Okay so I had to split this whole thing up into a couple of posts because I have so much to ramble on about. Like I said last time, I exfoliate my skin in a mild way every day with my cleanser and muslin cloth. But some days skin just needs that kick up the butt to make it look like skin again.
I'm not completely adverse to scrubs as long as the grains are tiny and the formula isn't too harsh, but to be honest, I've found a much more effective way in the form of chemical exfoliants.
Chemical exfoliants work by microscopically eating away and dissolving the dead layer on the top of your skin. This sounds scary but it's actually a much gentler way than abrasion. There are two types.. AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids) and BHAs (beta-hydroxy acids). They both pretty much do the same thing but BHAs penetrate the skin more deeply (waheeey). You might have heard of salicylic acid in the treatment of spots.. it's well known for being anti-bacterial and able to go down into the pore to clear it out, this is a BHA.
So AHAs are recommended for less problematic skins as they improve moisture content and only affect the surface layers of skin. BHAs are good for clearing oily, spotty, red skin, although any exfoliation in general can clear up spots.
The first ingredient that I look for is Glycolic Acid, an AHA. The thing is, companies have cottoned on to the instant results and like to charge a bomb for it, so what I use issssssssssssss....
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Glycolic acid is essentially a fruit acid, so I like to get a chunk of fresh pineapple, rub it on my face, let it eat my dead skin, and wash it off. DO NOT leave it on for more than 5 minutes tho.. unless you want chemical burns.
Another is lactic acid, more gentle and found in soured milk. It's more suitable for sensitive skins as it penetrates the skin less readily and can't cause irritation because it increases production of your skin's natural barrier lipids.. basically hydrating the skin. You can find lactic acid in natural yoghurt, so just chucking some on your face and leaving for 10-15 mins should do the trick.
I wouldn't use these any more than once a week for fear of sensitising the skin.. The skin to an extent also gets used to the new rate of cell turnover so you wouldn't see so much of an effect. It's also important that you wear a moisturiser with sunscreen in as new skin gets sun damaged more easily!
If you're a bit scared of the sound of those, I got something in last month's Glossybox that I've been testing out and also loving so far. This one is safe to use every day.
It's the same principle as a chemical exfoliant, but instead uses the enzymes found in rice. An added bonus jonus is that it also has Salicylic acid to fight spots. It comes out as a very suspicious white powder, but when rubbed into a wet face forms a paste. The bottle says not to leave it on for more than a minute, which I can lay testament to because any longer will dry out your skin.
I think I have quite sensitive skin but none of these methods have caused me irritation. As long as you don't go overboard and follow instructions you will be amazed at the difference if can make to the appearance of your skin, it's really improved the scarring and uneven skin texture I had, made it look healthy and I hardly get spots now.
As you might have guessed my next post will be about moisturising :)
P.S. I've got my eye on this.. A wipe of this before bed every other night is *supposed* to work wonders. A bit pricey but I've been impressed by the reviews of it!
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| Image from beautybay.com |
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