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Desquamation – exfoliation is your skin’s natural way of losing its dry outer layer – will move along on its own, but it’s extra steps that will take your complexion from good to great. Exfoliation clears away the dirt, oil and dead skin cells that collect on its outer layer.
Know the what, when and how to slough off (whether by physical scrubs or chemical exfoliants) is key to appropriate renewal.
Exfoliation is a natural process
Dead skin cells shed continuously from our skin over a week or so, but sometimes bacteria and other deposits clog the pores, and regular exfoliation can remove this build-up and get anti-ageing serums or acne treatments deeper into pores.
You should incorporate one in your skincare routine, including physical exfoliation, such as loofah, or exfoliating scrub, or chemical exfoliants such as jojoba beads, rice powder or Icelandic volcanic sand. Exfoliants provide an effective yet gentle removal of dullness and dirt build up from the skin.
Photo by Leila Hawkins Physical exfoliation with a salt or sugar scrub helps to keep skin smooth and luminous, especially if you have oily or sensitive skin. Exfoliation promotes the reduction of ingrown hairs and makes it easier for peptide moisturisers to penetrate into pores. Everyone should exfoliate twice-weekly, or even more frequently, depending on need – just don’t over do it. For most complexions, overexfoliating can be too harsh.
Chemical exfoliation
Millions of dead skin cells are falling off your skin every hour of the day and night – usually you naturally shed the old and grow new cells, but sometimes these cells don’t clear the way and stay on your skin, plugging pores, causing breakouts and problems.
chemical exfoliation from a multifunctional enzyme mask or a serum helps to digest dead skin cells even faster, providing a big boost to your skin’s own natural process of rejuvenation Exfoliation products, whether physical or chemical, need to be used often but not too often. Overtax your skin’s barrier and it will be damaged, leading to irritation and premature ageing.
Chemical exfoliants – glycolic acid, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) – together with stable vitamin A (retinol) work on a cellular level to separate the bonds between damaged, dead skin cells and unclog pores to reveal brighter, healthier, glowing skin and, at the same time, allow the penetration of the products used into your system at a deeper level.
Physical exfoliation
Turnover of natural skin cells occurs about once every 28 days but, with environmental stressors and ageing factor, the natural process becomes slower and its turnover rate increases, leading to a duller or rougher texture than you’d prefer. Regular exfoliation helps remove dead skin build-up, smooths tone and texture and helps skincare products, such as serums and moisturisers, absorb better.
Physical exfoliation, on the other hand, aims to lift and remove dead or dry surface skin cells using scrubs or products with exfoliating agents, as well as equipment such as washcloths, brushes or towels, and through treatments such as dermaplaning or microdermabrasion. This can be done quite gently or more intensely, depending on your tastes.
Chemical exfoliation involves softening the dead surface skin that naturally accumulates on the face through the injection of enzymes or acids (which, when diluted, will release enzymes and acids that break down cell glue). This can be performed with cleansers, treatments, face and body scrubs, or facial brushes and loofahs. Sensitive skin types should always exercise caution.
How to exfoliate
Exfoliation is essential to a weekly skin regimen to keep skin looking bright and smooth. But overdoing it so the top layer of skin removes too much every time will be detrimental: overexfoliation more than one to three times a week can leave the skin feeling parched, cause blocked pores, redness or irritation.
There are several options and appliances to remove dead skin cells off the face. There are two important options for face exfoliation. Firstly, we have the physical ways of removing dead skin cells, such as face scrubs, polishes, cleaning brushes and microdermabrasion. Secondly, we have the chemical ways of exfoliation where there is a list of skincare products that consist of BHA (beta hydroxy acids) or AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) this chemical formula made to break up the bonds between the dead skin cells and make it easier for them to come off your face.
If you have normal skin, you should be exfoliating three times a week with a scrub or brush with strict eye on any dryness setting you back; oily people should do the same no more than twice weekly (overexfoliation will make you blotchy and pore up), and combination skin deserves extra cautiousness: you may need to exfoliate only where an issue arises, ie the T-zone, but skipping it in drier or sensitivespots elsewhere.
