Every winter, we’re told to slough off those dead skin cells, stat! And it’s not bad advice per se. Unless, of course, you’re gleefully sanding off the top three layers of your skin with a harsh, chunky scrub–or, worse yet, something with plastic microbeads. It’s easy to be lured in by the promise of glowing skin, faster cell turnover and smooth texture, but you may be causing major damage in the process if you’re not careful.
Before you jump in and start exfoliating your face and your feet with the same scrub or potent acid, it helps to know the basics. For instance, how often is too often? What’s the difference between a chemical and a physical exfoliator? Should you go for glycolic acid or lactic acid? Should you really be putting something called an ‘acid’ on your face? And what can you do if you went a bit overboard?
Exfoliating 101
First things first: what is exfoliating, and why are we doing it? ‘Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells on the skin’s surface that are already about to slough off, [thanks to
