Skincare 101: How to Exfoliate for Healthy and Glowing Skin

What is Exfoliation?

Exfoliation is when you use a product to buff away dry skin and pore-clogging dirt, to reveal bright clean skin.

How do we exfoliate?

There are three different ways to exfoliate the skin. First, there is rough or manual exfoliation, which involves a product with micro-beads used to buff away dead skin and particles with circular motions on damp skin. Second, there are toners you can apply to your skin with a cotton ball to wipe away excess dirt and bacteria. And third, Glycolic acid pads can be used for exfoliation, the pads are pre-moistened with ridges and combine the processes of methods one and two.

When can we exfoliate?

Truthfully, you do not have to exfoliate your skin more than twice a week, depending on your environment. If you sweat a lot or wear makeup daily, you should exfoliate every week or every other week.

When shouldn’t we exfoliate?

When you have pimples. Exfoliating your skin when you are suffering from breakouts can cause bacteria from the pimple to other areas of your skin, which will then create more pimples. If you have chronic acne with constant breakouts a toner is your best bet to exfoliation, but only apply it where you do not have pimples and gently pat the pimple last to avoid contaminating clean skin.

Suggested products:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water, in equal parts, is a great natural option for toner.
2. Murad Skin Smoothing Polish (high-end product) and Queen Helene Mint Julep Scrub (drugstore product) are amazing manual exfoliation products.
3. Behati Body no.6 Facial Scrub is a natural alternative to the above exfoliator that can be used daily! [Use code: JRMUA2015 for 15% off on all purchases through Jan. 31, 2015]
4. Brandt Microdermabrasion Scrub is a strong exfoliator that I use once a month to deep clean my skin, although this product is a bit expensive, it goes a long way.
5. Philosophy the Microdelivery Triple Acid Peel Pads are my go-to Glycolic acid pads, and I only use this twice a month! You can use the acid peel pads on other parts of your body as well, such as hands, neck, feet, knees and elbows.
6. Body Scrubs: Behati Body has a full line of body scrubs and foot scrubs, I love the Honey Lemon Sugar one!