6 Exfoliation Benefits For Smoother Skin Texture
6 Exfoliation Benefits For Smoother Skin Texture
Exfoliation is a simple and effective practice to leave your skin feeling fresh with a clean slate. Whether you have dry, oily or combination skin, scrubbing your skin with an exfoliating product allows you to get rid of excess dead or dry skin cells to help clear up common skin concerns and unveil an overall radiant glow. For at-home use, these products can be applied with your hands, a facial brush, a loofah or a dry body brush.
They’re two main types of exfoliators: physical (also called mechanical) and chemical. Physical exfoliation includes all scrub types that require manual effort to remove dead skin cells. Options include formulas from DIY coffee scrubs to store-bought products infused with deep-cleansing beads and dry brushing. Chemical exfoliators use facial acids to work with the oils on the outer layer of your skin to help break down and dissolve the dead skin cells. The most common main ingredients found in this type of exfoliates are alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), and poly-hydroxy acids (PHAs).
It is recommended to exfoliate two to three times a week on your face and one to two times a week on your body alongside the rest of your daily hygiene routine(s). Aside from its pampering feel, exfoliating improves your skin health while encouraging your complexion to become firmer, clearer, and more youthful over time. Here are the powerful exfoliation benefits you won’t want to sleep on.
Boosts Collagen Production
With patience, exfoliation provides a simple, cost-effective and non-invasive way to enhance your collagen production levels. Scrubbing off dry skin cells stimulates the skin to go into renewal mode and has a three-fold effect. Exfoliating simultaneously aids in restoring a fresh, healthy top layer of skin while getting rid of clog-inducing cells, bacteria, oils or other impurities.
Active brushing mildly irritates the skin to stimulate its self-healing process, boosts cellular turnover and removes any dry or trapped skin cells. Higher collagen production and cellular turnover enhance skin resiliency, texture, and appearance over time. Therefore, regular exfoliating allows you to consistently brush off less healthy skin cells in favor of more nourished ones for a smoother and more youthful complexion.
Evens Skin Tone
A smoother skin texture translates to an improved, more even skin tone. Regular exfoliation reduces the appearance of hyperpigmentation, dark spots and acne scars. The exfoliating process breaks these melanin clusters that cause discoloration and removes flaky patches or microbes that dull and dehydrates your skin. Scrubbing off these dead skin cells and flaky, rough patches gradually soften and smoothen the skin to diminish the area’s shadowy look.
As cellular turnover and collagen production increase, the dark and dry spots will be replaced with healthy, skin cells that come to the surface – thanks to the boosted collagen production. With this smoother texture, the light will reflect properly on your skin to show off your even skin tone (and texture).
Unclogs Pores
Beyond everyday microbes and makeup, exfoliation offers a helping hand to your regular cleanser. It deeply cleans out your pores to get rid of built-up dead skin cells, bacteria and oils in the sebum glands. Clogged pores are a common cause of skin conditions ranging from rough skin texture and inflammation to blackheads, whiteheads and acne.
Chemical exfoliants with salicylic acid are commonly used to treat clogged pores because of their ability to break down trapped impurities and skin cells. If you have sensitive skin, ask your dermatologist before using these products as they can make your skin even more susceptible to irritation. Salicylic acid makes your skin more sensitive to the sun, so be extra mindful to apply sunscreen regularly when using a chemical exfoliant.
If you’re not seeing desirable at-home results, microdermabrasion (a type of physical exfoliation) or chemical peels are two popular professional treatment options. Speak to your dermatologist to see if these methods are suitable for your skin type and concerns.
Reduces Acne
Exfoliation helps eliminate current acne by unclogging your pores and prevents future breakouts. Most breakouts are caused by excess dead skin cells and oils trapped in your sebum glands. Regular exfoliating offers two main benefits: keeping these pathways clear and strengthening your skin texture to lessen your chances of later flare-ups. The boost in collagen production helps improve skin elasticity and reduce enlarged pores over time.
As we age, our skin’s elasticity naturally declines and leads to enlarged pore size, which makes them more likely to get clogged. With smaller pores, there’s less space for impurities to get trapped in your skin and cause inflammation. Exfoliation also promotes the wound-healing benefits needed to treat active acne. The increased cell turnover rate aids in preventing the accumulation of dead cells to regularly renew the top layer of skin for a fresh, well-hydrated complexion.
However, over-exfoliating can have the opposite effect. Exfoliating too often can break down the skin’s natural barrier and strip it of its natural oils. This outcome leaves your skin hypersensitive to redness and irritation, which could result in more breakouts than before. If you need to heal your skin from over-exfoliation, apply aloe vera gel or a vitamin C serum to calm the burning sensation.
Start your exfoliation journey with one scrubbing session per week. Depending on your skin’s reaction, gradually increase the frequency to two or three sessions weekly. Never plan on exfoliating every day or every other day.
Enhances Natural Glow
Increased collagen production and cellular turnover reveal your skin’s radiance. Exfoliating’s skin-repairing properties boost circulation to promote wound-healing systems that strengthen the skin barrier over time. The improved skin elasticity prevents dry patches and inflammation that often dulls your skin. Combined with unclogged, shrunken pores and reduced hyperpigmentation, exfoliation’s deep cleansing and healing properties all work together to let your natural glow shine through.
Maximizes Product Absorption
Exfoliation allows you to get the best results from your skincare products and optimize their benefits. With unclogged pores, your cleanser, moisturizer and serums will not get trapped alongside dead skin cells and can more effectively penetrate the skin. Maintaining a cleaned complexion has a compounding effect on your skin’s overall texture and vitality. Less build-up leads to less inflammation and smoother skin texture. This improved skin texture soaks up all of the high-quality ingredients from your daily routine to further enhance your skin’s resilience for an all-around clearer, healthier complexion.
