Are You Over Exfoliating Your Skin?

A lot has been said about exfoliating skin and the benefits have been convincingly explained. Sure, done correctly, exfoliation can help unclog pores and reduce chances of acne, breakouts, dull skin and other undesirables. But a lot of us have been known to take a good idea too far and take out our anger on our poor skins in a scrubbing frenzy. As much as it is understandable to want to do all we can to achieve smooth flawless skin, over doing anything is not the answer. Your skin is not a piece of wood that needs sanding!

Then beauty industry has responded to our exfoliating needs loudly, churning all sorts of choices for women to scrub the health out of their skins with. Scrubs, some of which feel like river sand are to be found in many a beauty shop and supermarkets. There are sloughing sponges, brushes and other devices and technologies. Coupled with the belief that exfoliation is the holy grail of younger healthier looking skin, women, and the occasional man, have taken to scrubbing their skins too vigorously and too often. Some of us are scrubbing our skins to a point of breaking capillaries, killing even the healthy skin cells, and causing the very breakouts and unhealthy skin that we’re trying to get rid of in the first place. This is one vicious cycle that nobody wants to be trapped in. Its gentle skincare people, not an exorcism.

So what happens on the overdone side of exfoliation? How do you know you’re overdoing things?

• Your skin feels raw and itchy
• Your skin has dry areas in patches
• Your skin begins to break out
• Your skin is too sensitives and inflamed
• Your forehead is too shiny. Almost looking like a mirror. Not good.
• Your skin feels too taut
• Your skin looks puffy and swollen

Do not worry though if you’ve abused your skin with scrubs and sponges. It will not wither and drop dead immediately. The first thing you do is stop the exfoliating business immediately, feed your skin from the inside with health foods especially fruits and vegetables, use healing lotions especially those that contain tea tree and aloe vera – both of which are known to have soothing properties. If things have really gone bad and healing is not going on track, see a dermatologist for professional care.

And treat your skin better after that.

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