Monday 5 March 2012

Dealing with Acne: Exfoliation

Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed

Exfoliation as a big part of my skincare routine, and if you suffer with acne it can be something that really helps. For a long time I didn’t exfoliate at all, as I didn’t really know what to use. I had used Clinique’s 7 Day Scrub, and it was an okay product but for me it did nothing. I found it too rough, and my skin just ended up more aggravated than it did previously.

There are a few ways you can exfoliate starting with the more traditional scrub, something that is easily available on the high street, from more reasonably priced brands. One I used to love using, when I was younger and first getting into skincare was the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Blackhead Eliminating Scrub (£4.69), it’s not a miracle worker, but it does the job and is very reasonably priced. I no longer use it as is not my preferred way of exfoliating.

Another method of exfoliation is microdermabrasion, and this is the method I use. Microdermabrasion products are inspired by the popular salon treatments. And I find that the scrubbing particles in microdermabrasion products are a lot finer and more effective than scrubs. There are more particles in the formula so for me is exfoliates more evenly. My favourite microdermabrasion products are The Body Shops Vitamin C Microdermabrasion (£12.00)  and Soap and Glory’s No Clogs Allowed(£11.00) which can be used as a scrub or a mask. Microdermabrasion products are generally more expensive, but I find them much more effective, and if your savvy you can get brands like Soap and Glory and The Body Shop in deals (like the current 3 for 2 at Boots).

Scrubs and Microdermabrasion are both mechanical exfoliants, the third way of exfoliating is chemical. Chemical Exfoliation works by using acids such as Glycolic and Salicylic to exfoliate the skin, they seem to be growing in popularity and although I haven’t tried any I am desperate to try Alpha H’s Liquid Gold (£28.50) and Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant (£32.30).

Exfoliation can be a great way to get rid of dead skin cells and blocked pores, and in my experience it definitely helps with acne.  My skin seems to be quite lazy and if I don’t exfoliate it looks dull, and I get more congested skin.

I should note that you don’t want to exfoliate too often. I’ve known the temptation of just wanting to scrub my skin endlessly to get rid of that oily, clogged feeling, but don’t do it! About 2 or 3 times a week is enough, any more and your skin will be left feeling raw and it won’t help with your breakouts.

You can read my review of The Body Shop’s Microdermabrasion here and Soap and Glory’s No Clogs Allowed here.

Do you exfoliate? What’s your favourite product?

1 comment:

  1. ive just bought a scrub with salicylic acid in after hearing thats the thing i need to help unclog my blackheads. i used to have bodyshops tea tree blackhead scrub but i didnt feel it really did anything... going to check out your reviews on microdermabrasion and no clogs allowed now! :)

    you have a lovely blog xx

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