The epidermis is the layer of our skin that is responsible for providing a waterproof barrier and creates our skin tone. So why are you looking at a picture of raisins, grapes and cornflakes on this post? Well, the epidermis layer is about the thickens of a rose petal and the picture represents a cross section of this layer of our skin.
The grapes at the bottom represent the healthy baby skin cells, that are moisture filled, they reflect the light and hold everything up, as those healthy layers begin to die and move up to the surface they become Raisins. The raisins continue to loose their moisture and luster finally turning into Corn Flakes waiting to be slough off. This natural cell turnover process or skin renewal happens every 28 days when we are young. But as we age and hormonal changes begin to happen, this process slows down and it can take anywhere between 40 - 60 days for our skin to renew.
Once our skin begins to slow down it's natural renewal process, we begin to notice, rough dryer skin, wrinkles and we loose elasticity. So what do we do? Here is my favorite part, EXFOLIATION! Yes, exfoliation is a fantastic way to help our skin slough off those cornflakes to give us more radiant skin. And you want to exfoliate because if you have many layers of cornflakes on your skin, none of your products will reach and nourish those grapes and you will be totally wasting your money! All you are doing is putting your creams and serums on top of those dry cells and what do you get when you put milk on top of cornflakes? You get soggy cornflakes! What do you get when you put makeup on top of cornflakes? Frosted cornflakes!
So exfoliation is they secret to healthy, younger looking skin. You can do either a form of physical exfoliation (face scrubs) or Chemical exfoliation (enzyme peels or chemical peels) Such forms of exfoliation helps our skin by bring to the surface the baby cells (grapes) to give us younger looking skin.
Physical Exfoliation can be done at home on a regular basis. Depending of your skin you will want to exfoliate about 2-3 times per week. But not more than 3 times per week as you could disrupt your acid mantle and develop sensitivities, irritation and even acne. My personal physical exfoliation routine is 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) with a gentle face scrub that contains perfect spheres granules. I leave the product in the shower and I do my exfoliation at the very end of the shower. By doing it at the end I allow my skin to get steamed up and thus the exfoliation will get rid of many of those corn flakes. Consistency is key ladies and gents!
Chemical Exfoliation, this is my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world! This is a procedure that your local esthetician can help you with. Esthetician are able to do light to medium depth peels, so no! You will not look like Samantha in Sex in the City, I promise! Chemical exfoliation has come a long way since they began to make their appearance in the beauty industry. You can get one done during your lunch hour and go back to work with radiant skin. They give you visible results and depending of your goals for your skin a series of them might be necessary. Chemical peels can treat hyperpigmentation, acne, scaring, rough texture, wrinkles and it also stimulates collagen production.
It is important to note that any kind of exfoliation; physical or chemical it is an ongoing commitment in order to maintain your results. With chemical exfoliation you need to also understand that staying out of the sun and protecting your skin with regular application of sunscreen is important as you now have those baby cells in the surface and they are more sensitive to UV damage.
If you want to know more about what kind of exfoliation is best for your particular skin type and skin concerns, send me a message to set up and appointment. I'll be happy to help!