Maria Choe
Does your makeup not stick on your skin, and makes your complexion seem dark? Are you shedding dead skin cells around your nose and mouth? Rubbing them would make your skin worse. Peeling them off is not the real solution here. We introduce you to exfoliation know-hows effective for each skin type.
Follow the Basics for Exfoliating
TIME
Only exfoliate at night, during the end of the day. By removing your dead skin cells in anyway, the skin no longer has an exterior protection. Exfoliation means that the skin has been stimulated to be more sensitive than usual – ultraviolet rays and cold winds from the outside will cause skin problems. Thus, use exfoliators in your evening cleansing and skin care steps, and rest after providing enough moisture and nutrition.
SIZE
Exfoliators with large particles are not always good. Exfoliator products that remove dead skin cells by physically rubbing the product on your skin usually contains particles like the size of grains. It may feel like large particles are more effective in removing the dead skin cells, but in reality, more irritation is caused to the skin.
TOUCH
So many people press the scrub particles close to the skin and roughly rub! But by scrubbing in this manner, the exterior of your skin will have millions of microscopic cuts, leading to irregularities on your skin and a rougher surface. Massage the product as soft as possible so it feels like the product is lightly rolling on top of your skin. And do not rub your face with an exfoliation towel. It is the shortcut to skin aging.
Dry Skin Type
People with dry skin types feel the necessity to exfoliate when their skin flakes off. But this actually does not mean that additional dead skin cells have been formed. Rather, dry skin cells come loose on the exterior when the skin is under-moisturized. If you go as far as to remove this, the dryness and flaking will become worse.
- Scrubbing hard will make dry skin types exacerbate into ultra dry or sensitive skin types.
- During the skin care stage, it is highly recommended that you use toners or boosting serums with slight exfoliating functions.
- Apply and roll peeling gels only on flaky areas. Because of the cellulose fiber, substances like ‘dead skin cells’ and extra keratin will be formed and removed from your skin.
Oily Skin Type
For oily skin types, dead skin cells adhere to the sebum and don’t come off easily. These bodily wastes clog up the pores and can develop into skin problems. Also, because oily skin types are less sensitive than other skin types, you can exfoliate with a bit of force.
- The T-zone (around the nose and forehead) secretes more sebum and thus dead skin cells are easily accumulated. These areas can be managed with simple scrubs every day when cleansing.
- Another way is to use chemical exfoliators that melt away the dead skin cells without scrubbing. Skin care products with AHA ingredients can remove both the sebum and the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin at the same time. AHA ingredients at first will feel irritating or hot on your skin, but for healthy skins, it is safe to use it every day. If the symptoms are excessive, switch to products with low density of chemical ingredients or use the product only three times a week.
- As the skin condition for neutral skin type changes according to one’s conditions, go back and forth between the instructions for dry and oily skin types.
Troubled Skin Type
Dead skin cells that aren’t naturally removed will cover up the pores and cause skin problems. But, scrubbing hard on troubled areas, such as on purulent acnes or pimples, can cause your skin to swell up and cause other bigger skin problems. Therefore, troubled skin types should not use physical exfoliators (like facial scrubs).
- Use chemical exfoliators with AHA ingredients that melt away only dead skin cells without any irritation, but first, test such products on troubled areas. If you are to use products with AHA ingredients in the morning, you must apply sun block afterwards.
- TAs the T-zone area secretes lots of sebum, use essence or toner products with BHA ingredients to melt away the sebum and remove the bodily waste. Wet some cotton swabs with the product and apply them on areas with flaky dead skin cells.