Who does NOT love to accomplish the perfect, glowing skin? While it’s always important to keep our skin clean and moisturized, the not-so-secret trick for a radiant, glowing skin is the exfoliation.
Exfoliation treatments are extremely effective in rejuvenating the skin, improving the elasticity and collagen production. Exfoliation is also useful for making the skin free of unwanted, dead skin cells from the surface. This can dramatically improve the condition of an old, scarred, tired skin to look fresh, soft and ready to take on whatever. Anyone can exfoliate the face and body seamlessly. However, exfoliation can be a sensitive business. When done perfectly, you’ll be able to enjoy your younger, radiant skin in no time. Still, the wrong method and the recipe used can trigger both short and long-term damage, not to mention the angry-looking, troubled skin tone.
Why Do You Need To Exfoliate?
Exfoliation is basically the process of helping the skin to get rid of its outer layer of dead skin cells. This may sound a harsh process but trust me – it’s happening by default on our entire body. During your teens and twenties, your skin is continuously shedding the dead epidermis every 25 days all by itself. When you reach 30s, the process slows down and the result – rough and dry skin.
Exfoliation is always an important step for any beauty routine to maintain the younger-looking, glowing skin. With proper application, you can greatly develop the overall skin texture while stimulating the production of new cells and collagen. You’ll get a smoother surface for foundation to glide evenly over your face! Simply put, you want radiant and healthy skin, you must exfoliate.
DO’S AND DON’TS FOR EXFOLIATING WISELY
For consistently smooth, radiant and youthful skin, there’s no workaround. So, why not make exfoliation a part of your regular skin care? Exfoliation works as the ultimate massage for your skin. It also improves the blood circulation underneath the skin. However, you have to be careful with your exfoliation process. Over-exfoliation can result in irritations, redness and even rashes. You may also suffer from hyperpigmentation or become more sensitive towards sunlight. Before you go and scrub your skin, let’s check out what things you should do and what you must avoid.
The “DO”s of Face Exfoliation
- Exfoliate your skin either in the morning or, at night.
- Make sure that you understand your skin type well and using exfoliation products that suit with your skin well. Otherwise, you may end up with more damaged skin.
- Sunscreen is an important part for protecting your skin. Use a sunscreen that’s capable of blocking a broad spectrum of sunlight. Don’t forget to put your sunscreen, even if it’s a cloudy day. The sunray can do more damage to the skin that’s exfoliated recently.
- Use a good moisturizer regularly, especially after you’ve exfoliated your skin.
- Use a gentle exfoliant, for example, lactic acid from beets. Chemically, lactic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) that works like charm on aging skins as it greatly boosts the production of natural ceramides. Thus, your skin will have a better, natural moisture control.
- Follow the instructions that come with your exfoliation product STRICTLY! If it says to remove the mask after 2-5 minutes, don’t you dare wait for 10! AHAs are capable of penetrating the skin pretty fast. If you don’t remove within the timeline, it will go deeper into the skin and cause unwanted symptoms.
- Before you exfoliate, make sure that there’s no makeup residue on your skin. This will ensure a deep cleansing of your skin.
- Consider consulting a professional exfoliation treatment for the better result.
- When you’re exfoliating, be extra careful with the sensitive areas of your body, especially around your eyes, décolletage and bikini areas.
-
Remember that a pink, tingling skin after exfoliation is a good sign. But if you find red, peeling, painful or burning skin after exfoliation, its bad news. Don’t waste any time and seek medical attention if necessary.
The “DON’Ts” of Face Exfoliation
- Don’t exfoliate more than 1-2 times a week. Otherwise, you’ll damage your good part of the skin.
- Avoid using Glycolic acid. It’s far more irritating than lactic acid despite having no additional cell-turnover stimulus.
- If your skin was recently treated with laser, don’t exfoliate. Don’t go to sunbathing after exfoliation.
- If your skin is irritated or broken, stay away from exfoliation. This will do more harm than good! Bear in mind that waxing is also a form of exfoliation.
- Don’t over-exfoliate your skin. Moreover, don’t do it every day!
- Don’t exfoliate before you’ve cleansed your skin. Otherwise, the exfoliant product won’t be able to do its job. The residue dirt buildup hampers the functions of exfoliants.
- Don’t have intensive exfoliation procedures like chemical peels or microdermabrasion more than once or twice per year. Those must be done only when they’re necessary.
- Don’t use too much pressure. It’s your soft, delicate skin after all.
- Before/after you wax, don’t perform the exfoliation.
Few Natural Exfoliation to Give Your Skin a Fresh Glow
- Honey – Honey is a quite powerful ingredient in terms of natural exfoliant. It contains humectant qualities that attract moisture and lock them in. You can use honey as a great hydrating facial scrub. Put a nice sized dollop into clean hands. Then, use both your hands to gently scrub your face. Complete the session by washing with warm water.
- Yogurt – Yogurt is derived from milk that contains a high amount of lactic acid – the same AHA found in many exfoliants. However, it’s milder and gentler for your skin. Yogurt is a powerful exfoliant that can soothe your skin, smoothen and even the skin tone. Apply plain yogurt on your skin for 20 minutes. Then, rinse using lukewarm water.
- Sugar – Sugar cane contains a good amount of glycolic acid by default. Mix a half cup of white/brown sugar with enough olive/grapeseed oil. When the mixture turns into a paste, apply it on your skin in a circular motion. Before rinsing with lukewarm water, wait for 10-15 minutes.
- Lemon juice – It’s another natural AHA that can remove the dead skin cells effectively. Mix a quarter cup of lemon juice, grape juice, apple juice (yeah, lots of JUICE!) and cane sugar (until the sugar dissolves 100%). Then, apply the mix over your face with the help of a cotton pad. Wait 10 minutes before you rinse it off.
- Papaya – Papaya is a source of a natural enzyme – papain. It’s quite powerful for dissolving dead skin cells. You can also use papain treatment for healing skin and lighten the fine lines and age spots. Papain is most potent in the young papaya. Select healthy green papaya, mash the fruit into a smooth PASTE and then, apply the paste over your skin. Wait for 15 minutes and then, rinse with lukewarm water.
After the exfoliation session, apply a suitable moisturizer for the best result.
A Sweet Take Away
Now, no more excuses! Get yourself running for the exfoliation! Keep the tips in mind and take yourself a step closer towards your dream – a beautiful, youthful, radiant skin! We believe that these tips will make things easier into integrating exfoliation into your skin care routine very easily. It’s not that much of a difficult process. Yet, the result it brings is amazing.
So, beauties, want to read more skin care tips? Get in touch with us! Got any interesting exfoliation tips? Feel free to share with everyone down in the comments. Cheers!