The Best Ways to Exfoliate Your Skin Properly

Perhaps, you’ve heard or read it before that exfoliating is pretty important to always have a healthy glow. The effects of exfoliating on the skin are actually pretty amazing. It gives instant life to your boring skin. It is also every beauty icon’s secret and the not so secret of Korean glowing skin. It’s quite obvious: by buffing your skin, it gives your skin the rejuvenation it needs looking more smooth and soft.

But to get the most out of exfoliation, you have to know how to do it properly. Whether you bought a nice scrub or decided to do it on your own, make it effective by following these:

How to Exfoliate your Face

Exfoliate properly . | Image via Botanik Boutique

Follow these easy steps to exfoliate your face:

1. Make sure your hair is away from your face with the help of a hair tie or a headband.

2. Remove your makeup and clean your face with your regular cleanser. You need to have fresh, clean face for exfoliation treatment to penetrate properly on the skin.

3. Steam your face or wet a clean washcloth with lukewarm water and then place it to cover your face for 1-2 minutes. This will open your face pores, and soften your skin making the exfoliation treatment more effective

4. If you want to do it at home, you can either buy an over-the-counter scrub or if you like you can make your own as follow:

Into a small bowl, put three tablespoons of regular white sugar. Add to it one tablespoon of water or a few drops of Olive Oil. Mix sugar and water or oil with your finger until it is a slightly thick paste.

Buying? Nah! Just make your own. | Image via Savy Naturalista

5. Use your finger or put the paste onto a clean soft washcloth or rag and gently scrub the paste massaging in small upward circular motion over your entire face to remove dead skin. Continue this process until you’ve exfoliated the skin of your entire face. Do not use too much pressure. Let the exfoliating particles do their job.

6. Rinse the scrub off thoroughly with tepid or lukewarm water then splash your face with cold water to close the pores. Be sure you’ve taken all the scrub off or you’ll end up having a sticky face.

7. Pat dry your face gently with a clean soft face towel.

How to Exfoliate Your Body

Take good care of your body too. | Image via Red Online

You may have been doing exfoliation on your face but you also have to take good care of your body’s skin. It is amazing just how much dead dry skin we accumulate if we don’t remove it. The easiest and most common way to exfoliate is using a loofah or other scrubby cloth or sponge after the shower since this is when dead skin is super hydrated and it’s easy to scrub off dead skin. By doing so, too much pressure isn’t needed anymore which can cause skin damage.

At the end of the shower, after washing your skin with soap, shower gel or cleansing cream, massage your entire body in circular motion with a loofah. Always remember not to rub too hard to avoid any skin damage. Pay extra attention to areas prone to roughness, like elbow and knees, or wrinkling, like the chest and neck. It is also a great time to use a pumice stone on your feet – they also have dead skin. Using loofah won’t do you any good, but pumice is too harsh to use on other areas of the body. Don’t forget to exfoliate your hands too since they are almost always being forgotten. Thay are always exposed and need it as badly than the rest of you.

How to Exfoliate Dry or Sensitive Skin

Yes, exfoliation can be done by people with dry or sensitive skin too. Just start slower and use more mild methods but yes, it is for you too. By exfoliating, it helps your moisturizer to penetrate deeper giving you a livelier skin.

It is better for people with dry or sensitive skin to use chemical exfoliation and let the acids do most of the work and you don’t need to worry that you’re scrubbing too much with pressure. You can also include mild chemical exfoliation into your routine by changing your regular cream or lotion with one that contains lactic acid since it is milder than glycolic and is great at reducing ingrown hairs and getting rid of the chicken skin.

If you have sensitive skin, use creams or lotions with acid concentrations of 5% or even lower. These are also great to start out with and work your way up, or for those timid to try glycolic acid.

Always remember that alpha hydroxy acids make your skin very sensitive to the sun, or photosensitive. For this reason, it is really important to use sunscreen before exposing yourself to the sun.

Exfoliating Tips:

* You can apply the above exfoliation process at night before sleeping.

* To exfoliate your face, use products that are meant for face only.

* Do not over-exfoliate, you might end up doing more harm than good. Ensure to keep your face well moisturized at all times (you read it right – at.all.times), if you exfoliate regularly. Exfoliation causes the skin to become dry and the dry skin is prone to wrinkles.

* Take extra extra care with the décolletage. The skin here is one of the thinnest skin of the entire body. Use a gentle scrub on this area to prevent damage.

* Avoid heat post-exfoliation. Saunas and steam rooms are definitely a big no-no after body exfoliation as this can cause irritation to the skin. You should never exfoliate if your skin is burnt either.

* Work in a circular motion. For the rest of the body, apply and lather a small amount of exfoliator onto wet skin using circular massaging movements towards the chest, concentrating on dry areas such as the elbows, knees, and heels.

Follow the instructions and tips above to get soft, flawless, and glowing skin. You’ll be amazed at how healthy your skin can be and wonder why you never exfoliated before!