Exfoliation Explained: A Series
Part One: Intro to exfoliation
The energy of the New Year is so potent with everyone letting go of what no longer serves them and making plans to further improve various aspects of their lives. The esthetician in me can not help but compare this feeling to exfoliation! Now, hear me out. I promise to explain what I mean and this blog is completely dedicated to expanding our understanding of exfoliation!
When we exfoliate, we are removing the top layer of dead skin cells in our epidermis aka, letting go of what no longer serves us! When this happens, our skin begins making new skin cells and building new proteins aka, improving various aspects of what we have! So as you can see, beginning the year with strengthening your relationship with exfoliation is very fitting :)
There are so many important reasons to exfoliate. This practice not only benefits our appearance but it also is essential for our skin’s resilience and healthy function. A good tip to remember is that we want the dermis to be thick with collagen and elastin because that is what gives our skin structure and strength! Then, we want the epidermis to remain on the thinner side so as not to create clogging and sluggishness. Exfoliation keeps our epidermis thin by preventing buildup and stagnation, which we often see as acne or dull lackluster skin. It triggers new skin cells to be born that will then replace what we have exfoliated off, aiding in a healthy lifespan of our cells, which becomes increasingly more important as we get older.
I want to take a moment to emphasize this, exfoliation triggers new cell growth in the deeper layers of our skin. In this way, exfoliation can assist in treating the skin from the outside in! Regular exfoliation can allow our barrier to grow stronger and increase the amount of moisture factors and hydration that our skin is able to create. As well as also increases the skin’s ability to heal.
As pharmacist Benjamin Knight Fuchs says, exfoliation is exercise for the skin! It breaks down what is on longer needed so that the skin can heal and come back stronger! There are short term and long term benefits of exfoliation but before we get into that, it probably will not come as a shock that there are multiple types of exfoliation, each having their own benefits. So, let’s break this down a little bit.
There are two main umbrellas that any type of exfoliation can fall under.
Physical Exfoliation: this works by sloughing off spent, dead skin cells. In doing so, this gives our skin a little polish! Things that fall under this category are thicker, granular, or coarse in texture such as poppy seeds, jojoba esters, ecobeads...things that like. They are true to the exfoliation definition in triggering new cell growth, which is great! However, these are best to be avoided when the skin is experiencing lots of inflammation or active papules or pustules. They can create a bit of irritation if not used under the proper circumstances.
*A subcategory here would be mechanical exfoliation. Think microdermabrasion or dermaplane. Typically, this involves some sort of device or machine that is being used in a treatment that is, let’s say, a bit more deliberate than just casually sloughing off dead cells.
Chemical Exfoliation: do not be turned off by the word “chemical.” All this means is that the desmosomes (glue that holds skin cells together) are getting dissolved, allowing dead, spent cells to easily be shed. This category includes ingredients like enzymes, lactic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, mandelic acid, tartaric acid, ect. How deeply any chosen acid penetrates and the amount of exfoliation it provides depends on the molecular size of the acid and the percentage that is being used. It is important to be selective and intentional when choosing these acids but they are incredible at treating anything from sensitive skin to tough oily breakouts. Chemical peels fall under this category.
*The other reason chemical exfoliation is amazing is because depending on the product or treatment that is being performed, it can lower the pH of the skin. We go into more depth here our upcoming blog ;)
Okay, so let’s talk about skin benefits of exfoliation here! Besides what has already been mentioned, when you start exfoliating you will notice some differences immediately and then some over time. Here is what you your exfoliating timeline could look like.
Short Term: a bright, radiant, dewy complexion from removing those dead cells! Arguably more important, exfoliation helps the absorption & penetration of other products and ingredients. It makes the skin more available to whatever you put it on afterwards. Products can be deeply absorbed into your skin after exfoliation so you know you’re getting the most out of what you are using!
This also brings up the topic that what we use after our exfoliation is equally important as the exfoliation itself! I can not stress this enough! So much so, I will probably write another blog specifically about the nourishment that we can give our skin post exfoliation but, that will be for another day!
Long Term: after exfoliating for a long period of time, you will start to notice big changes! Some of which include, a decrease in hyperpigmentation and acne scarring, a reduction of acne breakouts, smoother texture, decrease in fine lines and wrinkles, and a firm/tight appearance. The skin wants to heal itself and exfoliation assists the skin in doing so.
Before we pop off here, I want to emphasize that how a person exfoliates will truly be unique to them. Lifestyle, skin type, and existing skin conditions will always play a huge factor in what is used and how often. All of this is to be explored in our next blog of Exfoliation Explained!
A presto! 😉
