Who should exfoliate?
Exfoliation is so important to help achieve, smoother textured & brighter skin and reduce congestion which can lead to breakouts as well as to help absorption of your other products. So it is a key step in pretty much all skincare routines, be the aim antiaging or active treatment of acne. But when done incorrectly (which is all too common!) it is actually one of the most common step that can do harm to your skin.
Where people go wrong with exfoliation?
Do you like the immediate smooth feel and glow that a mechanical exfoliator gives to your skin? Who doesn’t?! I is a very quick and tangible result which leaves you feeling you are doing right by your skin.
Or are you doing it just because you have been told you should? Many people follow skincare trends because everyone else is but as with everything, knowledge of how and why will leave you in control and ultimately get you better results without spending as much money!
Of course, we want a smoothing and decongesting effect, but chasing the immediate satisfaction can lead to temptation to over exfoliate.
What is the best exfoliator for your face?
Often my patients are suprised to hear me tell them to drop their ‘regular’ exfoliator such as a scrub or polish in favour of something a little more multitasking. This approach helps achieve a streamlined skincare routine, that focuses on high caliber, evidence based products and avoids the all too common risk of irritation and stripped skin barriers.
First and foremost, safely including this power-house class of actives; retinoids; if you want to benefit your skin as a whole as well as achieve exfoliation of top layers of dull dead skin cells.
Many of my patients are surprised when I tell them that a high calibre retinoid is a great exfoliator in itself. This is particularly true for patients who are on prescription retinoids such as tretinoin. The reason it achieves this is that it speeds up skin cell turnover; the rate at which new healthy cells are pushed up from deeper layers to become visible, and older dead cells are lost from the surface.
Yes, retinoids are also known for potential irritation, but if introduced gradually and with a focus on optimising skin barrier health by including great stabilising products such as ceramides in moisturisers, niacinamide and a cleanser that suits your skin type, any expected side effects will be dramatically reduced.
I then say a soft, clean face flannel, gently wiped across your face a couple if times a week is enough exofiliation..
Is chemical exfoliation better than physical?
Chemical exfoliation, when done correctly, is more gentle than physical. Here active ingredients gentle weaken the hold that dead skin cells have on the surface of your skin and allow them to shead more easily. Physical exfoliation relies on ‘scrubbing’ these off. Which is obviously abrasive and irritating to skin, especially sensitive and inflammatory prone skin.
Is exfoliation safe?
Beyond this, the choice of exfoliator should then be down to your individual skin needs and I would always recommend talking things through with a medical aesthetic professional to make sure the results you get are only good.
Layering multiple actives such as retinoids, vitamin C and AHAs or BHAs, which all come with the risk of irritation, come with a very real risk of over treatment which can actually lead to worsening of skin conditions and issues you are trying to treat.
Whilest I am a fan of a streamlines skincare routine be cautious with combination products. Often I see a patient who is struggling with irritation or thinks they cannot tolerate actives but when we look at what is in their products they are using multiple irritatign active in way too many steps, simply because there are a lot of hidden actives.
What is the best exfoliator for sensitive skin? What is the best exfoliator for oily skin?
Are you prone to break outs?
If so salycilic acid is the one to go for.
Do you want to brighten aging skin?
Then opt for glycolic acid.
Is your skin dehydrated?
Lactic acid is the one to go for here.
And is your skin sensitive?
Then either lactic or polyhydroxy-acids are the ones here.
How to introduce AHAs/BHAs to a skincare routine
Using a short sharp small hit of these in a cleanser is a nice first step. Then only if needed (for example you are very prone to congestion or acne) step up to a higher leave on strength in a toner form.
You always want to opt for the least amount of medicine for the most benefit and minimise the very real risk of irritation.
If you want to really kick start a new skin routine or get even faster results a well chosen chemical peel, which uses higher levels of these acids in clinic is the next step on the exfoliation ladder. This is a great addition either as a stand alone prior to an event or as a regular addition to a skin care routine.
Want to learn how to exfoliate properly?
During a consultation I find that explaining how you can achieve great exfoliation and help your skin in other ways by either including retinoids or adding cherry picked acids to your routine leaves my patients feeling much more confident in a skincare routine than they had ever been.
When you are confident that products will get results you don’t mind waiting as much. And patience means you will safely and slowly introduce and build up actives and only use the ones you need, SO given time you will get great results, find products that will actually work rather sit unused in your cupboards, and also avoid the well know risk of a stripped skin barrier!
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