I don’t know about you, but we absolutely adore giving our skin some love and care, especially after a hectic couple of weeks or a day. The relaxation we get from our skincare routine… Ugh it’s bliss! One thing that’s been turning heads and stirring up a real skin-care conversation lately is exfoliation and we thought we’d share a bit of our knowledge on it, especially for our friends that are just starting out their skincare journey. And the buzz is all about chemical and physical exfoliation!
Let’s start by understanding why we exfoliate in the first place, shall we? If you’re anything like me, with sensitive and combination skin, you may have battled clogged pores, dullness and all sorts of ‘hey, why is my skin doing this’ scenarios. That’s where exfoliation comes in. It gets rid of all the dead skin cells on our face, and gives more rejuvenated, healthier skin. But not all exfoliants are right for us. There are two types of exfoliants out here – chemical and physical.
With physical exfoliants, we experience using scrubs like those little microbeads, gritty face washes or scrubby gloves. They manually sweep away the dead skin cells.
On the other side, we’ve got chemical exfoliants. Don’t let the word “chemical” scare or intimidate you! These products include things like AHAs and BHAs, which dive deep into your skin to detach and dissolve the glue holding those dead skin cells together. Now that we know what exfoliation is, here comes the real question – which one is better for you? Here’s where knowing our skin type is super important and pays off! It’s like trying to order a coffee but not knowing what flavours you prefer.
If you have skin similar to mine – sensitive and combination, physical exfoliants might make your skin so irritated it’ll literally roar. The scrubs can be harsher than our African dads when we’re out late. (Just kidding, dad. Love you!). So, chemical exfoliants might be a more gentle choice. However, for those who’ve been blessed with oilier or thicker skin, you might find physical exfoliants to be perfect for you, as they are capable of a deeper cleanse. Just remember, lovelies, too much of anything is not good. So we need to go easy on the exfoliation, we’d suggest two to three times a week at max!
Lastly, remember, it’s your skin. We’d advise to experiment gently, see what makes it feel good and confident! We think it’s important to understand your skin and sitting down with a good dermatologist is never a bad decision.
