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Category Archives: Exfoliation

The Delicate Balance of Skin Cycling

   Exfoliation  Aug 20, 2023  Comments Off on The Delicate Balance of Skin Cycling
The Delicate Balance of Skin Cycling

If you find it challenging to keep up with skincare trends on social media, you’re not alone. While there’s a fair share of bad information, sometimes helpful trends (or new life for forgotten trends) appear.

One of the latest skincare trends is known as skin cycling.

Read on to learn what it is, what it does, and if it’s worth trying for better at-home skin care.

What is Skin Cycling?

A term introduced by Whitney Bowe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York, “skin cycling” is the balance between exfoliation and resting the skin for both enhancement and protection of its outer-most layer.

The process is more about the frequency of applying skincare products and then giving skin time to breathe and bounce back on rest days.

Skin cycling works by using an easy-to-follow schedule each week for maximum benefit.

What Does Skin Cycling Do?

The goal of skin cycling is to exfoliate and use retinoids to remove the dulling and damaging effects that come from dead skin cells, irritants, and pollution it’s exposed to everyday. After that, the rest period allows skin to heal from the products, allow the products to complement each other, and help retain moisture.

By using products intermittently instead of applying layers of products on skin every day, the products’ active ingredients work better together. Adding rest days also helps reduce the risk of irritation, inflammation, and potential damage to the skin.

As you may know, daily exfoliation may be too heavy-handed for even normal skin types that don’t suffer from acne or other chronic conditions. Too much exfoliation tends to strip skin of the natural oils it needs to look fresh and healthy versus dry and flaky.

Benefits of skin cycling include:

  • Repair of outermost skin layer/barrier
  • Reduces risk of skin irritation by using less products less often
  • Increase effectiveness of active ingredients in products
  • Increase moisture, hydration, and appearance of skin

The Skin Cycling Process

Skin cycling is a pared-down, easy process. If you’re looking for a “less is more,” approach, skin cycling might just be what you’re looking for.

For skin cycling, you use only three products; an exfoliator, retinoid, and moisturizer.

Night #1 – Exfoliation + Moisturizer

  • Cleanse and pat skin dry
  • Apply exfoliator (consider a salicylic or glycolic acid)
  • Moisturize

Night #2 – Retinol/Retinoid + Moisturizer

  • Cleanse and pat skin dry
  • Apply retinoid (vitamin A) product
  • Moisturize

Nights #3, #4 – Rest/Recovery (Moisturize only)

  • Cleanse skin and leave slightly damp
  • Apply serum if desired
  • Moisturize (consider hyaluronic acid to retain lots of moisture)

Repeat

Note that the basic skin cycling routine can be tweaked to fit in with your specific skin care needs, and how well your skin tolerates retinoids.

Is Skin Cycling Worth the Effort?

Skin recycling is an excellent starting point for those just dipping their toe in the skincare routine waters. It’s also great for those with sensitive or dry skin, or those unable to tolerate retinoids well.

For those who want faster or need bigger results or can tolerate retinoids without damaging skin, skin cycling may not be enough for noticeable results.

Wrap Up

As with any skincare routine, consistency is key. Cleaning and moisturizing skin each day in addition to wearing sunscreen goes a long way toward keeping skin healthy at home.

For treating stubborn or chronic skincare issues, schedule an appointment with the experts at Laura Skincare in downtown Petaluma.

Effective Home Exfoliation Tips

   Exfoliation  Mar 09, 2023  Comments Off on Effective Home Exfoliation Tips
Effective Home Exfoliation Tips

In between professional visits and treatments, there are things you can do at home to keep that healthy, fresh-faced look. Exfoliating is one of them.

Here are some professional tips you can use at home to keep your skin in top shape.

Why Exfoliate?

Exfoliation is a key step in keeping skin looking its best. It’s important because it removes dead cells, which causes dullness and dryness, from the surface layer of skin.

While exfoliating is important, it’s also important to do it safely and effectively. If you don’t, you could irritate and even damage your skin.

Before experiencing redness, dryness, or acne breakouts, be thorough but gentle while exfoliating.

Skin Type Matters

Your skin type matters when it comes to effective care. Identifying your skin type determines everything from cleansers, toners, creams, and other products for your skin.

