Exfoliation 101- There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way

Scrub, scrub, scrub! Ack! Wait! Stop! We exfoliate to remove dead skin cells and allow the new skin cells to grow and form. This makes us look more youthful. But this is a process that you can definitely over do. Know what you’re doing before you go too far! Ways to exfoliate

Types of products used to exfoliate Exfoliate products can come in cleansers, masques, scrubs, serums and moisturizers. How to exfoliate

  • Exfoliate 2-3 times a week in place of or in addition to cleansing.
  • Use one of the exfoliating methods above.

Exfoliating DON’TS! Avoid using more than 1 product at a time with exfoliates. Beware if more than one of your products contains ingredients like Retinol, RetinA, AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acids). There are all sorts of AHA’s like glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, citric acid and tartaric acids to name a few. Don’t mix products with exfoliates unless recommended by your esthetician. Over exfoliation creates irritation, red patches, flakiness, inflammation, irritated acne or wounds. Stop if you start to show any of these signs. When we purposefully take away dead skin cells we are exposing bright shiny new ones. This is great but in this process we are purposefully causing inflammation and damaging the skin barrier. It is important to calm and rebuild the skin barrier before we step in and damage it again. That’s why we don’t want to over do it. And, GASP, over doing it can actually make us age faster. What to do after exfoliating Calm and rebuild your skin barrier with humectants and anti-inflammatories. Some examples of ingredients to look for. Humectants are any ingredient that increases and restores oil and water to the skin.

  • Glycerin
  • Hyalauronic Acid
  • Panthenol
  • Vitamin E
  • Hydrolyzed Wheat proteins
  • Honey

Anti-inflammatories are ingredients that reduce redness and inflammation:

  • White and Green Tea
  • Aloe Vera
  • Lavender
  • Ginger
  • Licorice
  • Chamomile
  • Jojoba oil
  • Pomegranate
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin C (Ester type, avoid high percentages of ascorbic acid)

Some product suggestions for barrier repair: Anti-aging Face Serum– Includes aloe vera, glycerin, panthenol, lavender, vitamin C and vitamin E. Anti-aging Eye Cream– Includes aloe vera, glycerin, niacinamide (vitamin B3), pomegranate, jojoba, chamomile, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E. Hydrating Lotion Jelly– Includes aloe vera, cranberry, glycerin and cucumber 3-in-1 Antioxidant Lotion– Includes jojoba, pomegranate, white tea, ginger, licorice, vitamin C and vitamin E. Renewal Face Lotion– Includes jojoba, pomegranate, white tea, ginger, licorice, vitamin C and vitamin E. Blue Clay Face Masque– This is a non-drying masque that has a large dose of honey powder. Mix the masque powder with water to activate honey or go an extra step and include a vitamin E capsule or two. Vitamin E capsules usually contain glycerin. ]]>

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