How Often Should I Exfoliate My Body?
By Gr0 Core Team
It goes without saying that beautiful, glowing skin takes work. That said, when you look in the mirror and see blemishes on your chin and nose, it's probably easy to remember the importance of exfoliating your face—but what about the rest of your body?
You are covered from head to toe in skin, and that skin is constantly shedding dead skin cells. You shed around the rate of up to 50,000 per minute—that’s a whopping 500 million skin cells each day!
The problem? Well, sometimes those dead skin cells are a bit stubborn and don't fall off. Instead, they like to hang out on your skin, causing them to build up, which ultimately results in clogged pored and rough skin. That's why it's important to show the skin on the rest of your body some love, too. And one of the best ways to do that is through exfoliation.
Wondering how often you should exfoliate your body to keep your skin in tip-top shape? Keep reading.
Exfoliating 101: Everything You Need To Know for Flawless Skin
First things first. Why is body exfoliation all that and a bag of chips? Well, aside from resulting in unbelievably silky-smooth skin, body exfoliation helps diminish the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines while brightening and tightening the skin.
You see, your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells, but certain factors can cause this process to slow down a bit. Things like diet, aging, dry weather, sun damage, and—you guessed it—lack of exfoliation. That being said, as your dead skin cells build up, blemishes, dullness, fine lines, and wrinkles are sure to follow suit.
Are There Any Other Benefits?
Yup, there are actually quite a few benefits of exfoliation. Here are some of them:
- Gives Your Pores a Deep Clean: Whenever you exfoliate, you're effectively unclogging your pores. Your skin will feel softer, smoother, and your complexion will be less prone to blemishes. Plus, when your pores are clean and clear, it can prevent painful razor bumps and pesky ingrown hairs.
- Stimulates Skin Cell Renewal: While it's not exactly possible to turn back the hands of time (sorry!), you can reignite your youthful glow without a trip to the fabled Fountain of Youth. The solution? Exfoliation. When you exfoliate your skin, it actively promotes skin cell turnover for brighter and clearer skin with a radiant glow.
- Boosts Circulation: While regular exfoliation is undeniably beneficial for your skin all year round, it's especially helpful during the cold months of winter. Central heating can quickly dry out your skin, causing it to appear tired and dull. Thankfully, all you have to do is scrub your body to improve blood flow and lymphatic drainage to revitalize your beautiful skin.
- Helps Your Skincare Products Penetrate Deeper: There's really no point in dropping your entire paycheck on fancy-schmancy skincare products if they're just going to sit on top of your skin. You see, the ingredients in these products only work if they can penetrate deep into the skin, but they're often met with resistance thanks to a dead skin cell build-up. By exfoliating your body and removing the outermost layer of dead skin cells, your favorite beauty products are able to get deep down into the dermis layers so they can work their magic.
- Stimulates Collagen Synthesis: Last but certainly not least, regular exfoliation helps to stimulate collagen synthesis to improve the skin's integrity and texture while keeping it plump, tight, and bright.
How Do I Exfoliate?
There are primarily two types of exfoliation methods: physical and chemical. Both methods share the same goals: clearing dead skin cells, improving cell turnover, and leaving the skin brighter and smoother. They go about it in different ways.
Physical exfoliation products are those containing itty-bitty particles, like coffee or sugar granules. They require you to manually rub the product into your skin to allow the tiny particles to do their job and slough away dead skin cells, dirt, bacteria, and grime.
Other examples of physical exfoliation include any face mitt or washcloth with a textured surface that sloughs away impurities, as well as microdermabrasion. What's microdermabrasion, you ask? Only one of the best ways to exfoliate the skin! This non-invasive procedure not only eliminates dead skin cells but also stimulates the growth of a silky-smooth new layer.
While this popular treatment used to only be available at a spa or doctor's office, there are now devices available that you can use from the comfort of your very own home, like the KENZZI Microdermabrasion handset. Super gentle and perfect for those who are especially sensitive, KENZZI’s microdermabrasion handset will expertly exfoliate and suction away impurities to leave your skin clean, clear, and bright.
Chemical exfoliators, on the other hand, are alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), poly-hydroxy acids (PHAs), and enzymes (usually from fruit) which work by combining with the lipids on the outermost layer of your skin and dissolving them so that the dead skin cells can break away, leaving behind a smooth complexion. In simpler terms, these powerful acids break down the "glue" that holds dead skin cells together.
When used correctly, there is room for both of these types of exfoliants, but overdoing it can result in premature aging and create red sore patchy skin.
How Often Should I Exfoliate?
Almost all experts recommended exfoliating your face around two to three times a week for normal and combination skin. For those with sensitive skin, just once a week should be enough. The skin on your face is much more delicate than the skin on the rest of your body, so it's really important not to over-exfoliate.
As for the skin on the rest of the body, you can exfoliate up to three to four times per week. However, if you have especially sensitive skin, one to two times per week should do the trick. Just keep in mind that every body responds differently to exfoliation.
How your friend’s body reacts can be very different from yours. If you're new to exfoliants, test one part of your body to see how your skin reacts. If everything looks and feels good (meaning no irritation or redness) go ahead and exfoliate the rest of your body. Start slow, maybe once per week, and then gradually increase to three to four times per week.
How Do You Know If You’ve Exfoliated Too Much?
When it comes to exfoliating, it's important to always listen to your skin. If you've accidentally over-exfoliated, it will be pretty apparent if your face and body feel like they’ve been rubbed raw and are tender to the touch.
If this happens, reduce the number of times you exfoliate weekly. There's also a good chance that you're using a product that's a little too harsh, so maybe try to rub it into your skin a little more gently or switch to something that's made specifically for sensitive skin. The KENZZI Microdermabrasion handset is super powerful yet super gentle; perfect for sensitive skin types!
Bottom Line
So, how often should you exfoliate your body, you ask?
At the end of the day, it really depends on your skin type. If you have normal or combination skin, go ahead and exfoliate your body (not face) three to four times per week. If you have sensitive skin, on the other hand, one to two times per week will work just fine.
Exfoliating your body comes with a ton of incredible benefits. From improving circulation and sloughing away dead skin, to helping your products penetrate the skin deeper, to stimulating collagen synthesis, exfoliating is a pretty important part of any good skincare routine!
That said, if you're on the hunt for an awesome exfoliator that will leave your complexion clean and clear, you need to check out the KENZZI Microdermabrasion handset.
KENZZI has a true passion for providing tools that actually work. Whether you're looking to kick dead skin cells and impurities to the curb or searching for a solution to tackle unwanted body hair, you can count on KENZZI to help you look and feel your best.
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