Exfoliation has been practiced for many years to achieve beautifully smooth skin. Cleopatra would soak her body in a bathtub filled with milk, and the lactic acid would gently exfoliate her skin. Exfoliating is the removal of dead skin cells from the surface of your skin through chemical actives or the physical scrubbing of the skin with scrubs or tools.
Both methods have pros and cons, which will be addressed as you keep reading.
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Benefits of Exfoliating
Regular exfoliating can benefit your skin when used correctly and consistently. Here are some of the benefits:
1. It unclogs your pores
Over time, your pores can become clogged with excess oils, dead skin cells, and dirt in your pores. The accumulation of those three things can lead to acne. Exfoliating helps to unclog your pores, which in turn reduces the occurrence of acne. So it’s safe to say that it can help with acne
2. Removes surface dead skin cells
Dead skin cells cause a dull layer to form on the skin, which can make your skin quite dry. By exfoliating, you can improve the moisturizing properties of your skin, allowing it to be softer and more manageable.
3. Reveals smoother, brighter skin
Because exfoliating increases your skin’s cell turnover, it always allows new skin cells to be at the top layers of your skin, which eliminates the dead ones. As a result, you’ll reveal brighter, more even-toned skin.
4. Helps other products in your regimen penetrate deeper
When you don’t exfoliate, dead skin cells build up, causing an unpleasant feeling on your skin. Another reason why dead skin cells may be building up in your skin is aging because as you age, your skin cell turnover rate starts to decrease. Dry skin also causes this.
This layer of dead skin cells forms a thin layer that does not allow other products to penetrate the deeper layers of your skin. Therefore, exfoliating will remove the layer and help other products penetrate deeper/better, thus increasing their effectiveness.
5. Helps reduce hyperpigmentation
Exfoliating (chemical) can break the bonds in pigmented cells. Because of this, it helps tremendously in reducing hyperpigmentation and making your skin brighter.
6. It is anti-aging
Your skin cell turnover rate starts to slow as you age, resulting in more wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin. Regular exfoliation increases your skin cell turnover rate and reduces the signs of aging, making your skin much more plump and healthy.
7. It boosts blood circulation.
Exfoliating brings blood flow closer to your skin, making it look healthy and bright. With an increased blood flow comes a boost in collagen production, which is excellent because collagen improves your skin elasticity, helps with hydration, and reduces the appearance of wrinkles
Physical vs. Chemical exfoliation
There are pros and cons to both methods of exfoliation.
Physical exfoliation
Physical exfoliation is physically removing dead skin cells using tools and scrubs with granules. The downside is that it causes micro-tears on your skin which in the long run can damage it.
Sugars and walnuts (used for some scrubs) have very rough and uneven surfaces that scratch your skin.
These scratches cause minor injuries on your skin, which can sometimes cause infections and, in the long run, scars that defeat the purpose of exfoliating in the first place.
Physical exfoliants may also need to be more drying for the skin, which causes it to overproduce oil to compensate for the loss, and people using them again for acne will fail to get the desired results.
So, with the buildup of that argument, I do not recommend manual exfoliating for all skin types, and it is easier to just avoid them altogether.
I have an entire blog post about exfoliating skin of color, which is a must-read!
Chemical exfoliation
Chemical exfoliating is using actives that break the bounds on the outer layer of your skin to get rid of dead skin cells. The actives used are alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, and polyhydroxy acids.
It is so beneficial for the skin because it is much gentler than physical exfoliation when used with caution and produces superior results in the long run. It protects the skin from free radical damage and even aids in the treatment of things like hyperpigmentation, acne scars, and dull skin.
They also stimulate the renewal of new skin cells. This will improve your skin’s elasticity, increase hydration, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, reduce the signs of sun damage, and help with breakouts.
There is one downside to chemical exfoliation- it can sometimes be drying.
A bit about the acids that are used:
The three groups of acids that are used all work in different ways to exfoliate the skin.
1. Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs)
The smallest molecular size of the three AHAs penetrates deeper into your skin. They break the bonds that hold the skin cells together on the surface and shed the dead skin cells away. They can be intense, especially glycolic acid, but they improve skin tone and smooth texture. Here is a detailed post on AHAs.
2. Beta hydroxy acids (BHAs)
BHAs penetrate the deepest layers of your skin because they are oil-soluble, and they can penetrate your pores and exfoliate away the excess oil, dirt, and dead skin cells that build up in there. These properties make them particularly suitable for people with oily and acne-prone skin.
3. Polyhydroxy acids (PHAs)
PHAs are the most gentle of the three. They have a large molecular size which makes them only work on the surface of your skin because they cannot penetrate too deeply into the skin. They are suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. PHAs are very effective at improving skin tone, hydrating the skin, and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
The most effective exfoliating products by skin type
When purchasing a product, be mindful of the ingredients. Avoid fragrances, essential oils, and denatured alcohol, as they are sensitizing. You want to avoid any kind of sensitivity when exfoliating your skin.
- Sensitive: By Wishtrend Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water.
- For oily/acne-prone skin: CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser, Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid.
- Combination: The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%.
- Dry: CosRX BHA 4% Bleakhead Power Liquid
- Normal: Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum.
- Body: Amalactin Daily Moisturizing Lotion 12% Lactic Acid.
And finally
With the millions of benefits of exfoliation, I hope you are more than convinced to include it in your regimen if you haven’t already.
Of the two types of exfoliation, physical and chemical, choose the latter because it has higher benefits and fewer risks.
Always use broad-spectrum sunscreen when exfoliating because it can sensitize your skin to the sun.
Lucky for you, there is a range of actives to choose from, no matter your skin type. Everyone can benefit from exfoliating.
Let me know how exfoliating changed your skincare routine?
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