Do you remember a time when there were a lot of movies coming out that featured these kind of rugged looking men talking tough? Those were fun movies, even if now we look back on them and maybe have some conflicting feelings about how they portrayed interpersonal relations. 

These heroes with their dry, damaged skin, and deep wrinkles cut into the faces from squinting into the sun created a vision of heroism that is potentially uniquely male. There certainly aren’t any big prizes for women who choose to adopt that look.

But how many men do you see who voluntarily take that look on themselves? It’s just not great is it? When you don’t have the benefit of movie make-up, lighting, and an awesome soundtrack to give your appearance a context where we’re supposed to understand that it’s awesome that you look like this, you can just end up looking well…haggard.

And who wants that? No one. Ask a man on the street if he wants to look like a renegade cop from a tough guy movie and he’ll probably say that he does. But what about when he starts actually looking like that? He’ll freak out of course.

So no matter your gender, how can you avoid looking like a cigarette smoked you?

Exfoliation is a step in your skincare routine that you might be doing already, but the renegade cop definitely isn’t. It’s the step that you can add in to keep your skin looking youthful and feeling smooth.

Let’s take a look.

Why Should You Exfoliate?

There are a couple of good reasons.

People with dry skin stand to gain the most from exfoliation, but everyone should do it for the same reasons. It all comes down to dead skin cells.

Our bodies are in a constant state of renewal. Old cells are dying and being replaced by new cells. This is apparent perhaps nowhere more than our skin which has broad swaths of area that are visible to the people around us. This can mean our faces, for sure, but also our elbows, our feet and even our thighs depending on the time of year and whether we like to go to the pool!

When a cell dies it is still connected to the other cells around it. A natural chemical reaction breaks down the bond between the living skin cells and the dead ones. When this reaction is complete, the dead skin cell can slough off and fall away forever.

But, and you knew we were coming to this:

As we age these chemical processes slow, so the amount of dead cells clinging to the exterior of our skin grows, leading to visible dry patches. Additionally, the more dry skin you have, the more likely those clumps of dead cells are to roll into a pore, clogging it and leading to blemishes.

What’s the answer to this rough, uneven, and potentially damaging texture?

Exfoliation.

What Are the Benefits of Exfoliation?

There are three major benefits of exfoliation.

1.) Heightened Cell Turnover - Cell turnover is what keeps your skin looking young and fresh. When new skin cells are showing through, this leads to what a lot of people in the skincare industry like to refer to as “glowing” skin. While your skin won’t literally “glow”, freshly revealed, young skin cells give off a certain youthful vitality that present day influencers prize.

2.) Dead Skin Removal - If anyone asked you if you wanted to be carrying around a bunch of dead skin on your face, we can imagine what your answer would be. Let’s be real, that dead skin isn’t doing anything but holding you back. Get rid of it! Not only will you be lifting the curtain on the fresh cell underneath, you’ll be avoiding potential blemishes.

3.) Better Absorption - Why waste precious actives on dead skin? Feed the skin that is doing the work with high nutrient density skin foods like Sea Kelp Coral or rejuvenating sprays like High Potency EGF.

How Do You Exfoliate?

There are a couple of ways to exfoliate and their effectiveness varies based on your skin type.

Now we shouldn’t go any further without reminding you of one of the first rules of the Skin Actives Way: Don’t go overboard with exfoliation. We’ll talk some more about how often you should be exfoliating later, but remember, in skincare sometimes less is more. Often times, especially in skin care, a little is all you need, and even just a bit more is too much.

We are not advocating scrubbing or subjecting yourself to unnecessarily harsh chemical peels. Remember to love yourself and do the best with what you have, but never hurt yourself in the name of beauty.

There are two types of exfoliators, and Skin Actives Scientific is proud to produce both.

Mechanical Exfoliation - Includes two types of exfoliators. One would be brushes, gloves and sponges available at your local big box beauty store. The other would be scrubs and washes that are designed to wear away dead skin with mild friction. Our Enzyme Exfoliation Powder would be an example of a mechanical exfoliant that has some great chemical properties.

Chemical Exfoliation - This type of exfoliation is based on encouraging the breakdown of the chemical bonds that are holding dead skin cells in place. This requires mild acids that loosen those cells free so you can wipe them away. Skin Actives produces a variety of chemical exfoliators including our Pumpkin Enzyme Exfoliant and our brand new Glycolic Alpha-Beta Exfoliant.

If you’ve been hearing a lot about glycolic acid lately, you’re not alone. Glycolic acid is a alpha-hydroxy-acid (AHA) that breaks down the bonds between skin cells and has become increasingly popular in recent years. 

We’re very proud to add this refreshed product to our line up. You can try it right now for 30% off its regular retail price! Check out Glycolic Alpha-Beta Exfoliant today.

Tips For Exfoliation

If you’re already a die-hard exfoliator, congratulations! We’re certain you can attest to the efficacy of this skin care step. If you’re new to exfoliation, it’s very easy to get started.

Cleanse First - If you’re challenged by dry skin, dermatologists recommend cleansing with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser

If You Have Sensitive Skin - you should consider avoiding mechanical exfoliation in favor of chemical. This might seem counter intuitive, wouldn’t exposing your face to acids, however mild be more disruptive than abrasion? We find that our exfoliants at Skin Actives Scientific are mild enough to be used by those with sensitive skin, and that chemical interaction is easier to control than the agitation of a scrub.

Circular Motions - remember to apply your exfoliator in circular motions. We see this on TV a lot in skin care demonstrations so we might think that is just something that looks good for the camera. But it’s better for you too!

Revitalize - When you're done exfoliating, pat your face dry, don’t rub. This process is kind of caustic to the skin and so now is a good time to give yourself a break. Follow up with some of our tremendous classics like Collagen Serum or High Potency EGF Spray. These products will absorb easily into fresh skin and immediately promote collagen synthesis maintaining that healthy radiance.

How Often Should You Exfoliate?

This is a question that comes up a lot. And it’s complicated.

The traditional answer is: “As much as your skin can take.”

That sounds sort of like a challenge doesn’t it? Like, you are being asked to push your skin as hard as you can. We would never recommend that. Instead we’ll reframe in this way:

You should exfoliate one to three times a week, as much as your skin can take. Meaning, if once or twice is too much, then cut back. Maybe every other week is fine for you. There are people who exfoliate every other day, and we have even heard from people who use our amazing Vitamin C 15% Serum daily, though we don’t recommend that. We certainly hear from many members of the Skin Actives Family who use our Vitamin C 20% Serum a couple of times a week with no problems.

So, we hope that you take what you have learned here today and apply it to your skincare routine.

Thanks for joining us once again Skin Actives Family, we’ll see you here again next week for a brand new blog!