Buff Up: How Often Should You Exfoliate Your Face and Body?

Exfoliating is not that complicated, especially if you follow this easy guide for face and body (and for always) care…

Exfoliating is an important yet often misunderstood beauty ritual. Sloughing your skin too often can cause irritation and yet not doing it at all can lead to build-up of dead cells (and a lot of dullness). Then there’s the issue of should you exfoliate your face as often as your body? So many questions.

We’re here with some answers — and a handy guide! Consider this your go-to advice for how to exfoliate your face and body, covering all the basics you need to know to keep your skin soft and glowy, without making things complicated.

 

For Your Face

How often you exfoliate depends on your skin type. If you’re feeling oily, you can do it daily with products like your cleanser and vitamin C serum. If you’re sensitive or dry, use these products every other day. Then, rotate in a nightly retinol oil a few times a week (again, as tolerated by your skin type).

For an extra boost a few times a month, you can dry brush your face (just use a brush specially designed for your face, not body) or apply a sloughing enzyme mask. Here are the best picks for your routine:

Daily refining cleanser: Juice Beauty Exfoliating Cleanser

Vitamin C serum and retinol oil: Sunday Riley Multivitamins Kit

Gentle face brush: Province Apothecary Dry Brush

Enzyme face mask: Ursa Major Bright + Easy 3-Minute Flash Mask

For Your Body

Skin on your limbs is thicker than your face, so it can handle a little more rubbing to remove dead skin. At the same time, you don’t need to exfoliate every day—once or a few times a week is ideal, again, depending on if you’re dry or oily. As for methods, it’s most effective to buff when your skin is dry before you hop in the shower or bath, so the natural friction helps dislodge dead cells.

Consider the right tool for your needs: Try a grainy scrub if you have time to massage it in before you rinse in the shower, go for a charcoal towel to spot treat and target specific areas, and pick up a spinning brush if you want to cover a large surface area in a short amount of time. Here are our top selects:

Sea salt and sugar body scrub: Captain Blankenship Lime & Coconut Body Scrub

Activated charcoal towel: Morihata Charcoal Body Scrub Towel

Micro-exfoliating body brush: Spin for Perfect Skin Brush

For Always: Moisturize

The last step for both your face and body is to slather on moisturizer to prevent dryness and seal in hydration. Stick with a thicker cream or soufflé for your body (since that skin is thicker) and a lightweight face cream or oil that absorbs easily. And you’re done! Uncomplicated.

 

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I’m all good when it comes to exfoliating my face, but I always forget or just get plain lazy with my body! Definitely need to step up my game. Thanks for the reminder!

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

C C
4 years ago

Great Share! So much good information to see..These tips are really helpful.. I’m gonna apply them this summer!!

4 years ago

Great tips! I often feel like i have oily skin, so your recommendations on this area are deeply appreciated :)
Thanks for sharing once again