words Alexa Wang
There are a lot of reasons why you should exert time and effort in keeping your skin smooth and clean. Aside from affecting your physical appearance, cleaning your skin regularly ensures that dead skin cells, excess oils, and other impurities are removed from the surface of your skin. This practice is vital to your skin health in order to keep it healthy and refreshing, especially during the night.
But, with the number of people getting busier today, most of them disregard the importance of keeping their skin smooth and clean. In worse cases, some of them even sleep at night without even washing their face or taking a shower or bath.
If you’re one of them, you should turn over a new leaf and start caring for your skin by following proper exfoliation techniques.
What Is Exfoliation?
Before you dive into the techniques to keep your skin smooth and clean, it’s important that you exactly know what is exfoliation. Having a background on this practice will make it easy for you to streamline your efforts and determine if your efforts are actually helping you achieve your goal.
In its simplest sense, exfoliating is the process of removing dead skin and other toxins from the surface of your skin using an exfoliation tool, chemical, or granular substance. Depending on your preferences, you can use cleansing scrubs, exfoliating mitts, or DIY facial scrubs to thoroughly exfoliate your skin and remove dead skin.
There are two ways to exfoliate your skin – using physical or chemical exfoliators.
- Physical exfoliating: this is the most common method practiced by individuals that use exfoliating brushes and grainy scrubs. As the name suggests, this method requires physical force in order to remove dead skin.
- Chemical exfoliating: this type of exfoliating method uses gentle acids to dissolve the invisible glue that binds the dead skin to the surface of your skin. Chemical exfoliators are known to be gentler and more effective than common physical formulas.
Although your skin naturally sheds off dead skin, the process will require at least thirty days. This natural process also doesn’t warrant that all of your dead skin cells will shed off completely. The more time you spend outdoors, the thicker the layer of the dead skin gets. Over time, this can result in flaky patches and clogged pores, increasing your susceptibility to acne and blackheads.
Exfoliating regularly can expedite your body’s natural ability to shed off dead skin and ensure that your skin stays smooth and clean every day. Exfoliating can also improve the appearance of your skin and, eventually, your self-esteem and body image.
The Proper Way Of Exfoliating
Regardless of how hectic your schedule is, you should strive to exfoliate as often as possible. Exfoliating can provide a lot of benefits. Most importantly, it’s one of the best ways for you to keep your skin healthy. Your skin health can significantly affect your overall health because it serves as your barrier against harmful viruses and bacteria present in the environment. Hence, the healthier your skin is, the easier it’ll be for you to combat these intruders.
Different body parts will require different exfoliating techniques. Aside from regular exposure, different body parts also have different characteristics and will require different procedures in exfoliating. Since your face is often exposed to a lot of pollutants every day, it’s important to ensure that all dead skin is removed on this body part.
For you to effectively and properly exfoliate your skin from head to foot, take note of these tips:
4 Exfoliation Techniques For Your Face
As mentioned, your face is one of the most exposed body parts. Moreover, people around you will see your face first, which means that the quality and health of your face’s skin can create an impression and affect your ability to socialize with other people.
Having a smooth and clean face will make it easier for you to get out of your comfort zone because you’ll be confident of your looks.
To ensure that you can experience all of these things, properly exfoliate your face by using the tips below:
1. Pick The Right Product
Your face can make or break the impression you create on other people’s eyes, which is why you should pay extra attention to choosing which products to use. You want to improve how your skin looks through exfoliating and not damage it.
When picking a product to exfoliate your face, determine first if you want to use a mechanical exfoliant or chemical exfoliation. Both methods can remove dead skin, but the effort required for each method will be different.
If you’re planning to use a mechanical exfoliant, look for a product that suits your skin type.
Here are some of the best ingredients when to look in skincare products when exfoliating your face:
- Cocoa scrub: Since this scrub provides gentle yet deep cleaning, it’ll work best for people with sensitive skin.
- Grape seed scrub: Is known to effectively polish away debris, dirt, and oil. This is a great option for people who are always spending time outdoors.
- Coffee scrub: Can naturally energize your complexion and make your face look refreshed.
- Kiwi Scrub: Minimizes the appearance of pores in your face and sloughs away any impurities.
For people who are leaning towards chemical exfoliation, look for an acid serum that contains 10% pure glycolic since this formula can make your face younger-looking while reducing the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots after long-term use.
2. Apply To Dry Skin
Regardless of the exfoliating method you’re planning to use, it’s important to note that your skincare products will work best when applied in dry skin. If possible, always wash your face and wipe excess moisture with a cloth before you apply any skincare products.
If you’re going to use face scrubs, apply the product into your dry fingers, and then scrub evenly in your face. Don’t put any scrub in the eye area as this can lead to infection or irritation.
For people who plan on using the glycolic acid serum, apply five drops of the product to dry, clean skin every night.
