Red, irritated skin is likely the first sign that you exfoliate too much. Immediately after any exfoliation, the skin will appear slightly red and puffy. However, if the redness and irritation linger for hours or into the next day, you can be sure that you've gone a bit too far.
“Over-exfoliating damages the skin barrier, which helps keep the skin balanced, nourished and protected from environmental factors,” agrees Dr. Yadav. Redness, dry skin and flaking, as well as breakouts, can indicate that you've gone too far.
Apply a gentle skincare routine
Over-exfoliated skin is very sensitive, which is why it's important to implement a gentle, mild skin care routine to help the skin recover. Given that over-exfoliation can dry the skin out, moisturisers, serums and cleansers formulated for dry skin are usually your best bet.
After four to six weeks, you should hopefully start to see signs of your skin improving. The symptoms of over-exfoliation should begin to die down, and your skin will slowly take on a healthier and brighter appearance. At this point, you can start to consider introducing exfoliation back into your skin care routine.
After peeling, your skin is even more sensitive. Therefore, avoid direct sun exposure, which can lead to even more visible signs of aging. If you must expose yourself to the sun, use a broad spectrum physical sunscreen. Avoid strenuous workouts, dry saunas and steam baths.
Can Over-Exfoliating Cause Large Pores? Absolutely. Harsh exfoliation methods can irritate the skin, causing it to produce more oil. This excess oil can in turn stretch and enlarge pores over time, giving them a more prominent appearance.
For best results, Dr. Lee suggests exfoliating your skin before using vitamin C. Try using glycolic acid at night (to minimize its photosensitizing tendencies), followed by vitamin C in the morning (to maximize its antioxidant potential).
If your skincare regime is overloaded with AHA's and BHA's, like Glycolic Acid, Malic Acid or Salicylic Acid, then over-exfoliation is likely to occur (if it hasn't happened yet!) Harsh physical exfoliators that contain salt, sugar or husks can also lead to over-exfoliation.
Unless your exfoliator is very gentle and specially formulated for daily application, limit use to once or twice weekly to prevent irritation and redness. (A powerful cleanser can control debris buildup on the days you don't exfoliate.)
Irregular or improper cleansing can prolong the presence of dead skin cells by leaving oils and cosmetics on the skin. Exfoliating only needs to be done either once or twice a week, not daily.
Believe it or not, over-exfoliating can lead to stubborn breakouts that just won't seem to go away. These may sometimes show up as small, red, bumpy blemishes that give the appearance of an uneven, rash-like texture.
While one exfoliation won't completely strip your skin of all of its oil, it will remove most of it, leaving the surface dry. Therefore, exfoliating without applying a good moisturizer is guaranteed to leave the face drier than it was before exfoliation.
Those with stubborn concerns (like bumps, clogs, acne or advanced signs of sun damage) may do well exfoliating with AHA or BHA twice daily. Others will find application once daily or even once every few days to be their skin's sweet spot. It can take some experimenting to find the right cadence.
When your barrier is weak because you don't have enough lipids in your skin, Vaseline acts as a substitute for these lipids. Remember the brick-and-mortar analogy? Vaseline fills in the cracks in your skin's “mortar” so that your barrier starts to act in a healthy way again.
Esthetician Taylor Worden adds there are other signs your skin is over-exfoliated, including redness, dryness, burning, peeling, rashes, breakouts, inflammation, tenderness, and stinging.
Oil-based products contain petrolatum, coconut oil, and other kinds of oil. They effectively moisturize the skin but may not be suitable for people with oily skin and large pores. The excess oil that collects on the skin can make pores appear larger.
The “black stuff” when you rub your skin is nothing but dead cells, dirt and surface grime. It comes off due to friction caused by rubbing your skin.
There are a few general rules to follow, though. 1) It's good to exfoliate at night in order to encourage skin repair while you sleep—but if you use harsh and irritating ingredients like retinol at night, opt for exfoliating in the morning. 2) Watch out for red, irritated skin and little bumps.