Does your skin feel flakey and dry? Is it not as radiant as it could be? Do your pores clog more quickly than usual? Then perhaps you are missing a step in your skincare routine known as exfoliation.

But what is exfoliation? Why is it beneficial for your skin, and why is it wrong if you elude it?

Read on and learn the complete guide for home exfoliation to help you feel refreshed, renewed, and reinvigorated.

What is Exfoliation?

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. Humans shed their dead skin cells every 30 days and need exfoliation to remove them.

After exfoliating your skin, it looks brighter and enhances the effectiveness of the skincare products you use to improve the chance of absorption. Over time, exfoliating enhances the skin’s collagen production and produces a glowing appearance, tighter skin elasticity, and a reduced appearance of fine lines and sagginess. Exfoliation prevents clogged pores resulting in fewer breakouts.

If you elude the exfoliation step in your skincare regiment, your skin will end up feeling flakey and dry while pores get clogged.

The two primary exfoliation methods include mechanical/physical exfoliation and chemical exfoliation. A lesser-known third method is enzymatic.

Mechanical/Physical Exfoliation Method

This exfoliation method involves scrubbing or rubbing the skin with a skincare product(s). Physical or mechanical exfoliation is easy, accessible, and budget-friendly. It is essential to finalize this exfoliation process with serum or oil to minimize irritation and lock in moisture.

While this method has many positive factors, it is possible to exfoliate incorrectly by over scrubbing, thereby causing irritated, red, or dry skin with worsening breakouts.

Mechanical/physical exfoliant tools include exfoliation mitts, dry brushes, loofahs, pumice stones, and microneedling. This process uses abrasive materials and tools to loosen dead skin cells like sugar grains, oatmeal powder, salt grains, washcloths, facial cleansing brushes, and body brushes, jojoba beads, and rice powder.

Physical exfoliation has many benefits, like keeping the pores cleaner and allowing skin care products to penetrate the skin more easily and efficiently.

Chemical Exfoliation Method

The chemical exfoliation method is the process of applying face acids to the skin for a short time to dissolve dead skin cells. This method uses exfoliants with chemicals that have different concentrations like alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), retinol, and enzymes to renew the skin and eliminate dead skin cells.

Chemical exfoliators come in many forms, including leave-on products, cleansers, toners, and peels. Chemical exfoliators have much gentler effects than physical exfoliators and have much more popularity for at-home use because of it.

For example, by using an at-home chemical face peel, your skin’s appearance immediately improves. Although it costs much more than home exfoliation, when professionals treat you with a chemical peel, their more potent chemicals instantly reveal smoother, brighter skin safely and conveniently.

Chemical exfoliation tools will vary depending on the method you wish to use, but the process does have many benefits. Not only does chemical exfoliation keep the pores cleaner and allow skincare products to penetrate the skin more easily, but it helps even out your skin tone and decrease sebum production, the appearance of pores, and fine lines.

Ingredients in Exfoliators

The main ingredients in most exfoliators include:

• Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs)

• Beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs)

• Poly-hydroxy acids (PHAs)

• Enzymes

• Retinols

Physical/mechanical exfoliators will have anything granular like sugar, salt, or volcanic ash. Chemical exfoliators, on the other hand, will have both alpha and beta-hydroxy acids.

Exfoliation by Skin Type

Skin types fall into four primary categories: dry, normal/combination, sensitive, or oily.

How you exfoliate and what exfoliation products you use will depend on the skin type that you have. But how do you know what kind of skin you have?

How to Know Your Skin Type

You can take two tests to determine your skin type and figure out whether it is dry, normal/combination, sensitive, or oily.

The Bare Face Method

Wash your face thoroughly, pat it dry, and leave bare for 30 minutes. Then, scan your cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead while looking for shine. After another 30 minutes, determine whether your skin feels parched, especially when you make facial expressions. If it feels tight, you have dry skin. If you have a noticeable shine on your nose or forehead, you have normal/combination skin. If you have shiny areas on your nose and forehead and your cheeks, your skin is oily.

The Blotting Sheet Method

The blotting sheet method is the most popular skin type test and the one most used.

Gently pat a blotting paper on different parts of your face. Once done, hold the sheet up to the light to observe the results. If the sheet has little to no evidence of oil, you have dry skin. If the blotting paper has oil after applying it to the forehead or nose, you have normal/combination skin. If your facial oil saturated the paper, your skin is oily.

Dry Skin Exfoliation

If you have dry skin, it is essential to avoid mechanical exfoliation as the drying process can lead to microtears. AHAs act the most effective on dry skin as they break through the surface, allowing moisturizer and hydrating serums to penetrate. Applying glycolic acid to the skin is beneficial, especially if followed by SPF and moisturizer. Exfoliate daily with gently, non-abrasive ingredients.

Normal/Combination Skin Exfoliation

For this skin type, use exfoliating products for both the oily parts and dry parts of your skin. Use a scrub and chemical exfoliators on the oily parts of your face one day and low-level AHAs on the dry parts of your face the next. But never use both a mechanical exfoliant and a chemical exfoliant on the same day. If your skin ends up feeling dry after exfoliating, immediately apply moisturizer.

Sensitive Skin Exfoliation

If you have sensitive skin, avoid scrubbing, and mechanical exfoliation, as this can cause irritation and redness. Use mild chemical exfoliants and apply gently with a washcloth. Also, try BHAs (as these are less irritating than other physical or chemical exfoliants).

Oily Skin Exfoliation

The most effective exfoliation technique for oily skin is manual exfoliation and brushing. Use an exfoliator or scrub by gently applying circular motions to the face. The best exfoliants to use for oily skin are retinoids, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid.

How to Properly Exfoliate

Mechanical/Physical Exfoliants

First, wash your face with a face wash cleanser. Then, take a quarter-size amount of face scrub, and gently and carefully apply it to your face in circular motions for 30-60 seconds (or as long as the product instructs you to).

Rinse your face with warm water and gently pat your skin dry with a towel. Finalize the process by applying a hydrating mask, serum, or cream.

Chemical Exfoliants

With chemical exfoliants, always wash your face with a cleanser. The exfoliation process for chemical exfoliants differs based on the products you use.

Pre-Moistened Cloth/Pad Chemical Exfoliants

Take the pad/cloth and apply it everywhere on the face, neck, and decollete. Wait a few minutes for the chemical to get completely absorbed into the skin. Then, treat the skin with cream or serum.

Chemical Peel Exfoliants

If your exfoliant is a chemical peel, apply it to the face like a face mask and wash it off after a few minutes as the product instructs.

Home exfoliation has terrific benefits. It is convenient, budget-friendly, and accessible. Simple home exfoliation, like DIY body scrubs and chemical exfoliators, will often make you wonder why you ever went to the professionals. Contact Beauty Roulette for more information on how we can help you reach your skincare goals!