Exfoliating is one of the best ways to refresh your skin. It’s an ancestral method that gently removes dead skin cells and brings new life to your face and body. Best of all, it’s an easy spa treatment you can do at home.
In this guide, we explore all the different ways to exfoliate — comparing natural methods to chemical and spa treatments. From face to body and feet, there are different ways to exfoliate, depending on your skin type and needs. Let’s review all the options and find the best fit for you.
The Benefits of Exfoliating
Exfoliating treatments are nothing new. They’ve been practiced for thousands of years and span nearly every culture — from Native America to Turkey to China. Today, the Turks are perhaps the most well known for their exfoliating practices with the Turkish Bath.
Here are just a few benefits of exfoliating on a regular basis:
- Remove dead skin. This is helpful for cleansing pores and nourishing new skin cells.
- Boost hydration. By removing dead skin cells and dirt, it becomes easier for your skin to absorb hydration. We often recommend exfoliation before applying lotions or tallow balm for the best effect.
- Soften skin. If you want soft and supple skin, turn to exfoliation before chemical moisturizers. This simple habit is often free and easy to do at home.
- Enhance skincare absorption. With a regular exfoliating routine, you’ll get better results from your skincare products. You’ll be able to nourish healthy skin cells without having to cut through dead cells and dirt.
- Improve circulation. This is great for pain management and for renewing your skin. Blood flow is also one of the most essential components of wrinkle prevention and glowing skin.
- Slow aging. Between the removal of dead skin cells, the hydration boost, and increased blood flow, exfoliation is known to slow aging. This is especially helpful when you exfoliate your whole body, since anti-aging creams are only made for the face and neck.
How to Exfoliate in Just 3 Steps
Exfoliating is a simple three-step process:
- Use an exfoliating tool or product and rub it against your skin in a circular motion.
- Rinse away all of the product (or simply set your tool aside).
- Moisturize with a nutrient-dense product (like tallow lotion).
Depending on the product you use and the part of your body you want to focus on, each exfoliating session can look a little bit different…
Exfoliating the Face
Always opt for a gentle tool when exfoliating the face. A mini dry brush, facial sponge, or product designed for the face (like glycolic acid) is best. Gently rub your tool or product across your face in a circular motion, taking extra care in sensitive areas. You should always exfoliate your face lightly, with careful movements. When finished, rinse with lukewarm and filtered water.
How to Exfoliate the Body
If you’re using a body scrub, exfoliating glove, or silk sea sponge, you’ll want to exfoliate in the shower. Make sure you know how to use each product and when to begin the exfoliation process during your bathing routine. Typically, you’ll want to exfoliate before shaving and finish with a powerful moisturizer.
Gently exfoliate in a circular motion, starting with your shoulders and ending with your legs and feet. You’ll want to rinse off with lukewarm water, taking care to avoid extreme heat and any chemical products during the exfoliating process.
- If you’re using a dry brush, you’ll want to exfoliate before a shower with an intentional dry brushing routine. This routine should also pump your lymphatic system and boost your energy levels.
- If you’re using a Turkish kese, we recommend using Moroccan black soap before the exfoliating process. This softens the skin and prepares it for the glove.
How to Exfoliate Feet
Since our feet are prone to callouses and rough skin, it’s okay to use a harsher tool here. To begin the process, you’ll want to soak your feet in a warm shower, bath, or foot soak. Then, use a pumice stone or foot file to remove dead skin and callouses. Rinse with warm water and repeat as needed. After you’re finished, apply tallow balm or another moisturizer to your heels and any affected areas. To trap in the moisture, wear socks for an hour or so.
Chemical Exfoliants vs. Physical Exfoliants
If you’re exfoliating the face, you have the option of choosing a chemical exfoliant or natural exfoliant. Here’s the difference between the two…
Chemical exfoliants. Even though they have the word “chemical” in the name, these exfoliants aren’t necessarily toxic. The term refers to acids or enzymes that cleanse dead skin and dirt without using physical pressure. Most chemical exfoliants fall into the category of alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) or beta-hydroxy acids (BHA), and they are used primarily for the face.
