Exfoliate Your Way to Healthier, More Radiant Skin
You've probably heard over and over how important it is to exfoliate your skin. Why is it so important? Exfoliation can help maintain your skin’s healthy glow and prevent acne and other blemishes. The epidermis is composed of around 30 layers of cells stacked upon each other like bricks. Like a brick wall, an intercellular “cement” runs between them like glue, and between the cells are microscopic fibers that anchor them together. Daily epidermal cells are invisibly shed through the body’s natural means of exfoliation. But dead skin cells can build up, and our bodies need help freeing the skin’s surface of these cells and other clogging debris that can cause blemishes. Poor exfoliation practices and plugging beneath the skin’s surface can lead to acne, blackheads and even large-looking pores.
The most common form of exfoliation is physical exfoliation, or mechanically removing superficial layers of the skin. This can be done with a buff puff, loofa or washcloth, or with exfoliating cleansers containing sugar or salt crystals, ground up pits or seeds or any other small abrasive particle.
Chemical exfoliation involves applying products containing a form of alpha hydroxy acids and/or beta hydroxy acid that dissolve the glue around the skin cells, hastening the shedding of several layers of the epidermis.
In recent years, microdermabrasion has become a popular exfoliation method both in spa or dermatologist settings or at home. Microdermabrasion involves a series of treatments where tiny rough particles are blown onto the skin and vacuumed away in a closed loop system. This helps remove the more superficial skin cells, revealing the fresher, healthier skin below. In an office or spa setting these repeat treatments may become costly, though effective.
Whichever method you choose, just be sure to exfoliate the skin (both body and face) regularly to keep it fresh and reduce the signs of aging. Here are some of our most popular exfoliating products:
DERMAdoctor Physical Chemistry facial microdermabrasion + multiacid chemical peel is the first single-step, high-potency multiacid chemical peel and microdermabrasion treatment in one. Chemical peels simply dissolve the glue that cements skin cells together; microdermabrasion treatments merely break the fibers. Physical Chemistry does both, providing a complete, thorough, medically effective exfoliation.
KP Duty Body Scrub, another “double duty” product, acts as a chemical peel and microdermabrasion session in one, delivering serious medi-exfoliation. This allows dermatologist-recommended skin therapies to provide deeper, more thorough results. It’s great for preparing the skin for self tanning and post-bathing treatments. The smooth, non-abrasive synthetic beads lift away dead skin cells without inflicting trauma to the epidermis, leaving skin resurfaced, soft, smooth and radiant.
By Amy Burger
DERMAdoctor Staff Writer
This content is sponsored by DERMAdoctor. The author receives compensation for its creation. All content is the legal copyright of DERMAdoctor, Inc, and it may not be used, reprinted, or published without written consent.
The information provided is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide medical, legal or other professional advice.
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