3. Massage And Rinse
After putting a generous amount of your preferred product, massage your face gently. Make sure to cover all the areas of your face and neck. You can choose to do this in the middle of your shower or bath, or solely dedicate a couple of minutes to exfoliate your face.
If you’re going to use scrubs, use warm water to rinse off the product. If you’re going to use serum, leave the product in your face as is.
4. Finish With Your Favorite Moisturizer
Using the right product for your face is just one step of the exfoliating process. For you to achieve the best results, you should always finish the session by applying your favorite moisturizer. This product can trap in the moisture and natural oils of your skin in order to keep it supple and soft for hours.
After rinsing off or leaving the serum for about thirty seconds, slather your face with your moisturizer. You might already have your favorite, but if you don’t, make sure that you use a moisturizer that suits your skin type. People with extra dry skin will require a different type of moisturizer than individuals who have oily skin.
4 Exfoliation Techniques For Your Lips
Although your lips only make up a small part of your face, this doesn’t mean that you should completely disregard taking care of it. On the contrary, you should care for your lips because it’s prone to dryness, especially during the winter months. Over time, this can also result in pain and discomfort because chapped lips can cause bleeding, swelling, and cracks.
If you don’t want any of these to happen, follow these tips so you’ll know how to exfoliate your lips:
1. Make Use Of Your Face Scrub
Taking care of your lips will not require you to spend more money from your pocket. Any scrub you’ll use for your face can also be used to exfoliate your lips.
If you’re currently using several face scrubs, choose one and immediately schedule your lip exfoliating session at home.
2. Apply To Dry Lips
Using your fingers, scoop a generous amount of the scrub from its container and then apply it to your dry lips. Make sure that your lips were properly washed and wiped before applying the scrub.
This will prepare your lip for the exfoliation and ensure that your lips will properly absorb the ingredients from the scrub.
3. Massage And Rinse
Wet your fingers and slowly massage the scrub over your lips. Make sure to cover all areas of your lips and leave the scrub for about two minutes.
After, rinse off the scrub using warm water.
4. Finish With Lip Balm
Just like how you’ll finish your face exfoliating session with a moisturizer, your lips also need a product to help maintain its moisture.
After rinsing off the scrub from your lips, apply a coat of lip balm. This product can effectively hydrate your lips and lock in the smoothness from the exfoliation.
7 Exfoliation Techniques For Your Body
In general, your skin plays a significant role in your overall health and wellness. Your skin health can affect your body’s ability to fight off germs and bacteria.
Having dry skin will make you susceptible to illnesses and diseases because this condition can create cracks in the skin that can serve as entryways of these harmful intruders.
For you to keep your skin smooth and clean, exfoliate properly by following these tips:
1. Begin With Dry Skin
Before you step in the shower, use a loofah or pair of exfoliating gloves, and gently rub your skin in circular motions. If certain body parts are drier than others, focus exfoliating on those areas.
This process can smoothen your skin and make it easier for you to shed off dead skin.
2. Get In The Shower
Once you’re confident that you’ve properly scrubbed all of your body parts, get in the shower and let the water run through your body. This will strip off all of the dead skin that was removed from the first process.
3. Invest In An Exfoliating Cleanser
With the number of skin care products available in the market today, exfoliating your entire body will come off as an easy task. After completing the first two steps, invest in an exfoliating shower gel or body wash and incorporate the use of these products to your shower routine.
Similar to what you did in the first step, pour a generous amount of the product in your loofah or exfoliating gloves and then scrub your skin in circular motions. Avoid going too fast as this can cause irritation and strip off the natural oils of your skin.
4. Focus On Your Elbows, Knees, And Feet
Regardless of what your daily routine is, your elbows, knees, and feet are naturally prone to dryness. Spend time to give these body parts some TLC whenever you’re exfoliating.
5. Don’t Forget Your Back
Although your back is one of those hard to reach areas in your body, exfoliating it is always a must. This body part is often wet due to body sweat and moisture from the environment, making it prone to irritation and redness.
Grab a back brush, and make sure that you also exfoliate your back well. This task might be challenging at first, but its rewards will be worth it.
6. Rinse
Once you’ve covered all of your body, rinse the scrub using lukewarm water. Don’t use hot water as this will only remove moisture from your skin.
7. Apply Moisturizer
After taking a shower and patting yourself to dry, finish your exfoliating session by applying your hydrating body lotion. Just like when used on the face, this product will trap the natural oils produced by your body and maintain the smoothness of your skin.
Work With A Pro
Aside from changing your daily routine to have more time to exfoliate, spend some time to visit your dermatologist for any skin-related concerns, as well. For people who have recurring skin conditions that don’t seem to go away even after months of regular exfoliating, a professional can properly diagnose your case and provide necessary treatment.
Along with your commitment to having smooth and clean skin through exfoliation, a dermatologist’s help will make it easy for you to achieve your skin goals. Working with them also ensures that your skin is free from any type of risk whenever you’re exfoliating.
