You wash your face every morning and every evening. You remember to remove your makeup and wear sunscreen. You even put on night cream before you go to bed. What more could you possibly be doing for your skin? Exfoliating!
Those other pieces of your skincare routine are important. But if you are only washing your face with a normal cleanser, you are missing a critical piece of every skincare routine. Everyone, yes everyone, needs to exfoliate. Even people with sensitive skin. Even people past the hormonal acne-riddled teenage years.
Regular cleansers are crucial to your everyday skincare routine and should not be dismissed. However, they cannot be used exclusively without an exfoliator. To give you a better idea why, I am going to explain what exfoliation is and why you can’t skip it.
What is exfoliating?
Exfoliating uses a chemical or physical exfoliator to clear away the buildup of dead skin cells and debris on the skin’s service. We all have this buildup, and there are two main ways to get rid of it.
A chemical exfoliator uses acids to chemically dissolve debris. This can sound intense, but the chemicals are safe for your skin and it’s a totally painless process. Chemical exfoliants are found in many products and often involve simply applying the product to your face and washing it off, if you want.
A physical exfoliator may seem more common to you. A physical exfoliator is generally a grainy-textured substance that you massage into your skin to manually remove the dead skin cells and any other debris that has gotten trapped on the surface of your skin.
Exfoliation is a must to remove all this dead skin. But it also has other benefits!
1. It Unclogs the Pores
As I said, there are a bunch of dead skin cells trapped on the surface of your skin. Don’t panic; everyone has them. However, without exfoliation those dead skin cells keep growing until they clog your pores and hair follicles. This can cause pesky pimples.
Gently scrubbing your skin will remove the buildup of dead skin cells and oil, clearing away all the debris that accumulates on the surface of your skin. This helps minimize the occurrence of blackheads, blemishes, and other breakouts.
2. It Evens Skin Tone
As dead skin cells accumulate on the surface of your skin, they can make it appear rough and dull. The process of exfoliation, either physical or chemical, breaks down the debris and clears it away, allowing healthy skin cells to reach the surface your complexion. This process creates a more even skin tone.
Since exfoliation thoroughly cleans out all debris from the surface of your skin, such as makeup, dirt, oil, dead skin cells, pollution particles, and more, it can reveal brighter skin underneath. Debris is removed and fresh skin cells emerge, which makes your skin look brighter and more even.
Exfoliation even helps with blood circulation. As you rub the exfoliant into your skin, blood circulation increases. This process brings more nutrients and oxygen to your skin, which helps revive skin from rough and dull to glowing and youthful!
3. It Helps Stop Signs of Aging
We all want a youthful appearance. When our complexion shows lines and wrinkles, we look for ways to hide them or get rid of them. One way to reduce the appearance of lines is to exfoliate. The body naturally sheds dead skin cells, but its ability to do it is negatively affected as we get older. The process slows down, and the dead skin cells left behind exaggerate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Clearing these skin cells will help minimize these signs of aging.
Another factor that makes skin appear youthful is brightness. I mentioned that exfoliating evens skin tone and can brighten it as well. It’s not just rough texture that exfoliation can change. It can also help minimize the appearance of age and sun spots by dispersing pigmented cells, which helps them fade over time.
In addition to those benefits, regular exfoliation helps to stimulate collagen synthesis, which can help restore your skin’s suppleness. Maintaining and increasing collagen production as you age is the key to youthful-looking skin. Exfoliation can lead to improvements in your complexion’s tone and texture. This can help skin appear tight and filled out.
4. It Helps Your Skincare Products Work Better
Don’t waste your money on expensive skincare products You might not realize it, but dead skin cells can be limiting your skincare product’s effectiveness. If you do not exfoliate, the debris and dead skin cells accumulate on top of your skin, soaking up product and not allowing it to deeply penetrate.
With regular exfoliating, your skin will be open to accept products past the top layer. For example, your moisturizer can be better distributed and absorbed, which leaves you with dewy skin. The better your skin can absorb quality skincare products, the more radiant and nourished your skin will appear!
Moisturizers and serums are critical for your skin’s texture and tone. When you go to put on one of these products, make sure that your face has been exfoliated. This way the product penetrates deeper and is more effective.
5. It Boosts Lymphatic Drainage
The lymphatic system helps to get rid of the body’s natural waste. A lymphatic massage, like when you are circling your face with the exfoliant, is a way to release tension, encourage blood flow, and reduce swelling. It stimulates blood circulation to bring oxygen and nutrients to the skin’s surface, as I’ve mentioned. It also cleanses your skin underneath the surface, removing toxins and debris. The result is radiant, glowing skin!
Recommended Exfoliants
Exfoliating is an essential part of every skincare routine. If you aren’t already using an exfoliant on a regular basis, I recommend the two below.
For ultimate ease of use, I recommend the Micropeel Resurfacing Pads. Exfoliating has never been more convenient! Each gel pad has product soaked into the circular round. All you need to do is swipe on your face. In fact, this chemical exfoliant can be washed off or left on, making it quick and easy to use.
Micropeel Resurfacing Gel gently removes dead skin cell build on the surface of your skin, which lessens the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, improves luminosity, and evens skin tone. It also helps clear acne breakouts by preventing new clogged pores and dissolving existing pore blockage.
For an at-home microdermabrasion treatment, I recommend the Pomegranate Enzyme Polish. This physical exfoliant is made up of algae particles and orange essential oil that gently peels away dead skin cells. It buffs the dry, outer layers of skin to reveal a smooth and bright complexion underneath. It can be used on the whole face or as a spot treatment on acne scars, lines, and age spots.
There is no question that everyone should be exfoliating. If you have sensitive skin, try reducing the number of times you exfoliate in a week or using a gentler product. With continued exfoliation, you’ll notice your skin becoming more even, smoother, and brighter. You may notice less fine lines or breakouts as well. Are you ready for a radiant complexion?