Addicted to daily exfoliation? Don’t feel bad, most people are these days because of the massive over-exfoliation campaign that mainstream clinical skin industry leaders and companies have been spewing for years. According to this outgrown old idea, exfoliation is always the answer. Dry skin? Exfoliate. Wrinkles? Exfoliate. Bored and lonely? Exfoliate. Acne? No problem, just exfoliate. The truth is that this is taking our skin backwards in a bad way. Allow me to explain in more detail why daily exfoliation can damage your skin.
The dead cells of our epidermal layer are a vital component of protection for our dermal layer and part of our skin’s natural anatomy. The short explanation is that these skin cells are supposed to be there!
You need not scrub away the layer of “dead skin cells” on a daily basis, as some skincare brands suggest. You’d be eliminating cells quicker than your dermal layer could sustainably replace them. Meaning, yes your skin will forcibly produce them…but at a price.
This will only cause raw skin, dehydration, and increased sun sensitivity which are all things we must avoid to preserve our skin and prevent wrinkles. It is also worth mentioning here, that excess dead skin does not cause acne. Please read a more in-depth explanation in my blog post does excess skin cells cause acne. Many people that are exfoliation addicted are acne sufferers as they have been told that this is the only way that they can fix their skin. But if you don’t have acne then they get you, too, eventually when you then become concerned about anti-aging. Disappointingly, the current maligned conventional clinical skincare menu will route any and all skin symptoms into…you guessed it! Exfoliation.
To prove this point there has been a whole skin care movement that decidedly does absolutely nothing for their skin. Zero. What these people discovered is that their skin began to improve. Read more about what is the cave man regimen and how does it work. You see, simply by removing all exfoliation practices our skin’s energy can be freed up to actually heal as it does not have to endure the heavy load of over exfoliation. Yep, you read that right…endure. Most skin enthusiasts believe they are giving their skin an enormous gift when they plop themselves down onto the treatment beds at spas everywhere. The truth is that these same dear people are making serious withdrawals from their skin health bank. Learn what the real deposits and withdrawals are for your skin by learning the new basics of holistic skin health.
The overly employed idea of constantly exfoliating the epidermal layer to compulsively “remove dead skin cells,” only leads to an overworked, exhausted, and an underpaid dermal layer, and with time, it’s thickness and health will begin to diminish. Our dermal layer is thinning anyway at 1% a year past the age of 25…now why on earth would we knowingly speed that up?
Especially for us women, as we experience dermal volume loss during menopause. A much smarter obsession than over daily exfoliation is that of providing our skin with Dermal Nutrients that have the ability to fortify and preserve our dermal layer.
These Dermal Nutrients have the capacity to push off old skin cells faster and naturally by speeding up the upwards push of new skin cells that are always already happening from within our skin. This natural renewal process is how our epidermis exists. The cells in our epidermal layer are already dead once they leave our dermal layer…and instantly become part of the skin layer above as our dead epidermis. A dead layer of skin that is essential to our life as we literally would die without it. The closer these skin cells get to the top of our skin, as they migrate towards the top, they get dryer and more compact…then lose the capacity to hold water and eventually invisibly (or visibly) flake and slough off. Our epidermis is a dynamic process of receiving skin cells at the bottom and then releasing them at the top…being supplied from underneath a steady supply of new skin cells…that will eventually rise to the top and fall off…this is repeating our entire lives.
So the old way of forcing our skin to make new skin cells from the trauma of over-exfoliation vs. the new way of inspiring new skin cells from a place of abundance and nourishment is a whole new way to get new skin cells that has a long list of benefits. In essence, this type of new skin cell production is sustainable as it does not undercut our ultimate goal of clear, vibrant, skin that is aging more slowly.
What Is The Right Exfoliation Practices Anyway? Good question!
Balanced harmonized skin: about 1 X month
Mildly congested or hyperpigmented skin: about 2 X a month
Acne or more severely congested skin actively in my Medi-Holistic resurfacing process phase one: about 1 X a week
Enzymes are the best choice for exfoliation as they will not over-remove skin cells the way that the popular glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids do. Exfoliation must always be avoided in the morning and always performed during our evening skincare routine. This way our skin can truly regenerate during the night rather than risk overexposing vulnerable skin to the day’s sun. Exfoliation is similar to cleansing our skin in regards to timing. One of the most common questions I get asked about skin is when is the best time to wash my face?
In summary, swapping out our fixation on exfoliation for the inquiry of how we can feed our skin will go a long way in ensuring that we will arrive at the destination that we have all set out for with our self-care…better off. Looking to exfoliate, but safely? Try Skin Harmonics enzyme exfoliating pack, Revive. Revive is the perfect way to exfoliate without dehydrating your skin.
About the author
I took many wrong turns when I started learning about skin at 19. The more I spent on skincare, equipment, and training, the further I felt from actually helping skin. I was frustrated with only being able to offer temporary and superficial solutions at best. What emerged from the disappointment and turmoil, I now call, The Regenerative Skin Process. Skin Harmonics is a dedicated medical fusion holistic skincare clinic that provides a root cause approach delivering lifetime skin health through medical grade skin care products, new learning, and Deep Pore Cleansing Facials.
