t do it properly. When adding exfoliation into your routine, be sure to pay attention to your skin type and any skin concerns you may have.
For more information, check out our article on how to get rid of dead skin.
1. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-secrets/routine/safely-exfoliate-at-home
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20124857/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5172479/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605215/
6. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/heal-dry-chapped-lips
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0029646507000266
8. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043164812004164
9. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/pick-moisturizer