Physical exfoliants. These are the exfoliant methods that require a little elbow grease. They’re more commonly used across the whole body and include dry brushing, body polish, and bath mitts. These methods are cheaper than chemical exfoliants and have more trustworthy ingredients (depending on where you source your products).
The Best Exfoliating Tools
Now that you’re ready for a spa session, you need the best exfoliating tools. Most of our favorite options are physical exfoliants, since you can reuse these tools. But there are a few body polish and AHA fruit acid products we love, too.
Dry Brush
The real benefit of dry brushing is the lymphatic support. Since your lymphatic system lives just under your skin, a dry brushing routine helps move this fluid and release toxins. With this method, you’ll experience a gentle exfoliation over your entire body. You’ll boost your immune system, increase circulation, and even feel more energized. This is one of the only exfoliating routines you can do with dry skin.
Body Polish
A natural body polish combines exfoliating ingredients (like sugar, salt, or coffee) with a moisturizing formula. This way, you can cleanse your skin while replacing dirt and dead skin with nourishing ingredients. Most drugstore body polish products contain fillers and toxic ingredients. To find a healthy body polish, look for ingredients like tallow, raw beeswax, shea butter, and cocoa butter.
Homemade Sugar Scrub
This is a simple product you can make at home with items from your pantry. Just combine sugar (or salt) with a nourishing oil (jojoba oil, coconut oil, or olive oil). Add a squeeze of lemon juice to help lighten scars. Then, hop in the shower and scrub in circular motions across your body, focusing on extra-dry areas like elbows and knees.
Turkish Kese (Or an Exfoliating Mitt)
With just a few tools, you can experience the world-famous Turkish bath from home. Using ancestral techniques, the Turkish bath is a step-by-step routine that leaves you with unbelievably smooth skin. You can get this experience at home by using a Turkish kese or an exfoliating bath mitt.
Silk Sea Sponge
This is one of our favorite tools for a luxury bathing experience. We personally source our silk sea sponges from the Caribbean, so they’re completely natural and an eco-friendly alternative to plastic loofahs. A sea sponge is the “lazy girl” method of exfoliating, since it’s just habit stacking with your shower routine. We also love this method for extremely sensitive skin because the exfoliation is so gentle.
AHA Fruit Acids
The most well known example of alpha-hydroxy (AHA) fruit acids is glycolic acid. But AHA fruit acids are a group of chemical exfoliants that cleanse and refresh skin (without physical pressure). Other examples include lactic acid and malic acid.
Ingredient processing is important when choosing your AHA fruit acids. Some of them are synthetically made or exposed to formaldehyde and carbon monoxide during manufacturing. But high-quality AHA fruit acids (straight from the fruit) that come from a trustworthy source are a powerful way to nourish and refresh your face.
How Often Should You Exfoliate?
Exfoliating isn’t a gentle practice. Too much resistance against your skin can irritate it, so it’s important to begin exfoliating slowly. Start by exfoliating your face and body once a week. When you feel comfortable, you can work your way up to two or three times a week. The frequency you choose will depend on the sensitivity of your skin and how much dirt and grime builds up throughout the week.
When You Shouldn’t Exfoliate
Exfoliating can be harsh on your skin, so there are times when it’s not advised to exfoliate. Here’s when you should hold off…
- You’re sunburned. Sensitive and sunburned skin should always be protected. It’s not a good idea to exfoliate until your sunburn is healed.
- You have cuts or broken skin. Exfoliating an open wound will hurt and can worsen the cut or scrape.
- You have acne breakouts. Gentle exfoliation can reduce acne, but you should never exfoliate during an active breakout when the skin is broken or sore.
- You have highly sensitive skin. Talk to a dermatologist if your skin is extremely sensitive and regularly peels.
The Best Ways to Nourish Your Skin Are Often the Simplest
For the first time in history, we’re normalizing eight-step skincare routines. But for much of the ancient world, people relied on simple and impactful skincare practices that worked (and only required a quick morning routine). One of these practices is exfoliation. It’s an easy habit that comes with so many powerful benefits, including better circulation, smooth skin, and cell turnover.
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