If you’ve ever read anything about skincare, you’ll know that there are many reasons to exfoliate your skin.
After all, exfoliating can strengthen your skin barrier, help clear up your skin, increase your skin’s elasticity, minimise the appearance of sun damage, and boost your skin’s general health and glow, too.
But did you know that choosing the right method of exfoliation for your individual skin and circumstances can make all the difference?
Exfoli-options
There are two ways to exfoliate your skin – chemical and physical.
Although ‘chemical’ exfoliation sounds, well, chemical, it actually doesn’t have to be! ‘Chemical’ exfoliation can be done using fruit acids, which are natural alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) – just like we use in both our vegan cleanser and moisturiser. This is actually a very gentle way to exfoliate your skin effectively. The AHAs work to dissolve the bind of the old skin cells on the surface of the skin. There’s no scrubbing involved, and the chemical exfoliant penetrates deeper layers and continues to work after application. (Basically, it’s magic.)
Loads of research also suggests that regularly using AHAs can lead to significant skin improvement and rejuvenation. Who wouldn’t want that?
The second option for exfoliating your skin is ‘physical’ exfoliation. This involves using a scrub with granules, a physical tool such as a brush, or microdermabrasion to physically remove dead skin cells.
Although scrubbing your face can feel somewhat satisfying, the abrasiveness of ‘physical’ exfoliation has the potential to damage your skin barrier. This can cause irritation, dryness, and less protection from ageing.
All that said, ‘physical’ exfoliation is a fast and effective way of removing makeup and sun cream. So, it does still have a place in your regular skincare routine. Just use this method a little more sparingly!
What’s right for YOU?
Most skin types benefit from a combination of both physical and chemical exfoliation. You just need to get the balance right.
At NEEK, we recommend using a gentle daily ‘chemical’ exfoliant like our vegan cleanser, along with a gentle but effective physical exfoliant (like our cotton makeup remover mitts) when you need it.
How regularly you physically exfoliate will depend on your skin type and level of sensitivity, but a general rule of thumb is that less is more ;)
Happy exfoliating!
