How to Exfoliate Face Correctly?

Facial exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells and the buildup of other foreign particles on the face. As a result, you can get healthy, smooth, and fair skin that will add charm to your overall personality. Exfoliating your face regularly can help you reduce the risk of ingrown hair, skin irritation, and protection from pollution, etc.

If you’re interested in this process but don’t know its whereabouts, then this article is meant to tell you everything to learn how to exfoliate face correctly.

• Part 1: What Does Exfoliate Mean?
• Part 2: Preparing Your Face For Exfoliation
• Part 3: How to Exfoliate Face at Home?
• Part 4: How to Exfoliate Face Naturally?
• Part 5: How Often to Exfoliate Face?
  

What Does Exfoliate Mean?

The main reason why we exfoliate our skin is so that we can remove dead skin cells and encourage new cells to replace them. Our skin keeps shedding cells and allows new cells to take their place. However, exfoliation helps the skin with this process. We can exfoliate our skin, including our face through different methods like:

Physical Exfoliation

When we use tools or scrubs to scrape off dead skin, it means we’re physically exfoliating. We can use tools like facial scrubs, sponges (for exfoliation), brushes, etc.

Chemical Exfoliation

We can also use chemicals like acids and enzymes that will dissolve dead skin cells. Glycolic acid, salicylic acid, etc., are some common chemicals that we can use for exfoliation.

What’s The Recommended Frequency of Exfoliation?

There are so many skin types and the frequency of exfoliation is dependent on it. On average, exfoliating 2 to 3 times is perfect, but those with sensitive skin should avoid exfoliating more than once every week or fortnight.

Preparing Your Face For Exfoliation

Should I cleanse or exfoliate first? Always clean the face before exfoliating to wash away all the dust, dirt, oil, makeup leftovers, etc. Cleaning your face before exfoliating will help you get better exfoliation results because your face will be free from foreign particles and dry, which is a basic requirement for good exfoliation. The way a person cleans their face can vary from person to person, like:

• Some people use oil-based cleansers that help them wash away makeup and other impurities on the face.
• There are some products that specify the application process to enhance the overall effectiveness of exfoliation.
• Many people prefer exfoliating before cleaning because that gives them better results.
• Some people exfoliate daily at a fixed time like in the morning or in the evening. You may exfoliate regularly either on a daily basis, weekly, or bi-weekly basis. It’s up to you how many times to exfoliate your face.

Some Considerations For Sensitive Skin

Do A Patch Test

Those with sensitive skin should avoid exfoliating their face without doing a patch test. A patch test will help you find out if the process works well with your body or not. You should try exfoliating a non-sensitive area like your arms, legs, or chest and see if you’re getting an adverse effect.

Select Gentle Exfoliants

Exfoliants with harsh chemicals or strong compounds can cause skin issues like rashes, burns, irritations, or even infections. Those with sensitive skin should choose an exfoliant meant specifically for sensitive skin.

Allow Damaged Skin To Heal First

If you get a sunburn or have a cut or a wound on your face, please avoid exfoliating. Don’t try to exfoliate your face while leaving the wounded area aside. Let those wounds heal before exfoliating.

How to Exfoliate Face at Home? 

Exfoliation at home is possible with the help of so many tools and methods like:

1. There are special exfoliating masks available in the market that have enzymes and ingredients to help exfoliate your face.
2. You may use exfoliating cleansers that will let you exfoliate and cleanse your face in one step.
3. Those who need an extensive exfoliant may go for chemical peels over the counter that have high levels of acids.
4. Exfoliating pads and wipes are also excellent choices that come pre-soaked with exfoliating agents.

Facial Cleansing Brushes

Using cleansing brushes is like brushing your teeth. You just need to wet your face and brush and put the cleanser on it. Then rub the brush on your face circularly, excluding your eyes. Rinse your face, and you’re done.

Manual Exfoliating Sponges or Pads

The usage is simple. Soak the sponge in warm water and apply a small amount of cleanser or exfoliant to the sponge. Rub the sponge on your face gently excluding your eyes and rinse it when done.

