Exfoliating our skin allows us to remove dead cells and dirt off our skin, while also increasing our skin’s absorption of hydration and the skin care products we wish to apply to it. But in order to get the best results from exfoliating your skin and maintaining healthy skin, there are a few important do’s and don’ts for skin exfoliation.
Where to Exfoliate
Do – you can exfoliate all of your skin head to toe. But for the neck and face, you should use facial peeling products that suit your skin. On the rest of your body (chest to toes), you can start with dry brushing and then exfoliating with water.
Don’t – never dry brushing your face and neck or use a loofah on your face. The facial skin and neck are much more sensitive in comparison to the rest of our body and using a loofah on it can harm your skin.
Gentle Scrub
Exfoliating should be gentle – don’t force it too hard. Start with a really gentle scrub, be aware of your skin and its reaction to exfoliating and increase the use of force if necessary.
Frequency of Exfoliating
Do – How many times should you exfoliate in order to maintain healthy skin? Well, it is not an exact science, but as mentioned, you should start easy. You can start by exfoliating twice a week or dry brushing once a week and see from there how your skin reacts and according to that increase the frequency.
Don’t – exfoliating or dry brushing daily right from the start won’t ensure the health of your skin. If your skin is sensitive, dry brushing it daily may cause damage to your skin. Allow your skin to adjust to the treatment – meaning allow it to recover after dry brushing. For example – should your skin have redness after dry brushing, allow the redness to fade before exfoliating again.
The bottom line is, that only you know your skin – so if you wish to start exfoliating it, start easy and see how your skin reacts. As for dry brushing, it is a little more firm of action than exfoliating so start it very gently in order to check if it suits your skin.