Tipping Thursday: Skincare Part VI-Exfoliating

Exfoliating is an important part of any skincare routine and it's not just for your face.  Why, you might ask?  Our skin naturally is constantly regenerating itself, sloughing off old, dead skin cells and making new ones.  But what happens to those dead skin cells?  They just sit there, on top of the new ones.  This can cause our skin to look dull and ashy, or make our skin breakout because our pores get clogged.  Oils can get trapped under the dead skin cells and cause blemishes.  Never pretty.  

Here's how exfoliating helps:  It gets rid of the dead skin cells sitting on your face and helps deep clean your pores, leaving you with soft and rejuvenated skin. You should exfoliate 1-2 times a week-any more than that will dry out your skin, even if you have oily skin.  If you have dry or sensitive skin, once a week or every other week is just fine.  Now, I know you're thinking, if exfoliating is so great, why shouldn't I do it every day?  It'll irritate the snot out of your skin.  Your skin needs recovery time after such a deep clean.  I mean, you did just basically scrape it clean.  Over-exfoliating can cause major oil-overload because your skin is desperately trying to keep up with its natural oil production and you just keep scrubbing it away.  This makes your skin freak out and say "We need more oil STAT!"

When choosing an exfoliator, look for a mild formula that won’t irritate your skin and that doesn’t feel too rough-exfoliating shouldn’t hurt.  I like all-natural exfoliants, like sugar scrubs or seeds.  My very favorite exfoliator is Berry Grand Super Exfoliating Beads by mark.  

It's great because you control the level of exfoliation because you control how much you use.  It's a scent-less powder blend of  cranberry and pomegranate seeds, apricot seed powder and rice powder.  It works with any cleanser-you just mix it right in.  So on days when you need a little extra oomph, just add a little more in and exfoliate away!


Now, I mentioned exfoliating isn't just something your face needs.  This rest of your skin needs a good scrub once in a while, too.  And just like with your face, this isn't something you need to do every day.  Once or twice a week is plenty.  Look for a good body scrub that again isn't too harsh or rough.  If you're prone to body acne or ingrown hairs, look for one with salicylic acid.  Neutrogena makes a great body scrub called Body Clear that exfoliates and clears up oily spots.