Exfoliation - The Key To Beautiful Skin

Hope everyone is having a great week!

I wanted to write today about one of the most under used and over used treatments for your skin - exfoliation. This process is one of the most important for healthy skin, but often people don't use it the right way.

Ever notice how men (who don't smoke) generally seem to have less wrinkles than women of the same age? Ever wonder why? Men don't frill around with expensive cleansers, exfoliants and moisturizers, they just shave, sometimes throw on some after shave, and head out the door. By shaving, they're gently exfoliating the dead skin off their face, allowing the healthy, fresh skin underneath to shine through.

There are many different products that can help with exfoliation...and I have had many favorites in my skincare obsessed days. Some of my favorites include Freeze 24/7's IceCrystals, which leaves your skin feeling velvety soft, and claims to lighten scars, age spots and oil, SAMPAR's Equalizing Foam Peel Mousse, which comes in a gel form and uses probiotics to eat away at dead skin cells.

While exfoliants come in both gel or cream textures, or contain itty bitty pieces of exfoliating particles, your skin texture and type will need to determine which you use. Since I have oily skin, I've tried to stick with gel forms, since I find they keep me less greasy throughout the day.

Along with great products designed to slough off dead skin, machines such as the Clairsonic and Pretika can help to get the deep clean you dream of. Most put their cleanser directly onto the machine's scrubbing head, and cleanse their face with it nightly. WARNING: Your face will probably break out for a week or two after starting this type of procedure - the deep cleansing will bring things out from way under the surface of the skin.

I, personally, have the Pretika but find it a hassle to use. The beeping and the charging and the cleaning of the head nightly gets slightly annoying for my low maintenance outlook on cleansing (this comes from sheer laziness...the machine works great). Instead, I use a regular Buf Puf style sponge, you can find these without any cleanser in it (just the exfoliating sponge) at a multiple of stores including Rite Aid and Walmart, and they usually cost $1-$2. The great thing about these is you can replace them every month, and not have to worry about things growing in them if they're rinsed properly each night.

I use this sponge with my cleanser directly on it (Payot's Mousse Nettoyant) after initially rinsing off my makeup. This can be used right in the shower, and I suggest you do this after conditioning your hair to ensure nothing can clog pores. Weekly, I place my scrubbing sponge into a bowl and pour hot water over it. This will ensure it's sterility.

I've been using this procedure on my skin for about 6 months, and can't explain how much better my skin looks. It feels softer, looks brighter, and doesn't have the flaking and caking that face makeup may bring. This $1 sponge was one of the best dollars I've ever spent!

What do you use to exfoliate? Have you had any good/bad experiences with products? Let me know!