When it comes to taking care of our body, we often underestimate specific essential tasks, which are extremely important. Our body sheds almost a layer of dead skin cells every day. But these skin cells don’t leave our bodies even after showering. They stay on our skin and soak up all the moisturizers and skincare products we apply. We need to exfoliate our skin regularly to prevent that from happening.
Chapter Overview
What is exfoliation:
The term exfoliation refers to removing the dead skin cells from our bodies. While the premise of this seems simple, it’s a bit complicated. Generally, there are two ways of exfoliating our skin; these include physical and chemical exfoliation. Physical exfoliation uses scrubs, sponges, exfoliating loofahs, etc. paired with soap, body washes, other skincare products, etc. However, chemical exfoliation is the process of exfoliating your skin with chemical substances. These include glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and relevant skincare products to remove the dry skin cells by disintegrating them and preventing dead skin from accumulating.
While exfoliating might not seem like a big deal, it’s importance is massive. Since it removes the dead skin cells from your body, it helps your skin retain its original glow. Furthermore, it helps your skincare products reach your skin’s depths instead of being wasted by your dead skin cells. In this article, we’ll discuss the ins-and-outs of body exfoliation to save you from the trouble.
Steps of exfoliating your body:
There are two significant types of body exfoliation, physical and chemical. However, the processes are mostly similar, with the only difference being in the products at use. The method of exfoliating your skin are:
- Choose your method: You need to choose which way you want to follow for exfoliating your skin. If you have sufficient time in your hand, you can try physically scrubbing and cleaning your skin. However, if you don’t have much time to work, you can buy some exfoliating agents and do the chemical cleaning method. However, keep in mind that not every product is suitable for every kind of skin, so choose wisely.
- Have a hot water bath/shower: The first part of your exfoliating should be to prepare your skin, and that’s why a bath is essential at the beginning. Having a warm water bath opens the pores of your skin and washes away any extra residues or dirt from here and there. It is advised that you stay in your bathtub or shower for at least 15 minutes to prepare your skin. Furthermore, when you’re washing, try rubbing your skin with your fingers. By doing so, you’ll see many dead skin cells coming off, which you can clean before working with other substances. Also, once you’ve finished your shower, use a towel, and dry yourself thoroughly.
- Clean your skin with a sponge or washcloth: Once you’re done with your shower, you have to start washing your skin. You probably still have dead skin cells all over your body. Right now, it’s essential to prepare your body for the next steps. Now, have a sponge or a washcloth and rub it all over your skin. This will open up the skin pores more and clear the skin from excess dead cells here and there. However, if you have sensitive skin and these cause redness or pain, you can skip this step.
- Scrub your skin: If you’re following the exfoliation’s physical method, this is the most crucial part. Take an exfoliating loofah and rub it all over your body. You can make it a bit wet to make it easier for you. Try applying some pressure to get to the depths of your skin. This is where you will see a lot of dead skin cells coming off, don’t be grossed out by them. Make circular movements with your loofah, and start from the ankle, slowly move upwards. Once you’re done, move to the next step.
- Use an exfoliator: If you chose to skip the physical method, this is a must-do for you. You’ve already chosen your exfoliator from the first step, and you have to use it now. Take some in your hand and apply it gently in your skin. Make circular swirls all over your skin and let it stay for a while. Keeping it for a few minutes is very important if you have cracked skin.
- Exfoliate your face: Once you let the body exfoliators set, you should start exfoliating your face. Since our face is a lot more sensitive and applies a lot more dirt than usual, it’s better to get a separate exfoliator. Choose something that fits your skin type and uniformly apply it all over your face. Be slow and steady through it, and emphasize the “T-zone” of your face.
- Rinse your body: Now that you’ve applied exfoliator all over your body, it’s time to rinse it off. Get under running water and take your time. Use your hands to wipe away the substances from everywhere. Be very cautious because having them on your body for too long can cause skin problems. After showering, dry yourself with a towel. With that, we’re done exfoliating your skin; you should feel the change already.
- Apply moisturizer: Now that we’re done exfoliating, this is an optional, but significant step. To keep your skin healthy for more extended periods, apply moisturizer all over your body. The moisturizer will soak into your skin thoroughly because of the shower and exfoliation. Your skin will remain healthy for much longer.
Conclusion:
Exfoliation gives your skin a new life. It takes away the burden of the dead skin cells and rejuvenates them. However, we have many dead skins every day, so doing it once every blue moon is not a good idea. Try following these simple steps once every three to four days, and you’d be surprised by the changes. We hope you find this article helpful.