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Exfoliating is a great way to help your skin look its best. By removing dead skin cells, exfoliation can help your skin look bright and healthy. However, it’s important to be careful when exfoliating to avoid unnecessary irritation.
With that in mind, keep reading for the one mistake you’re probably making when using an exfoliator.
Exfoliating Daily
Although it may be tempting to scrub your skin daily, doing so can be dangerous.
Celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau explained to Byrdie: "Exfoliating is an essential part of a skincare routine, but doing so daily—for most skin types—is too much. Exfoliating the skin daily with various types of exfoliants can cause several issues: a stripped moisture (lipid) barrier layer resulting in dehydration, flaking, redness, and inflammation; dryness; aging due to chronic and prolonged inflammation; destruction of healthy cells; stimulation of melanin activity possibly resulting in an increase of hyperpigmentation (brown spots and patches); and stinging and irritation of the skin."
With that in mind, staying away from daily scrubs is a good way to protect your skin from over exfoliation.
Instead, stick to exfoliating once or twice a week max to avoid irritating your skin.
Additionally, sticking to a chemical exfoliant rather than a physical one is a good idea, considering chemical exfoliants are typically less harsh on the skin.
