Exfoliation is especially important during the cold weather months, when the skin tends to get dry, build up layers of dead skin cells, and lose its glow. Exfoliating at least twice a week, depending on your skin-type and sensitivity, will not only help deep-clean and smooth your skin, it will also unclog pores and accelerate the skin's natural shedding process. This is key to your skincare routine because it allows your serums and moisturizer to penetrate your skin's layers to work their magic, rather then floating on the surface of dead skin cells.
I've tested a number of exfoliators lately looking for gentle, but effective scrubs for different skin types. Here are my favorites:
St. Ives Apricot Scrub
An oldy, but a goody. This classic affordable scrub is gentle and hydrating enough not to irritate dry skin, but still has enough scrubbing power to get rid of those dead skin cells. Because the exfoliating pieces are larger, this is not the best for cleaning out clogged pores despite the fact that the label indicates that it eliminates blackheads. If blackheads are a concern, I would recommend one of the exfoliators with finer particles. Otherwise, this is a great gentle scrub that most people with oily to dry skin can use at least several times a week without causing irritation. However, I would not recommend this scrub for extremely dry or extremely sensitive skin.
Lush Coalface
One of my all time favorites from my combination-skin days. For oily to normal and combination skin, this bar-form scrub is ideal. It will clean out your pores thoroughly and make your face truly squeaky clean. Seriously, very squeaky, try it. This is not a scrub for the faint of heart, but it is also surprisingly non-irritating for its effectiveness. Perhaps because it is all-natural, I can still use this scrub occasionally even though I have drier skin now, and it does not leave my face red or irritated. This is not, however, a skin-softening exfoliator. This is the best scrub for men too: it will clean out the pores around hair follicles on the face, giving men a cleaner shave and preventing in-grown hairs. My fiance's been diminishing my supply.
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate
This exfoliator is the creme de la creme of exfoliators. It's not cheap and it's not gentle, but it's so effective, all you have to do is apply it like a mask without rubbing it in and leave it on for no more than 30 seconds. The enzymes do the work for me, and my skin feels soft as a baby's when I'm finished. I can only leave it on for about 20 seconds before it starts to irritate, and I certainly can't use it more than twice a week, but it is the very best exfoliator in that my skin feels both clean and soft after use. And I feel like I really get the most out of my serums after using ExfoliKate first.
Cosmedicine Medi-Morphosis
This is a self-adjusting exfoliator with tiny scrubbing crystals that dissolve automatically when your skin's had enough. Well, that's how it's supposed to work anyway. I feel like this is THE BEST exfoliator by a landslide for those with severely clogged pores and stubborn blackheads because the crystals are so fine. That said, I cannot use this exfoliator all over my face. It's simply too irritating for my cheeks and forehead. I occasionally use it around my nose and chin when I get clogged pores, and it is supremely effective. I feel like this would be ideal for anyone with oily to combination skin no more than once or twice a week. Also, I once used this product the morning after using an acne-spot treatment, and my skin peeled. So this is simply too powerful of a scrub to mix with any acne treatments. I suspect that it would probably not interact well with retinol-based products either. This is very effective, but I would just caution to use it with care, and not at all if you have sensitive skin.
Ole Henriksen Sugar Glow Face Scrub
Alright, for those with dry and/or sensitive skin, this is the one you've been waiting for. It's from my favorite active-natural skincare line, and it's very gentle and leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated. It just gets rid of those dead skin cells, which even dry skin needs, without irritating. And it smells good enough to eat (like an orange dream bar).
Homemade Oatmeal Scrub
For those with extremely dry or extremely sensitive skin or just a glamazon on a budget, a homemade oatmeal scrub is an easy, inexpensive treat that will still get rid of those pesky dead skin cells without drying or irritating your skin. Simply take 2 generous tablespoons of oatmeal, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and add enough warm water to make a paste. Then simply scrub your face in circular motions (concentrating on the T-Zone) and rinse with warm water. Your skin will feel smooth and softened.
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