Everyone wants glowing skin and the way to get it is through exfoliation. However, there is a fine line between exfoliating to get glowing skin and exfoliating to get red and irritated skin. In this article I am going to explain how often you should be exfoliating and what you should be using based on your skin type.
What Is Skin Exfoliation?
To begin let me first explain what exfoliating is. Exfoliating is an extensive process of removing the dead cells from the upper layer of the skin. Exfoliation can be chemical or physical. For those wanted to fight aging chemical exfoliants are best. I love the aha accelerator from Glymed and the Skintuition Brand Retinol. For those trying to even out texture, you should try the physical exfoliants. One of my favorites is the Anti Aging exfoliating mask from Glymed.
How Often Should You Exfoliate?
This all depends on your skin’s sensitivity and health. For normal skin the frequency of skin exfoliation is 2-3 times a week. For sensitive skin, only once a week and if you have an oily skin, then you can exfoliate 3-5 times a week. If you start to get any redness or irritation take a break and let the skin calm down and then scale back on the amount of times you are exfoliating each week. You never want red skin, so not over exfoliating is crucial. If your skin is already red or irritated then you are not ready to exfoliate yet. First, you must fix your skin barrier.
Why You Shouldn’t Over- Exfoliate Your Skin?
While there are numerous benefits of exfoliating your skin, overdoing it can backfire as well. If you over exfoliate your skin it can cause irritation or even widen your pores. It can also dry out the skin and give you a wind burned look.
Additional Tips For Exfoliating
• Be sure to use a professional exfoliant. Over the counter products rarely work as they are advertised to and can damage the skin.
• Don’t use harsh products on your face. For instance, body scrubs are not meant to be used on the face.
• Avoid exfoliating the night before a big event as some irritation can occur
• Start Gentle. Less is more with exfoliation and if you are too aggressive right away you will end up with irritated skin
• Make sure to wear sunscreen as exfoliation treatments make your skin more sensitive to the sun.
• Don’t wax before or after you exfoliate your skin. You can end up with a burn.
