Exfoliation these days is a lot different to how it used to be, well, it is as far as I’m concerned. Upon reflection my skincare habits have changed drastically ever since I started running this blog where of course I have learnt a few do’s and don’ts along with a few tips on the way.
Whilst physical exfoliation and chemical exfoliation are quite topical at the moment I have therefore decided to split this post into two as I do use both methods each week within my skincare routine. There are as you will find some products that I prefer over others whereby it’s worth remembering that what may work for me may not necessarily work for you and visa verca.
Physical exfoliation was for me all I was aware of when it came down to buffing those dead skin cells away each week. Those rather gritty products may have felt as though they were working a treat at the time and yet it is only now that I have become more aware as to how harsh they really can be on our skin.
One of the products that immediately jumped to my mind when I thought about physical exfoliation was the St Ives Apricot Scrub which I purchased over a year ago. This was a product that I had read a lot about before I tried it therefore I had purchased it with high hopes. Upon using this scrub however I immediately felt the rather large and almost sharp shell pieces which at the time made me think I was giving my skin a really good clean when in fact I was just using a product that was far too harsh for my delicate skin. I remember using this and afterwards seeing a bright red face in the mirror, needless to say I have only used this twice in my life whereby I’m sorry to say I won’t be using it again. In truth I had kept this under the bathroom cupboard for some of my family members to try yet it has only been by reading more information on exfoliation in particular that I have decided to get rid of this completely.
A much more gentle option comes in the form of the Good Things Deep Clean Blackhead Exfoliator which for me used to provide me with a light exfoliation without being harsh on my skin. There isn’t a huge amount I can say about this product in particular as I think it’s a nice affordable option to include within your skincare routine once a week or so. I have found myself moving onto other things since trying out Good Things briefly in the past however I do remember really enjoying their creamy cleanser which I do believe was aimed at younger skin than my own at the time although it did the job well.
Moving on to my favourite of the three I have featured is the REN Rosa Centifolia Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser* which to this day remains my first choice when it comes to physical exfoliation. As the name would suggest this is a gentle cleanser with a really fresh minty scent to it (thumbs up) which for me makes it an extremely pleasant product to use once or twice a week. Out of the three this one has received a dedicated review to it in the past whereby you can read that here if you desire.
For me I have realised that exfoliation doesn’t have to be so harsh on your skin as for some reason when I was younger I was under the mind-set that the rougher the product was the better the results would be. All you’re aiming to do is to carefully remove that dead layer of skin cells; you don’t need to go at your face with a cheese grater.
