Refresh Your Routine: Exfoliate

28Jan
By Skin Care 101

Refresh Your Routine: Exfoliate

Welcome back to the simple five-step routine that will overhaul your skincare for 2021. School is now in session and I hope everybody did last week’s homework. Your skin should be double cleansed, toned, and ready for step three!

Exfoliation is something I had been completely ignoring my entire life until Rae shocked me to my core with cold, hard facts. Truly, this is not a step to skip. So, let’s get into it. What is this very important third step in a basic skincare routine? How often should you be exfoliating? And what on earth is a non-granular exfoliating peel? Have a pen and paper ready, here’s the lowdown on exfoliation.

Step Three: Exfoliate

What is exfoliation? Exfoliating is the process of manually removing dead skin cells and build up to reveal a radiant complexion. While the skin naturally turns over new cells, this slows down as you age. Exfoliation helps aid the process and speed up cell renewal to leave you with a smooth and more youthful appearance.

What happens if you don’t exfoliate? I asked Rae to explain why this is such an important step and she told me:

“Imagine you are watering a garden covered in a layer of dead leaves. No matter how much you try, the water isn’t going to sink through to the soil. Think of your skin as the leaves. Exfoliation removes the top layer of dead skin and allows the products to sink in properly. If your skin isn’t exfoliated, you’re not going to get the full benefit of your products.”
Rae Williams
National Trainer, Eminence Organic Skin Care Australia

If that doesn’t convince you to exfoliate, I’m not sure what will. But before you rush to exfoliate your face ten times over to make up for past mistakes, let’s quickly discuss how often you should be doing so. Just to make things a tad more complicated, over-exfoliation is also an issue. If you exfoliate too often you can cause irritation. Skin has a natural barrier designed to protect and to lock in moisture. When you over-exfoliate, it upsets the barrier. It’s easy to avoid any dramas if you stick to exfoliating three times a week and only use high quality exfoliants.

Like goldilocks and her porridge, you need to figure out which Eminence exfoliant will be perfect for you. There are two types of exfoliation: granular and non-granular. This comes back to the texture you enjoy. The Pear and Poppy Microderm Polisher is a granular exfoliant, containing ground poppy seeds and fine walnuts to create a gritty feeling whereas the Stone Crop Oxygenating Fizzofoliant and Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant are powder based and although they contain a granule, it is much finer. Power exfoliants can be mixed with a cleanser for a flash two-in-one facial.

 

However, if you’d prefer something even gentler, non-granular may be a better option. The VitaSkin Exfoliating Peels are one of Eminence’s best kept secrets. The peels are applied in a circular motion with a cotton round to gently remove dead skin cells and reveal a radiant complexion. The two sides of the included cotton rounds have different textures for you to choose what will suit your skin. Rae advises for combination skin to use the more textured side for the t-zone and the less textured for the cheeks. This will deliver a more targeted exfoliation for a smooth, buffed finish. The best thing about the exfoliating peels is that you can choose the skin concern you would like to target. Breakouts, hyperpigmentation, ageing, or sensitivity, there is a peel to suit everyone. All four peels are loaded with powerhouse organic ingredients to exfoliate and treat. 

With the wide range of exfoliants Eminence offers, it’s easy to forget that once upon a time, exfoliation wasn’t this simple. Rae let me know that there used to be a strong belief that for an exfoliant to work, you really needed to ‘feel’ it. This led to abrasive and damaging exfoliants that could cause small tears in the skin. Thankfully, that is behind us. Repeat after me, skincare shouldn’t be painful. Products like the VitaSkin Peels mean you can exfoliate without feeling a thing and enjoy all the benefits. Yes please!

To really take your exfoliation to the next level, consider the Arctic Berry Peptide Peel System. The three-step process is designed to exfoliate, activate, and illuminate, and is perfect to keep that glow going in-between spa treatments! This kit is a must-have for anyone concerned with ageing or hyperpigmentation. Included is a peel treatment to use once a week and a daily moisturiser that contains a peptide illuminating complex to boost collagen naturally. What are you waiting for?

Tune back in next week for the final instalment and last two steps for your revamped new year routine.

Has exfoliation been a staple in your skincare routine? Still have more questions about granular versus non-granular? Connect with us on social media and let us know!