Although cleansing your skin daily is certainly a must and
will be discussed in greater detail in another post, it alone is not going to
give you any spectacular results. It may
be enough to remove your make-up at night or wake you up in the morning, but it
won’t do much in the way of preventing or diminishing age spots and wrinkles or
give your skin a healthy glow. No, if
you want big results, you’ve got to get out the big guns, and in the Esthetic
world, the big guns come in small packages:
little bottles, jars, tubes or pumps of gloriously effective…
exfoliants! Exfoliants are used to rub or ‘eat’ away the
dead skin cells that are just lazing around on the surface of your face waiting
to be sloughed off to reveal the fresh new skin that is waiting
underneath. There are two types of
exfoliants: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical exfoliants for at-home-use are basically
your grainy scrubs. (You can also use
the rotating brushes that are so popular now, but let’s save that category for
another day/another post!) There are many different brands of scrubs and most
people prefer this type of exfoliant for home use because they can feel it
working as the grains literally rub the outermost, or ‘dead’, layer of your
skin off. For a safe and effective
at-home mechanical exfoliant, you really need to invest in a good-quality scrub
because the individual grains are formulated to be smooth and rounded to be
gentler on the skin. A lot of ‘over-the-counter
‘ products are not regulated in this sense and the grains may be rough and
jagged, leading to micro-tears in the skin that can allow bacteria to enter, leading
to possible infection. Dermalogica® makes
some really good mechanical exfoliant scrubs such as their Daily Microfoliant®
(good for all skin types and gentle enough for everyday use) and Multivitamin
Thermafoliant® (best for dry and mature skin types). Blackbox Cosmetics™ makes a version using
Pharmaceutical Grade Microdermabrasion Crystals called 6 Minute Miracle™ that is
also filled with antioxidants to feed the skin.
That product can be viewed here at: https://shop.blackboxcosmetics.com/JB1943 Unless otherwise specified, granular scrubs
should be used approximately 1-2 times per week. Overuse may cause redness, skin sensitivity
and damage to delicate skin tissue. The
other type of exfoliant is a chemical version.
Now before you get all huffy and say to yourself,’ I don’t use chemicals
on MY skin!’, let me tell you that, yes, you do, because water is a chemical
and most of us use water when washing our faces. Moving on:
Usually chemical exfoliants are a concentrated form of Alpha Hydroxy
Acids (AHA’s) derived from fruits, dairy or sugar. One of the most popular and effective AHA’s
is glycolic acid, which is derived from sugar cane. Although the strongest forms of these
chemical exfoliants are only available for professional use (either at your
Esthetician or Dermatologist/Plastic Surgeon’s office), weaker, but still
effective, versions are available in cosmetics stores, like Ulta®. Reviva Labs® is one brand that offers a
for-home-use chemical exfoliant. Another option is Revive gx™, an aloe-based
serum that contains multiple fruit acids for significant improvement in skin
tone and texture. See the following link
for more information on this product: https://shop.blackboxcosmetics.com/JB1943 As
with all products, always follow the label directions AND do a patch test
on an inconspicuous area of your body before using any chemical exfoliant on
your face. Because exfoliants reveal
newer, younger skin cells, your skin becomes more sensitive to sun exposure, so
always, ALWAYS, whether exfoliating or not and no matter your ethnicity, ALWAYS
wear sunscreen!! Not only is sun
exposure the number one cause of skin cancer, it’s also the number one reason
for skin aging! Protect your skin!
Some benefits of regular exfoliation are: smoother skin texture, reduced fine
lines/wrinkles, brighter skin tone, better product penetration (your
moisturizer can actually get down into your pores and ‘do it’s thing’ when your
skin is clean and exfoliated!) and even your make-up, if you wear any, goes on
smoother. And that’s just a few of the
benefits! If you’re not already
exfoliating on a regular basis, you should definitely start! What have you got to lose (other than maybe a
few wrinkles?!)?
I hope you have enjoyed today’s Skin Care blog and let me
know if you have any questions or comments below…thank you!
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