Face Exfoliation Steps

Preparation

1. Find the right exfoliator for your face based on your skin type. For sensitive skin, gentle exfoliators are the best.
2. Gather all the things that you’ll need, like a towel, cold water, wipes, exfoliator, etc.

Core Process

1. Wash your face with soap and warm water or any cleansing liquids that you wish.
2. How many times to exfoliate face is usually 1 to 3 times every week, rest depends on your skin type and your preference.
3. Pat dry your face so the skin doesn’t get rough.
4. Apply an exfoliator on your face and massage it circularly. Do it for a minute or two.
5. Rinse your face properly and confirm that there are no residues left.

Aftercare

1. Pat dry your face with a fresh towel.
2. Apply moisturising lotion and serum as you wish.
3. If you need to go out, put on sunscreen.

How to Exfoliate Face Naturally?

Most kitchens have natural ingredients that help exfoliate the skin, including our face. Natural ingredients are gentle on the skin and don’t leave any side effects even if used on sensitive skin. Here are exfoliators and what they consist of:

• Sugar scrub: Sugar (brown or white) and carrier oil (olive oil, coconut oil, or almond oil).
• Coffee Grounds Scrub: Used coffee grounds and a bit of water or yoghourt.
• Baking Soda Exfoliation: Baking soda and water.
• Papaya Enzyme Mask: Ripe papaya.
• Banana and Sugar Scrub: Mashed banana and sugar.

Here’s how to exfoliate your face without scrubbing with natural ingredients:

Oatmeal Scrub

Ingredients

Oatmeal and plain yoghourt or honey.

How to Use

Mix ground oatmeal with yoghourt to create a paste, apply to the face, gently scrub, and rinse. Oatmeal is soothing and suitable for sensitive skin.

Honey and Lemon Scrub

Ingredients

Honey and lemon juice.

How to Use

Mix honey and lemon juice, apply to the skin, and leave on for a few minutes. Gently scrub and rinse. The honey moisturises, while the lemon brightens.

Yogurt and Almond Scrub

Ingredients

Plain yoghourt and finely ground almonds.

How to Use

Mix yoghourt with ground almonds, apply to the skin, massage gently, and rinse off. Almonds provide a mild exfoliation, and yoghourt adds a moisturising element.

Exfoliating Your Face With Sugar

Here’s how to exfoliate your face with sugar:

Ingredients

• Sugar (brown or white)
• Carrier oil (olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil)

Steps

1. Clean your face with soap and water and pat dry properly with a towel.
2. Mix about 1-2 tablespoons of sugar with enough carrier oil to create a paste.
3. Apply the paste on your face and gently massage it.
4. Wait for 2-4 minutes and wash your face with lukewarm water. Make sure there’s no residue left.
5. Pat dry well with a towel and apply a moisturiser and sunscreen.

How Often to Exfoliate Face?

• Normal skin: twice or thrice a week.
• Oily skin: thrice a week.
• Dry skin: once or twice a week.
• Sensitive skin: once a week or once every 10 to 15 days.

These factors define exfoliating frequency:

1. The type of your skin will decide how often you should be exfoliating your face.
2. What type of exfoliant you choose tells how often you should exfoliate. Chemical exfoliants are gentler, so you can use them more often.
3. Based on your climate, you may exfoliate frequently. During dry and cold climates, you should avoid exfoliating quickly.
4. If you’re young, you may exfoliate more often than old people.
5. In case you’re getting redness or skin irritation, you need to reduce your exfoliation frequency. You need to keep checking the results and increase the gap until you stop noticing skin irritation symptoms.
6. If you experienced sunburn or other skin disease (severe acne or any skin infection) recently, you need to reevaluate your exfoliation rate.
7. In case you’re using skincare products with active ingredients, you need to reduce your exfoliation frequency.

Conclusion

Exfoliation has so many benefits for your face so we recommend that you should start exfoliating your face regularly if not already doing so.

But remember that you should find out the right frequency of exfoliation based on your skin type. If you have sensitive skin, then exfoliating once every week or fortnight will be better. But if you need to keep up the glow and charm then you can go twice or thrice a week.

And there are so many exfoliation methods you can try out including natural exfoliators, chemicals, scrubs, masks, etc.