How Does Exfoliating Affect Your Skin?

Who doesn’t want their face to be cleaner, smoother, and radiant? After all, we all would like the best complexion possible, and exfoliating your skin is the perfect way to accomplish all of this. 

Exfoliation should be a key step in a well-rounded skin-care routine.  For many of us, exfoliating is our favorite skin-care task we do because it has so many intrinsic benefits for the skin. There is something about exfoliating that makes you feel refreshed and leaves your face invigorated and renewed.

What is Exfoliation? 

Do you know how many dead skin cells you lose in one day? Would you believe 30,000?  Your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells to make room for new cells approximately every 30 days. 

Exfoliating involves the removal of these dead skin cells from the surface of your skin using a chemical, granular substance or exfoliating tool.  While these cells would eventually fall off on their own, a scrub or exfoliant can assist in clearing them away sooner to make your skin appear brighter, lighter, and more youthful.   

Consider how good your skin feels after you have exfoliated it. You’ll find it feels softer, smoother, and more supple than before. That is because when you exfoliate you remove the “gunk” that has built up from dirt, excess oil, and bacteria that clog your pores and results in a duller complexion. 

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, exfoliation can leave your skin looking brighter and improve the effectiveness of topical skin-care products by enhancing absorption. 

How to Exfoliate Your Skin 

These are the two most common ways to exfoliate your skin at home: 

Chemical Exfoliation:  Chemical exfoliation dissolves dead skin cells by using chemicals like alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), and these could include AHAs such as citric acids or glycolic, or beta hydroxy acids (BHA) like salicylic acid. 

Mechanical Exfoliation: This is also called physical exfoliation.  It uses a tool, which could be a sponge, brush, or scrub, to physically remove dead skin cells.

7 Benefits of Exfoliation 

1) Evens Skin Tone

Have you ever had to endure having rough texture, dark spots, or hyperpigmentation? Then consider that exfoliants break down dry and dead skin while smoothing texture.  This means your skin will look more uniform over time. 

Try an exfoliant treatment that brightens and tones all skin conditions. Look for an exfoliant that contains an application of alpha and beta hydroxy acids and enzymes to smooth your skin, while also reducing signs of aging.  This will even your skin tone and help your skin to retain moisture and reduce the appearance of fine lines. 

2) Unclogs Pores

The good news with exfoliating is that you are also unclogging your pores. When you exfoliate, you are eliminating dead and dry skin, in addition to other surface debris that could stay on your skin after cleansing.  Exfoliation stops this debris from making its way into your pores and causing stoppages in the form of whiteheads and blackheads. 

Preventing whiteheads and blackheads is why exfoliating is so important. It stops them before they have the opportunity to appear. 

“Dead skin seals the pores, so when sebaceous glands produce oil, it’s ‘stuck’ under the dry skin,” says Sonya Dakar, celebrity esthetician and skin-care expert. “This causes breakouts because there is nowhere for the oil to go.” 

3) Prevents Acne

In addition to unclogging your pores so you can avert having whiteheads and blackheads, exfoliating also prevents other blemishes like acne. Exfoliating makes it possible to unclog pores, which reduces acne. However, you also don’t want to scrub your face too hard in an effort to prevent acne. This could harm your skin and bring about a host of other skin problems. 

In order to prevent skin blemishes like acne, use an exfoliant that provides a non-abrasive exfoliation treatment that also stimulates cell renewal.  You want the enzymes to detach dead skin cells and that will improve your skin texture. Look for aloe vera to help calm and soothe your skin. This type of exfoliation is ideally suited for people who have skin that is acne prone. 

4) Increases Cell Turnover

There is no doubt that exfoliation improves your skin’s radiance in various ways. One of those ways is that it helps cell turnover so the skin looks more glowing.  This translates into your skin being consistently fresh and having healthy cells at the surface by removing dead, dry or dying cells. 

By increasing cell turnover, you can experience an ultra-dewy and baby-faced complexion that we all desire to have. You might utilize an exfoliant that contains phytoactive AHA extracts, Lactic Acid and fermented plant enzymes that will reveal new, firmer skin. You will also be decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by removing dull surface debris, without causing dehydration. 

5) Stimulates Collagen Synthesis

When you exfoliate regularly, this will assist in stimulating collagen synthesis, and that will improve your skin’s texture, as well as its integrity, and keep your skin appearing plump, tight, and youthful. This is how you experience the anti-aging effects of exfoliating. 

Consider using a thermal skin exfoliant that permeates your skin with anti-aging ingredients.  Combine both chemical and physical exfoliants to refine your skin texture and enhance the penetration of age-fighting vitamins into your skin. 

6) Increases Circulation and Lymphatic Drainage

Another primary benefit of exfoliating is stimulation of lymphatic drainage for internal cleansing and stimulation of oxygen-rich blood to feed and nourish your skin’s surface. The stimulation of lymphatic drainage is a form of skin detoxification, which eliminates toxins and other unhealthy debris. The stimulation of oxygen-rich blood boosts cellular health to reveal glowing, radiant skin. 

7) Aids in Other Skin-Care Products Penetrating Deeper

As exfoliating unclogs your pores and smooths the surface of your skin and eliminates dead or dry skin, your other skin-care products can penetrate more deeply.  Your face benefits from having something rich in nourishing ingredients penetrate deeper. It is then capable of working more effectively. This is another reason why you always want to include exfoliation in your skin-care routine. 

When you prime your face for moisturizers and serums by exfoliating your skin, these skin-care products can bring about remarkable results. Conversely, you want to avoid having a face serum impeded by dead skin and pore-clogging material. By removing this debris, all your skin-care products will give you optimal effectiveness and offer a superior complexion. 

Exfoliation Tips 

Skin Types 

Normal:  Begin with a cloth or sponge and a mild chemical. If that does not give you the results you are looking for, then consider using a brush and/or a stronger AHA. 

Dry, Sensitive, or Acne-Prone:  Avoid mechanical exfoliation, which will likely be too irritating. Instead, use a washcloth and a mild chemical exfoliator. 

Oily, Darker Skin Tone:  Try a mechanical exfoliation using a scrub or a stronger chemical treatment with a BHA to assist with unclogging pores. 

Skin that is vulnerable to getting Dark Spots after a Sunburn, Bug Bites or Breakout:  Do not use a strong chemical or mechanical exfoliation because these might cause the formation of dark spots on your skin. You could test exfoliation techniques on your skin, specially on your neck or inside of your wrist, prior to trying it on your face. 

Give Your Skin Some Love by Exfoliating 

Exfoliating can transform the look and feel of your skin.  You’ll see how dull, dry, flaky skin can change into soft, smooth, and luminous skin with exfoliation. Depending on your skin type, you may find that you prefer chemical exfoliants to physical ones, or vice versa. Either way, you are bound to be happy with the incredible effects that exfoliation will have on your skin. 

Agora — The Future of Skincare 

Agora has a vision to provide its customers with a quality alternative to skin-care products available on the market today. We set out to deliver high quality skin-care products that provide excellent results while utilizing outstanding customer service. 

Our products utilize unique and potent ingredients that make a revolutionary difference in the quality of skin that our customers enjoy. Our expert Cosmetic Formulation Chemist provides Agora with superior ingredients from around the world to produce the best skin-care products in the industry!  At Agora, we deliver the most effective and results-oriented skin-care treatments to our customers.