What you don’t want is to use products that cause irritation, burning, redness or other reactions. Not only will this cause damage and embarrassment for you but may stop you from following a skincare regime altogether.

It’s always important to use products specifically designed for your skin type and a gentle touch when using them.

Normal

Normal skin types tolerate exfoliation well, unlike sensitive skin which may not be the best candidate for exfoliation due to irritation and redness.

Dry

Dry skin types tend to be flaky and may even itch or suffer with rough patches.

Combination

Combination skin types are tricky because while they tend to be dry in some areas, they also suffer from oily patches in other areas of the skin.

Note that some of you may suffer from sensitive or acne-prone oily skin, in which case you’d have to use products formulated to work well with those skin conditions.

Exfoliation Tools

When deciding on the most effective tools and products for exfoliating your skin type, there are two choices. You can choose either a manual or chemical method to slough off those layers of dead skin.

Manual Exfoliation

Based on your preference, you can use a brush, exfoliation pad, sponge, or a simple washcloth for manual exfoliation. Be careful with the abrasiveness of your tool and applied pressure because it doesn’t take too much work to remove dead skin cells from the surface dermis layer.

Chemical Exfoliation

Chemical exfoliation involves the use of an alpha- or beta-hydroxy acid to dissolve away dead skin cells. After gently working the product into skin in a circular motion, simply rinse with warm water and gently rub away with a washcloth to remove the product.

More Pro Tips

Keep in mind that if you’re taking certain medications or using a strong product like some retinoids, it can make your skin more sensitive. Go slow and test the exfoliation method first to make sure it won’t cause stinging, burning, redness, breakouts, or other irritation.

Skip exfoliation if you have open cuts or active skin irritation (like sunburn).

The more aggressive the form of exfoliation, the less you need to exfoliate. You don’t want to overdo it because you will strip away the natural oils your skin needs. Over-exfoliation can also lead to bigger skin problems and painful irritation.

Wrap Up

Exfoliation is a great way to help keep skin looking vibrant, fresh, and healthy between professional treatments.

Should you need help determining your skin type or help with the best exfoliation method or products, stop by Laura Skincare in Petaluma for a professional evaluation.

 

Five Benefits of Exfoliation

   Exfoliation  Jul 09, 2020  Comments Off on Five Benefits of Exfoliation
Five Benefits of Exfoliation

One of the most popular skincare routines is exfoliation. This process works to keep your skin free from toxins while preventing fine lines and wrinkles. Below you’ll discover more information about what exfoliation is and five benefits it offers.

What is Exfoliation?

Exfoliation is a process that removes dead skin cells from the upper layer of your skin. This is done with the help of either a chemical or physical exfoliant, such as alpha-hydroxy acid or sugar granules.

How Often Should Exfoliation Be Done?

You should exfoliate at least three times a week. However, if your skin tends to be oily, you might need to do this daily. By keeping up on this process, it will keep dead skin cells from building up and clogging your pores.

5 Benefits of Exfoliating Your Skin

  • It Unclogs Pores: Exfoliating your skin works to unclog pores because it eliminates built-up skin cells and microscopic debris. This not only helps give your skin a stunning glow, but can prevent acne because it will keep your pores open.
  • It Removes Blemishes: Another unique benefit of exfoliation is that it removes blemishes, including acne scars. Depending on the type of skin you have, these blemishes will either be very mild or severe. Thankfully, exfoliation can help any type because it will quickly lighten them. Many exfoliants also remove the toxins that cause blemishes to form which can prevent them from happening again.
  • It Helps with Blood Circulation: You might be surprised to learn that exfoliating your skin can help with improving blood circulation. This is because it stimulates the skin which encourages blood flow around the area. By doing so, this gives the area a rosy tone while also fixing and preventing sagging skin.
  • It Builds Up Collagen: Because exfoliants remove dead skin cells it keeps your skin’s pores open which helps with the production of collagen. This can keep fine lines and wrinkles away.
  • It Helps Other Skincare Products Work Better: Thanks to exfoliants opening your pores, it can encourage other skincare products to penetrate your skin better. This way, the important vitamins and minerals in them can get deep into your skin to help heal and restore it.

Exfoliating your skin is an important thing to do if you want to keep it looking young and healthy. Laura Skin Care in Petaluma can help with this by giving you some exfoliating tips as well as weekly exfoliation sessions.