On our previous post see here..https://bareskinnaturals.com/helpful-tips/skin-exfoliation-all-you-need-to-know/
we discussed about different ways to exfoliate the skin and the mechanism on how each one works.
Today, we will discuss the best and most effective way to exfoliate the skin without causing any damage or harm to the skin.
Mechanical Exfoliation:
When exfoliating physically or mechanically using tools or gritty powders etc,
it is important to ensure:
- That the bristles or powders are of natural origin rather than synthetic or plastic.
- Also, there are no sharp or rough edges that can cause any sort of tear in the skin.
- Its also important that you apply very minimal pressure when exfoliating to avoid causing harm or injury to the skin.
Physical exfoliation can be a bit too stressful for the skin, so should not be done more than one in week, at night only and people with active or wet oozing acne should avoid exfoliating physically completely until their acne is healed.
Chemical Exfoliation:
This is a gentle use of fruit acid to gently remove old, dead top skin layer. Most common acids used include lactic and glycolic acid. The exfoliation process using acids, is very effective and less irritating to the skin, but it also exposes and increases the skins sensitivity to sunlight.
Therefore when using chemical exfoliants, its important to:
- use adequate sun protection and also stay away from direct sunlight as much as possible.
- Allow the skin adequate rest in between use, so chemical exfoliants should not be use every day, but for 3-4 times in a week at most.
- Chemical exfoliants should not be used together with other exfoliating skin care ingredients like Retinol, Azelaic acid, benzyl peroxide or other strong acne products etc. as this can be too much for the skin and cause skin irritation.
- Also Chemical exfoliants should not be used together with mechanical exfoliants, if you need to use both as sometimes is required, then use on different days rather than together or on the same day.
Enzyme Exfoliants:
These group of exfoliants are very mild and gentle, if you are not sensitive to the ingredients e.g. the papain, or bromelain, it might be safe to use this on a daily basis.
They can also be easily used together with either chemical or physical exfoliants without any skin irritation.
Most sensitivities with enzymatic exfoliants is usually with the chemical constituents of the enzyme, rather than with the exfoliating action itself or formulation.
Finally, even tough exfoliation is a very important step in maintaining healthy vibrant skin, overuse of exfoliating agents can easily cause the exact opposite effect.
It is therefore necessary to exercise caution when using exfoliating agents, chemical exfoliants should be formulated at correct and safe dosage and ph. levels to avoid skin irritation and application should be limited to not more than 4-5 times a week once daily. While physical exfoliants should not be too harsh and abrasive and limited to not more than 2 times a week once daily.