Exfoliation – An Essential Part of the Skin Care Ritual

Exfoliation forms an essential part of your skin care regimen. It helps to remove dead skin cells to reveal fresh new healthy cells underneath. As a result, the skin becomes more luminous and appears younger looking. Additionally, regular exfoliation allows the skin to absorb the active ingredients of the products you use more efficiently.

How does Exfoliation Help?

Exfoliation removes dead skin cells that get accumulated on the skin's surface as they complete their life cycle. When dead skin cells build up on the surface, they make the skin look thick, dull, and lifeless. As cell turnover declines with age, people become more prone to cell build up. This is why you should exfoliate your skin regularly, so that the dead skin layer is replaced with fresh, healthy cells.

Types of Exfoliants

Exfoliants can be classified into two types – Physical and Chemical exfoliants. Physical exfoliation consists of using abrasive ingredients to remove dead skin cells; where as chemical exfoliants use enzymes or acids.

Physical Exfoliation

Also known as mechanical exfoliation, it uses ingredients like jojoba beads, salt, sugar, coffee grounds, rice, synthetic microbeads etc. There are a variety of scrubs available on the market. Try NIA24 Physical Cleansing Scrub. It contains jojoba beads to exfoliate the skin, Pro-Niacin to strengthen skin’s barrier and chamomile, oat and sage to calm the skin. Plus, Pro-Niacin improves skin texture, tone and discoloration.

Chemical Exfoliation

Chemical exfoliants dissolve the bonds between dead cells on the skin’s surface using ingredients like AHAs (glycolic, lactic, malic, citric and tartaric acids), BHAs (salicylic acid), Retinoids and other enzymes.

Benefits of Exfoliation

In addition to removing dead skin cells, exfoliation provides a great deal of other benefits as well -

Increased Circulation – Exfoliation increases blood circulation as well as lymphatic flow. This further increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the skin and makes it appear more radiant.

Diminishes Appearance of Fine Lines – Regular use of exfoliant products containing antioxidants and Alpha Hydroxy Acids can also improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Exfoliants for Different Skin Types

Dry SkinPeople with dry skin should use chemical exfoliants that contain AHAs to exfoliate the skin surface. Excessive exfoliation can cause further skin dryness.

Oily SkinUse exfoliants with BHAs because it exfoliates the skin’s surface as well as the insides of the skin pores. Also, you can incorporate a gentle physical exfoliant in your regimen.

Acne-prone SkinExfoliation is particularly important for people whose skin is extremely prone to acne because acne prone skin types typically generate more dead skin cells than normal. Exfoliation removes the dirt and debris from within the pores and prevents them from clogging. Physical exfoliants can aggravate acne; therefore, opt for BHA based products that are gentle enough for daily use.

Normal & Combination SkinTry a BHA and a mild physical exfoliant. Normal skin types also benefit from at-home microdermabrasion treatments.

Sensitive SkinPeople with sensitive skin should avoid using exfoliating products with a high concentration of glycolic acid. You should test the product first to make sure it doesn't cause irritation on the skin. Retinoids can be very irritating and may not be appropriate for sensitive skin. Instead, opt for gentle scrubs designed specifically for sensitive skin.