Body Exfoliation
Posted by Dana Ramos, author of the best-selling book: The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin on Mar 18, 2019
Spring is so so close! Time to start thinking of shorter sleeves, shorts and skirts, shirts with lower necklines—and letting your skin get some fresh air!
During the winter, we tend to focus on our hands and faces and neglect the skin that is covered up all day (and night). This can lead to problems.
For instance, have you ever rubbed your skin—or given someone else a back rub—and little grey balls of skin start to form and stick to your hands? That is dead skin rubbing off and you should not let it accumulate: Your skin needs to "breathe" all over your body, and when it can't, your skin can suffer clogged pores, blocked sweat glands, or acne and other pimple-like bumps. In addition to looking gross, the bacteria mixed with dead skin cells can create a foul body odor, even if you have recently showered.
It’s an easy fix! All you need is a good pair of body scrubbing gloves (like those found at Bed Bath and Beyond or online or in many drugstores). A washcloth doesn't have as much scrubbing power so go with the gloves or a really good loofah sponge. *You get to choose a Free one with a purchase of our Glycolic & Lactic 15% Body Wash!
Lather up the gloves with a good skin soap such as Dove (or an deodorant soap like Lever), and scrub every inch of your body--don't overlook areas such as between your toes and your navel. I find it easier to use a body wash, like the Aveeno liquid soap body wash, instead of bar soap; I just pour some on the gloves and start scrubbing. For extra exfoliating power, use the Glycolic and Lactic 15% Body Wash.
If you have never performed a full body scrub--or haven't in a long while--you can't expect to get off all your dead skin in one session. Repeat the body scrub every other day for a week, and you should then be properly exfoliated. After a week, do a scrub every five to seven days to keep your skin smooth, polished, and glowingly clean.
After a body scrub, protect your skin with a good moisturizer--use an oil-free moisturizer like CeraVe or Cetaphil if you have bump or acne-prone skin, or another dermatologist favorite like Lubriderm if you have dry skin--all are available in most drugstores. For even more moisturizing power, you might like rubbing on some coconut, grapeseed, or olive oil--available at most supermarkets.
If your skin doesn’t need much more than good exfoliation with the gloves or loofa, and just needs moisture replacement after the scrub. You can’t go wrong with Pure virgin shea butter as your all-over moisturizer.
As for the bumps on the back of your arms and legs (which are most likely clogged pores) or rough skin on your elbows or knees, here is a great suggestion: After your scrub, apply a lotion with glycolic acids and hydration, such as the Glycolic Hyaluronic Serum.
Glycolic acids aid in exfoliation as well as clearing clogged pores; combined with the exfoliating scrub, you should see a quick improvement in a matter of days if you apply it every day (or every other day for sensitive skin) for about a week. If you have rough skin all over, go for the 25% Triple Treat Body Lotion to quickly achieve all-over smoothness.
If you want to try something even stronger, consider a body peel with a 70% glycolic acid. *Get the large, 2oz. bottle for this. This is something you would apply for about 10 minutes and then rinse off. Over the course of the next 3-4 weeks, you will see flakes coming off all over your body as the acid causes regeneration in your skin. You can do this one time per month only. Consider it a treatment.
If you keep your body properly exfoliated, you will feel the difference the moment you step out of the shower--your skin will feel lighter and fresh, as if it is breathing. It actually is breathing easier, now that the layer of crud is off your pores!