Skincare: Step 2 - Exfoliators

Step Two of all skin care routines should be an exfoliator. They literally come in all different shapes and sizes – you can get really gentle exfoliators or heavy-duty exfoliators; some come with lots of bits and bobs inside them or you can get ones with micro-particles; daily exfoliators or exfoliators you can use once to twice a week. However at the end of the day they should all do the same thing.

An exfoliator is a wonderful invention; the main purpose of this is to remove dead skin cells from your face. Your skin regenerates new skin cells every day – I always say new skin cells form at 12pm, which is why you should sleep (there isn’t actually a set time but sleep is essential for healthy skin). Your skin does have the ability to shed itself however exfoliation actually allows your skin to appear brighter as the dead skin cells on the top give you a duller complexion.

I’ve been quite committed to the same exfoliator for the last 3 or so years purely because it’s the best for me. I think before that I used a pomegranate one by clean and clear? I cannot remember at all but lets move on to my all time favourite – Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub (you can now get it at Boots!). Before anyone thinks it has some form of bleach in it to make your skin lighter, it certainly does not.

You may have already seen this product in my skin-care routine late last year, my routine has altered a bit from then but not drastically most products are still there. The great thing about this product is that the microbeads are so tiny and the texture of the product is so gentle that it’s so far the most perfect product I have found for my eczema-prone-combination skin.

Most exfoliators are NOT daily scrubs like mine, so please check the instruction or packaging before use as over-exfoliation causes so much more damage to the skin especially as it’s starting to get warmer which means the sun will go ahead and destroy your skin with no mercy (probably not that dramatically though).

Normally exfoliators are used once a week or once every three days, this is because most are pretty harsh and so you won’t necessarily need to use it every day. The one I use is a daily one because it’s extremely gentle so can be used everyday which is fine for me as that way I’ll never forget to exfoliate.

Advantages of Exfoliating

-       New pretty skin cells,

-       Brighter complexion,

-       Reduces likelihood of spots

Disadvantages of Exfoliating

-       Over exfoliating is very easily obtained

I hope this helps, if you have any recommendations for exfoliators that you think I could use please tell me. 

Thank you for reading J

P.S. If you do have any questions, go ahead and ask. I'll try to answer them to the best of my abilities however I am not a professional.