Your Brief Guide to Proper Exfoliation

When it comes to skincare, seemingly everyone has a personal secret to glowing, beautiful skin. 12 step K-beauty regimens, weekly facials, frequent apple cider vinegar treatments – all potential answers for a flawless complexion. However, sometimes the simplest things are the most effective. An easy way to see improvements? Exfoliation, but done the proper way. 

The Importance of Exfoliation 

Before launching straight into the steps and tips needed to exfoliate well and safely, it’s important to understand why you should exfoliate in the first place. For starters, exfoliation sloughs off the top layer of dead skin, which immediately makes skin look fresher, dewier, and healthier. It also has some other side benefits, though, such as allowing skincare products to penetrate even deeper, clearing out clogged pores, preventing breakouts, and boosting collagen to keep skin looking youth. Together, everything adds up to create even greater skin payoffs down the line. 

Steps for Exfoliating (the Right Way) 

Despite the fact that exfoliating comes with all sorts of great benefits for both the health and the appearance of your skin, it can be incredibly damaging if done the wrong way. Too much exfoliation of not using the best method for you can cause irritation, inflammation, and make any skin conditions worse. That means it’s crucial to get it right. Luckily, there are just a few steps you should take to get the most from it. Here are some of the biggest. 

• Choose your method of exfoliation carefully – Most of us are probably used to exfoliating scrubs that feel like sandpaper, but that’s not the only type out there. Exfoliators come in two forms: chemical ones and physical ones, each made with a variety of different ingredients. People with sensitive, dry skin are probably best off with chemical exfoliators and those with particularly rough or oily skin might benefit more from a physical one, but these are just generalizations. Experiment and find what works for you. 
• Be gentle – If you’re using a physical exfoliator, be careful and let the granules do the work. Just apply a dime or nickel-sized amount of product to wet skin and lightly rub in circles before rinsing. As for chemical exfoliators, make sure to follow all instructions carefully and apply it with a light hand. 
• Follow it up with a moisturizer – Exfoliators can be irritating and drying by their very nature. Combat this and provide your skin the nutrients it needs by applying a good moisturizer afterwards. 
• Do not exfoliate every day – Wondering how often you should be exfoliating? Well, the answer varies but avoid doing it daily to keep your skin happy. Once to three times a week is probably plenty for most skin types. 
• Soak face, neck, and décolletage beforehand – Exfoliating skin that’s not moist enough can cause damage such as micro tears, and unfortunately, many people are guilty as charged. Soaking your face, neck, and décolletage with the Soakly Facial Soaking Cloth exfoliating can protect these sensitive areas. 
• Exfoliate in the morning – Looking for an extra way to keep safe while exfoliating? Opt to do this step in the morning rather than the night. Your skin repairs while you’re sleeping, so taking advantage can mean less worry of redness or damage.