Of course you wash your face every day , apply your favourite moisturizer faithfully and at times you even go ahead to refresh your skin with a facial spray but you still feel like your skin is not as healthy and radiant as you would want it to be!
Good news is , there are a number of ways to improve your skin’s tone and texture and exfoliation is one of the best ways to achieve this .
Its easy to exfoliate and one can do it at home with a few products!
But first , what exactly is exfoliation ?
Well, exfoliation is the process of sloughing off dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. It’s the process of getting rid of defunct skin cells off your body’s surface.
There are two ways exfoliation can be done , it can either be mechanically or chemically done.
Mechanical exfoliation also known as physical exfoliation involves physically scrubbing your skin’s surface with a scrub , dry brush or another preferred exfoliating skin care tool.
On the other hand , chemical exfoliation involves using enzymes or acids like salicylic acid , alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid to chemically break down surface build up.
Which ever kind of exfoliation you use whether mechanical or chemical has got its benefits , the chief among them being getting rid of the dead skin cells from the body surface which reinvigorates your skin making your body and face appear smoother and healthier.
What’s more exfoliation also enhances your skin’s ability to absorb everything else better from acne medicine to makeup and even anti aging serums.
But just how often should you exfoliate ?
Since exfoliation is an essential skin care tool, how often you should do it varies from person to person and its especially dependant on one’s skin type.
People with normal and combination skin can exfoliate twice or thrice a week , while those with sensitive skin can exfoliate once a week to avoid irritation and skin inflammation.
Just remember to pay attention to how your skin responds to exfoliation to help determine what’s best for you and your skin.
Here’s how to exfoliate your body!
When it comes to exfoliating the body, you may want to pay attention to how you exfoliate the face and lips, knees,feet and elbows , and the rest of the body.
When it comes to exfoliating the face you may want to pick out a face scrub to use in order to get a smoother and more radiant complexion.
Some of popular face scrubs include L’Oreal Paris Pure Sugar Nourish & Soften Cocoa Scrub which is deep yet gentle on sensitive skin. Another great scrub is the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads which are alcohol free and make it easy to get your face clean when you’re going to wear SPF creams and makeup. There’s also the Fresh Sugar Face Exfoliator , ELEMIS Energising skin scrub and many others.
Once you’ve got the right preferred facial scrub for you, with dry fingers , apply the scrub to dry clean dry skin always avoiding the eye area which is the one place that doesn’t need exfoliation.
Wet your fingers and then massage the scrub over your skin.
Finally rinse it off with warm water and finish off with a moisturizer of your choice.
If your lips need a gentle scrub session to. you can use the same facial scrub you used before to exfoliate them as well.
Choose your favourite face scrub , apply some of it to clean dry lips. Then wet your fingers and then massage the scrub over the lips and rinse off with warm water . Finish off with a coat of nourishing lip balm to hydrate your lips and lock in that super smooth feeling.
To exfoliate the rest of your body , right before you get into the shower , wear a pair of exfoliating gloves or get a loofah or a brush made from natural hair and gently rub your skin in circular motions to begin the dead skin shedding process.
After that , get into the shower and let the water run down your body to begin the next step of exfoliating.
Then get an exfoliating cleanser. There are a number of exfoliation products for the body but the most preferred are body scrubs and exfoliating body washes .
Just like you did with your dry skin, you’ll have to exfoliate in circular motions with which ever body exfoliation product you choose
Don’t forget your back ,although you cant reach it easily , use a back brush to exfoliate the hard to reach places.
While exfoliating you may want to pay more attention to the elbows, knees and feet because they are prone to dryness.
Rinse off with lukewarm water .
Hop out of the shower and pat yourself dry and apply a good hydrating moisturizer to every area you exfoliated.
And you’re done exfoliating , one of the best ways to improving your skin’s texture and tone!
Truly,
Humura Ruth
