How Often Should You Exfoliate Your Face? 7 Expert Tips

In today’s time and age, everyone seeks a long-lasting face glow that stands them apart from the rest. Bringing back your original, natural radiance can be daunting at times, but carefully choosing your skincare can do wonders!

According to studies, we tend to lose close to ​​500 million skin cells daily. This is a significant factor in the formation of dead skin. Layering up of these cells results in a dull face, inviting skin issues including acne and burnouts. Thus, it is vital to get rid of the unwanted, dead skin cells and free your pores.

While there are various ways to cleanse your face, exfoliation has been one of the most effective techniques so far. When you exfoliate your skin, the granular substances interfere with the topmost dead skin cells layer and help you get away with it.

Exfoliation can be primarily of two types – physical and chemical. While the former includes physically removing the dead cells from your face, the latter uses particular acids to break the cell bonds and shed the skin.

7 Expert Tips to Keep in Mind While Exfoliating

The time and effort you put in exfoliation depend on various factors, including your skin type and the exfoliator you use. This determines how often you should exfoliate. Here are the top 7 tips to keep your skin absolutely healthy:

1. Consider your skin type

When it comes to exfoliation, your skin type plays a vital role. While all complexions are unique, their compositions also tend to differ. Whether dry, oily, or mixed skin— each type requires exfoliation, though in varying frequency. Considering your skin type would help you know the appropriate time needed for exfoliation:

Oily Skin

Do your sebaceous glands tend to lose large amounts of oil?

If yes, you can easily manage frequent exfoliation that is certain to benefit your skin. Make sure to keep a regular exfoliation treatment routine at least twice a week. This practice would reduce acne blackheads and give you shiny skin.

Dry or Sensitive Skin

If you have extremely dry skin, you might think that exfoliation won’t help. However, the unwanted built-up layers on your skin are necessary to remove. Gentle exfoliation, even once a week, can bring immense changes to your skin.

Combination Skin

Having oily patches on one side and dried one on the other indicates a combination skin. Exfoliation is an extreme need for this skin type. Exfoliating about two or three times a week should perfectly work out on such a skin type.

2. Be Gentle

People might see exfoliation to interfere with your skin’s deep inherited cells. Though the exfoliation process seems harsh, you need to remain extremely gentle with your skin. People with sensitive skin should limit their peeling treatments to glycolic and lactic acid in small quantities.

3. Try cleansing brush for the flaking process

Using a dry cleaning brush for exfoliation is often considered an effective technique for achieving flake-free skin. A bristled cleansing brush with quite a low setting works absolutely fine to remove dead cells from your epidermis.

These brushes help in removing deeply hidden and clogged pores from your skin. However, you need to pay attention to the type of brush you opt for exfoliation.

4. Sugar is the gentlest exfoliator

If your skin has small patches of dry cells, then an efficient scrub of sugar crystals is all that you need. Since they are mild and gently remove dead skin cells without any irritation, they can be your go-to exfoliation saviors.

Even the natural humectant quality of the sugar adds effectiveness to the entire scrubbing process and assures you of fresh and hydrated skin.

5. Limit Excessive Exfoliation!

Since more of anything is not good, the same applies to exfoliation!

Though exfoliation is highly needed, excessive treatment can lead to harsh reactions on your skin. If you over-exfoliate, you can experience small cracks on your skin’s outer barrier. Keep a regular track of your flaking process with an absolute maximum of three times a week.

6. Don’t miss out on acids

An exfoliation process with alpha-hydroxy acids often results in healthy and smooth skin. Even tartaric, lactic, or citric acid helps remove the unwanted dead cells inherited deep in your epidermis.

Your skin gets more exposed to the sunlight by exfoliating with alpha hydroxy acid. This is exactly why you always need to keep sunscreen handy with you.

7. Focus on the key areas

Exfoliation is excellent when done the right way. It is essential to focus on the areas where oil production is significant. This includes your hairline and the T-zone, covering the outer parts of your nose.

You must attentively cover these areas on your face while exfoliating to achieve great results. As compared to the normal skin type, oily faces require more cleansing. Exfoliating using a reliable scrub can be helpful during these times.

Read: 10 Amazing Ways to Exfoliate Your Skin Naturally

What to Use for Exfoliating?

Another integral aspect of exfoliation is how you do it. Whether you opt for a physical or a chemical one, exfoliation type should be decided based on your sensitivities and preferences.

Your choice of exfoliant plays a major role in the results you get. If you seek a physical exfoliant, durable brushes and scrubs can be the apt pick. These work effectively but might get harsh on the skin if you overdo it. While they do not penetrate deep into your skin, manual scrubbing can also massage your face. You can also try other gentler options, including pumices.

If you are more inclined towards chemical exfoliation, BHAs and AHAs can help. You can also make use of certain fruit enzymes, including the ones extracted from papayas. To top it all, you can explore serums as well and gradually make them a part of your daily routine if it works for your skin.

Always remember to take your time, test products, and then settle on a technique to include it in your routine. Make sure to be patient with your skin and witness drastic results with proper exfoliation!