You’ve heard us say it time and time again (and with reason): exfoliation + hydration is the key to beautiful skin. It’s precisely why we use a combination of the two in every one of our products. This time of year, though, we tend to hear more about hydration than anything else and while, of course, properly hydrated skin is crucial year-round, so is exfoliation. Without one or the other, you’re missing an essential part of a balanced routine.
And since we’ve already covered how to properly hydrate from the inside-out and outside-in, it’s time to break down the exfoliation piece.
What Is Exfoliation & Why Is It Important?
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the outermost layer of your skin, known as the epidermis. Though at its most basic it may seem trivial, it’s actually quite essential if you want to maintain healthy, dewy skin.
To truly paint the picture of why exfoliation is so important for your complexion, let’s take a look at the numbers. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, every square inch of our skin is made up of 19 million skin cells and, of those skin cells, we shed approximately 30,000 every minute. Thankfully, this isn’t a process that’s typically obvious to the naked eye or we’d see people’s skin flaking off on the daily. Instead, it happens gradually over time, taking about 1 month to swap out that dead skin for fresh, new cells and even longer (think 6 to 8 weeks) for those over 60.
Now, if you do the math on that gross equation, waiting a full month for your skin cells to naturally turnover would mean you’ve allowed over 1.2 trillion dead skin cells to build up on your skin (not to mention in your bed and around your home). For your complexion, this can result in dullness, clogged pores, breakouts, and even prevent your skincare from being properly absorbed.
The best way to avoid this? You guessed it! Gentle but effective exfoliation.
How to Exfoliate Your Skin
There are three common methods of skin exfoliation that work for both your skin and body, two of which are our personal favorites.
- Physical Exfoliation. In this method, dead skin cells, debris, and impurities are removed from the skin manually with the use of physical exfoliating particles or processes like microdermabrasion, dry brushing (for your body only), and the like. For us, it’s the use of our all-natural, non-plastic, and biodegradable jojoba esters in Reflekt 1 Daily Exfoliating Face Wash. They gently exfoliate, then melt, infusing skin with a refreshing burst of hydration without ever disrupting the skin’s barrier.
- Chemical Exfoliation. Though none of our products use chemical exfoliants because they can be too harsh for many skin types, this method is very common. It involves the use of acids to “dissolve” the glue that keeps dead cells stuck to your skin. Common chemical exfoliants include salicylic, glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acid.
- Enzymatic Exfoliation. Our preferred alternative to chemical exfoliation is enzymatic exfoliation. This method works with natural enzymes to “digest” the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin. These enzymes are typically extracted from fruits and other plants. Our enzymatic exfoliant is The Reflekt Complex — our signature blend of 9 fruit enzymes, like pomegranate, pineapple, and passionfruit, used in Reflekt 2 brightening serum, Reflekt 3 sculpting face cream, Reflekt 4 smoothing eye and lip cream, and our Restorative Lip Balm.
The Benefits of Exfoliation
- Unclogs pores and helps prevent acne. By buffing away dirt, debris, and other impurities, exfoliation thoroughly unclogs pores and rids the skin of acne-causing oils and bacteria.
- Helps other products be absorbed more effectively. With a complexion free of dead skin cells and clogged pores, there’s nothing in the way to prevent treatments and moisturizers from properly penetrating the skin so it can deliver benefits deeper.
- Delivers a soft, radiant glow. Removal of dull, dead skin cells from the surface of the skin helps reveal the fresh, soft, and radiant skin underneath so your complexion instantly appears brighter and glowing.
- Evens skin tone and minimizes hyperpigmentation. Over time, regular exfoliation sloughs away the pigmented cells that cause dark spots and discoloration.
- Promotes cell turnover and boosts collagen production. Sloughing away dead skin cells also stimulates new skin cell and collagen production for a more youthful appearance over time.
