Five Reasons You Want to Exfoliate

We talk a lot about wanting our skin to look bright and youthful, and about the various ways our aesthetic goals can be achieved. Because there are so many products and professional treatments available to tighten, brighten, and smooth the skin, it’s very easy to forget the value of the basics. Here, we’d like to discuss a few of the key advantages to frequent exfoliation.

Exfoliating the skin means to gently slough off the uppermost layer of cells. These cells are not vital; many of them aren’t even living. And those that are probably have had their fair share of damage from environmental factors like UV exposure. There are several ways that exfoliation may occur; some people wash with a gentle scrub that contains tiny beads that abrade the skin. People use serums with glycolic or other acidic ingredients; some apply retinol creams such as Retin-A a few times a week. Finally, exfoliation can also be performed in the dermatology office.

Facial Rejuvenation

In our La Casita and Sonterra offices, patients may choose methods such as chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microneedling, and laser treatments to exfoliate and rejuvenate the skin. But why would you want to? Benefits of exfoliation include:

1. More Radiance. When cells accumulate on the skin’s surface, there is a certain dullness that takes over. These cells are damaged, remember? They don’t shine with healthy circulation, so your whole face looks dull.
2. Smaller pores. Pores are elastic; they expand when dirt, oil, and bacteria collect inside. This expansion makes pores more visible to the naked eye (and also increases the risk of a nasty breakout). Exfoliation removes debris, letting pores shrink to their normal size.
3. Maximizes product efficiency. Think of the uppermost layer of dead cells on your skin as a raincoat. When you wear a raincoat, droplets of water cannot penetrate through to get your clothing wet. The same thing happens on your skin. If there is a cover of the dead, damaged cells, your moisturizing and wrinkle-reducing products have nothing of value to absorb into.
4. Wrinkle-reduction? Lines can diminish when you choose a deeper form of exfoliation that also causes collagen proliferation. Mild exfoliation can minimize the appearance of lines, though, by removing the debris, the prevents makeup from going on smoothly.
5. A better glow. If you tan with any sunless tanning method, exfoliation is a must! Without this pre-treatment, the bronzed particles cannot land appropriately on your skin, and your sun-kissed look will fade quickly.

Do you need deep exfoliation? Contact us to learn more about our professional services.