It has come to my attention that exfoliation is something of a source of consternation for some of you readers. This part of your skincare routine is of vital import, but it is easy to see how it has become confusing – all skincare brands seem to give conflicting messages.
My advice is first and foremost to examine your skin. Keep an eye on it over a month to see whether it flakes, clogs, or itches. Don’t assume that overly dry, or overly oily skin requires no exfoliation – just cater your routine to suit you. A common error is over exfoliation for this who like the feeling of ‘clean’ skin; harsh scrubbing will only compromise the skin barrier and lead to a myriad of problems.
Once you know how your skin feels overall, try the below exfoliators for different skin conditions (and remember that your skin won’t necessarily always stay the same – make sure you keep an eye on it!)
1) Dry/Eczema suffering skin: Approach exfoliation gently, with an emphasis on helping the skin to rid itself of old cells daily. A gentle exfoliation with a cloth post-cleanse is ideal. Try Liz Earle’s award-winning Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. Slather on the cleanser and gentle buff it off with the cloth. This will aid absorption of your moisturiser – remember to use something gentle like Cetaphil’s moisturising lotion.
2) Normal (non-volatile) skin: To keep everything tickety-boo and help skin turn over you may want to exfoliate weekly – two star products are one Skin System’s Active C Scrub(packed with sea minerals and fatty acids) and*Both come in powder form so you can make your own strength of scrub, which is ideal for skin’s changing needs. Try Aromatherapy Associate’s Natural Exfoliating Grains afterwards – it’s packed with goodness and smells delicious.
3) Sun-damaged and pigmented skin: Try Philosophy’s Rodial’s Dragon’s Blood Hyaluronic Moisturiser. This will help to resurface and rejuvenate your skin, and leave it baby soft. Make sure to moisturise skin afterwards and never venture out without an SPF in the future – try Super by Dr Nicholas Perricone’s Sun Kissed tinted moisturiser. for days out, it will protect whilst giving a little coverage to mask sun-damaged skin.
4) Oily, blemish-prone skin: Gentle daily exfoliation will help to keep pores clean. For a scrub which won’t irritate already-inflamed skin try Dermalogica’s cult Daily Microfoliant, and follow with Perricone MD’s Intensive Pore Minimizer, to help keep pores clean and reduce the appearance of enlargement.
As with all skincare if any of the above products ever feels uncomfortable of stings stop using it – learn to listen to your skin, and treat it gently and regularly, and you will have caring for your complexion licked
