Exfoliation=Instant Gratification
The exfoliating process is probably my favorite skin care step. This will be a two or three part post as there is a lot of information! So I will provide the next part soon! I believe it’s very necessary and provides lots of benefits, but use caution. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Let’s start with the pros first. Number one, let me explain exfoliating. It’s the process of removing dead skin cells, to reveal the brighter, healthier cells within the epidermal or top most layer of the skin. At the dermatologist, they provide even deeper exfoliation that goes down past the dermal layer of the skin, but I really don’t think there’s a need for that unless you have really bad hyper-pigmentation or dark spots, acne pock marks, or you just need a serious resurfacing treatment. I think the best exfoliation is the kind you can do at home! Which that is a lot easier, more cost effective, and much safer! There are a few different types of at home resurfacing. There’s gentle liquid exfoliation, which is safe for everyday. That would include different kinds of gentle acids, such as lactic acid, salicylic acid, and beta hydroxy acids just to name a few. Then there is your manual exfoliant, which I prefer to liquid. A manual exfoliant can be anything from a scrub, to a brush. Be warned: If you get a scrub, make sure it has rounded beads in it, not walnut shells or anything shell like. Walnut shell exfoliants, because they are not ROUND and instead jagged like, they will actually cause mini cuts and abrasions and harm your skin! Stay away from those. It will tell you right on the package if they use some kind of shell or a bead. You want a scrub with beads, mark my words.
I use the Clairisonic Pro to cleanse/exfoliate my skin daily. The Clairisonic is an oscillating brush (rapid vibration), the lifts away dirt, oil, and dead skin cells. I’ll touch more on the Clairisonic in another post. It will need it’s own post because it’s such an extraordinary product. But when I want an extra step in my exfoliation process, I use Aveda’s Tourmaline charged exfoliating cleanser. This stuff is amazing. It’s gentle enough for everyday use, has rounded beads that gently removes dead skin cells, and has a nice creamy base for cleansing. It retails for $29.00 for 5 fl oz. I know it’s a tad pricey, but I’ve had mine for almost a year and a half now. That’s a long time to have a cleanser/exfoliant. It’s definitely worth it.
As far as how you would use an exfoliant, for liquid, you would dispense a small amount on to a cotton ball and swipe over your face every night after you cleanse and tone your skin. Pretty simple. For a manual exfoliant, you will dispense about a pea sized amount into your hands, make sure your face is wet, and you will use your fingers to massage the exfoliant into your skin in circular motions. This will ensure you will have buffed away the dead skin cells so that the new healthy skin cells can make their way to the surface! You probably want to spend 1 to 2 minutes massaging the exfoliant into your skin. Then rinse it off and look at your newly polished glowy radiant skin. You only need to do this once to twice (MAX) a week! I’ll continue this discussion a little further next week! Thanks for reading and feel free to comment! 
Thanks for the great tips!! You rock 😝