Why should you exfoliate your skin?
Do you know your skin constantly renews itself? As skin cells divide, they move up through the epidermis on a journey that is essential for a healthy skin and the building of a healthy lipid layer to waterproof the skin and protect your body from invading microbes and environmental stress.
Once this protective barrier is formed, old skin cells shed from the surface of your skin, allowing for new cells to start their journey – it’s a cyclical process and typically takes around 28 days.
At times, the process can slow down, as is the case with ageing or becomes sluggish when the skin is affected by hormonal activities that increase oil flow which can clog follicles, causing congestion, breakouts, and bacterial infection.
Most skincare professionals agree that exfoliating the skin's surface is paramount for healthy and regular skin cell renewal. However, like many things in life, less is more, and an over-exfoliated skin can become problematic, and your quest for glowing skin can be lost.
How often should you exfoliate your skin?
If we keep in mind that the skin is constantly exfoliating, your goal is to give those dead skin cells a gentle nudge. By doing this, you'll be sure to increase cell turnover and improve skin texture while keeping the skin calm and balanced.
There's no need to overdo it when exfoliating at home. In fact, over-exfoliation can adversely affect your skin and lead to skin conditions such as sensitivity, flakiness, moisture loss, and a general imbalance in the skin.
Not what you had in mind when you excitedly started to exfoliate your skin to reveal a refreshing glow? Right?
How do you know if you're over-exfoliating?
Firstly, if you already have sensitive and flakey skin, exfoliation is the last thing you should do. Constantly flaking skin could signify that something is not right, and your skin is desperately trying to correct the problem. It could be dermatitis, in which case you may need to calm the skin and resolve these issues before you commence an exfoliating routine.
On the other hand, if you've been happily exfoliating your skin with harsh or abrasive scrubs, you may have removed far more than superficial dead skin cells.
Signs you're over-exfoliating your skin can be:
- Skin tightness
- Redness and irritation
- Flakiness
- Dehydration
If this happens to you, it's time to put down the scrub and re-think how you approach exfoliation.
Bringing balance back to your skin
The good news is your skin will recover if you give it time to do so.
While your skin is irritated, stop exfoliating. Choose a gentle cleanser to remove impurities and makeup while balancing the skin and keeping it calm as it recovers.
Choose a calming moisturiser suitable for your skin type.
After a few weeks, your skin should begin to restore the lipid layer and calm down.
Once your skin has restored itself and is calm, you can now introduce a gentle exfoliant to remove superficial dead skin cells without disrupting the skin's acid mantle and lipid layer.
We have two unique exfoliating products in our range that will gently remove dead skin cells while keeping the skin balanced and hydrated.
Papaya Radiance Peel
Why we love it?
Our Papaya Radiance Peel is a cooling enzyme gel designed to digest dead skin cells while leaving healthy cells behind.
The gentle action of the enzyme Papain from the Papaya plant will gently exfoliate the skin to prepare the skin for improved absorption of other serums and moisturisers.
Lemon balm leaf oil provides anti-inflammatory properties to calm the skin and prevents moisture loss.
Our Papaya Radiance Peel has a superior blend of ingredients to lighten and brighten overall skin tone and beautifully polishes and smooths the skin's surface without any irritation.
Is it for you?
Our Papaya Radiance Peel is suitable for all skin types.
We recommend weekly usage for dry skin types, increasing to twice a week for oily skin types.
Polishing Cleanser
Why we love it?
Our Polishing Cleanser abolishes impurities and polishes your skin like never before.
Our Polishing Cleanser is for every skin type, containing Jojoba beads to deeply exfoliate within the follicle, unclog the pore, reduce congestion and improve overall skin texture.
With eleven complexion-perfecting active ingredients to smooth the skin, boost cellular regeneration, reduce the appearance of acne scarring, and remove dead and dull skin cells.
Is it for you?
If you'd like to improve the texture of your skin, then our Polishing Cleanser is perfect for you. It can be used daily for an overall skin polish without stripping the skin.
If you'd like to know more about the best way to exfoliate your skin, you can reach us here or book in for a skin consultation here.
Until next time,
Jacine
