Long long back, I remember reading a comment on my blog about how a reader uses olive oil + sugar every single day to keep her skin soft. Well, as much as I love sugar or salt for scrubbing, I would love to say it is not for everyday. Exfoliating everyday harms the skin in the long run. In fact, recently, I came across an article which claims that it is better to skip exfoliation altogether as a skin care step. And, then, I thought it might be a good idea to look at the reason why we should do so.
I’m not crazy about scrubs because clients abuse them,” says Czech. “They go crazy with them and it results in tons of broken capillaries. If you just use a cleanser and washcloth to wash your face every night, that’s enough exfoliation. (Source)
If you have been lately feeling that your skin is not doing well even after a lot of your efforts, the answer might be that you are just doing too much. So, let us see why exfoliation can be an unnecessary step for some.
#1. Easy to go Overboard with it!
Once upon a time when I had done some post on skin care, one of the readers had mentioned that she scrubs her skin everyday with oil+sugar. When I told her that it might be a tad too much, she said she loved how soft her skin felt.
But, my personal opinion about the practice since then has always been that it is very easy to go overboard. It is easy to love the feel of the skin and do it everyday in quest of the same result. It is important to remember at such a time that everything in excess is harmful.
#2. Picking the Right Products
Scrubs and exfoliators come in various types. Some of them are made of apricot and other beads, some are dissoluble beads, some are creamy chemicals and so on.
Among all these products, some of them are too soft on skin and might not do enough, some of them are too hard for any skin and some of them might look gentle but they are actually very effective which again results in #1.
One never really knows what to choose unless they can try it and then it is human nature to get bored of using the same product every time. And, since we do tend to find a better product than before, trying out too many products is not really good for skin.
#3. Can Aggravate Acne and Breakouts
Scrubs and exfoliators are the top most products you need to skip if your skin is prone to breakouts or acne.
But, yes, there is a caveat here!
Generally, salicylic acid is used to counter acne and its bacteria to prevent further inflammation.
For acne prone skin, one can use alpha or beta hydroxy acids which are extremely effective and do not irritate the skin much if done right!!
#4. Double-Duty Face Wash can replace Scrubs
So, as I mentioned in #3, any face wash with hydroxy acids or any other activated ingredients, like charcoal is quiet a trend these days, can actually act as a double duty face wash.
And, also remember that since you are using your face wash at least twice a day, it is always better to make sure that the face wash is gentle enough for your skin. So, if you are using a face wash with activated ingredients or acids, it is better to use them twice or thrice a week (and only once a day) and use a regular face wash on other days. Also, using a wash cloth along with your face wash is also a good enough scrub.
This is very true and very few people are aware about it, Swati. Especially I see lot of girls in 20s complaining of broken capillaries near the cheeks and around the nose + mouth area. It’s mostly caused by using harsh scrubs, bleaches and chemicals on the skin. Good post to bring about awareness to this concern.
Agree! Too much exfoliation can disturb the ‘mantle’ of the skin and leave it open to infections from bacteria and acne etc.
I exfoliate my skin twice a week. As i am a lazy bum I scrub my skin only for a minute or two. I agree too much of exfoliation is harmful for the skin!
It is okay to use natural skin care and you’re right it should not be done every day. Thank you for these tips to take care of our skin for long-term purposes.