Diving Deep into the World of Exfoliation

Today we are shining the spotlight on exfoliation. Unfortunately, the beauty industry has inundated consumers with misinformation and misleading advertising about exfoliation, as well as some strong and opinionated feelings by both professionals and clients.

Your skin naturally exfoliates on its own every 28-40 days, depending on your age. As we grow older, the skin shedding cycle slows to about 45-60 days in our 40’s and 50’s and can further slowdown in our 50s’ and 60’s. This natural cycle of cell turnover is called “desquamation”.

Some skin needs a little boost with the cell turnover process. Exfoliation comes is a variety of forms and each work slightly differently. Acids and enzymes are chemical exfoliants and physical exfoliants are typically scrubs or cleansing tools.

Physical exfoliation with granules, seeds, or eco-friendly beads are not ideal for sensitive skin as they can be aggressive and cause inflammation and irritation. A better choice for exfoliating sensitive skin are enzymes such as pineapple, pumpkin, and papaya extracts.

Enzymes digest any dead cell buildup on the outermost layer of the skin leaving it smooth and refined. Rejuvenate Enzyme Brightening Peel and Pumpkin Glycolic Peel 3% by Green Envee, and Blackberry Lime Fruitfoliant and Cherry Pepper Peel by Sorella Apothecary are great examples of chemical exfoliants.

A manual scrub to “slough off” dead skin is ideal for rough, dry, and combination skin types, but not for inflamed acne. Ingredients such as chia seeds, poppy seeds or clay work well for skin that can handle more of an aggressive approach. Refine by Green Envee, Face Scrub or Micro Peeling Gel by Sothys, or Mint Poppy Seed Polish by Sorella Apothecary are a few popular choices to physically remove dead cell build-up and they all work great in the shower.

At Water and Leaf Skincare, we carry a cosmetic cleansing brush called the BT-Sonic ®by Bio-Therapeutics. It is a physical exfoliator and in a category of its own. Silicone bristles and micro sonic waves pulsate dislodging dirt and debris optimizing your cleanser of choice. You will want to pump the breaks if you are using a cleansing tool or Clarisonic® brush daily.

Exfoliating your skin is, of course, a personal choice, and you may agree or disagree with the number of times and types of exfoliation. In my personal and professional opinion for the overall health of skin, exfoliating should be limited to 2-3 times a week, and for some skin it might only be once a week.

If your morning and nightly routine has an exfoliant in your cleanser, serum, or moisturizer then you are exfoliating too much causing your skin to become inflamed, dehydrated, damaged, and confused. With excessive exfoliation skin will thin out over time and possibly be permanently damaged losing precious “thickness” that your skin needs to stay firm and plump.

With a little insight on exfoliation, my goal is always to help you create healthy skin care habits.