People with mature skin should opt to exfoliate their face once or twice a week. Aging, hormone changes, stress, and sun exposure can bring about mature skin, according to Dr. Gonzalez. So mature skin may be thin, dehydrated, contain open pores, and have visible wrinkles.
Regular exfoliation is one of the most effective ways to keep older skin looking youthful and bright. As we age, our skin's natural exfoliation process slows down and causes a buildup of dead, dull skin. Exfoliating helps speed up cellular turnover, softening fine lines and wrinkles and diminishing hyperpigmentation.
Most experts advise that you exfoliate two to three times per week — as long as your skin can handle it. Chemical exfoliants tend to be fine to use more regularly. Physical methods, on the other hand, may be too abrasive to use multiple times a week.
Instead, look for scrubs with Jojoba, Corncob, Rice Bran or microbeads in them. These are gentle enough for dry, aging, sensitized or genetically sensitive skin. (If you have oily skin, consider an oil-absorbing scrub made of clays such as Kaolin or Diatomaceous.)
Many exfoliators can feel a bit harsh on your skin in your 50s, but regular exfoliation is the key to glowing skin, so finding a gentle product to help you remove dead skin cells is pretty important. "Cell turnover slows down as we age, so our skin loses the youthful glow and looks dull.
Exfoliation is essential to remove or dissolve dead cells that linger on the surface of the skin, giving it a dull, dry look. Choose a creamy cleanser with vitamin C, or a low-concentration alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), or an enzyme mask with cell-dissolving pumpkin or papaya.
To buff away dead skin cells safely, Wexler recommends using a gentle scrub, such as Tata Harper's Regenerating Exfoliating Cleanser with its apricot microspheres, no more than three times a week, and following it up with a calming elixir with soothing ingredients such as ceramide and chamomile.
While over-exfoliation can cause inflammation and wrinkles, when you exfoliate correctly, you can actually use exfoliation to prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging. Skin has a harder time naturally exfoliating as you get older.
Rouleau says exfoliating too harshly or too often can lead to wrinkle-causing inflammation. "A major cause of aging is chronic and prolonged inflammation," she writes. While gently exfoliating a few nights a week is great for your skin, it's a fine line, because going overboard is only going to make you look older.
For most skin types, Corey L. Hartman, MD, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology in Birmingham, AL recommends daily chemical exfoliation, and then incorporating mechanical exfoliation into your regimen about once a week.
Lack of exfoliation leads to build up of dead skin cells, and could result into dry, dull, patchy, flaky skin, clogged pores, with uneven skin tone.
4. Exfoliate at least on a weekly basis. If you have dry skin, you likely have flaky skin, so you should exfoliate once or twice a week.
Exfoliation accelerates the process, evens out your skin tone and makes your skin look healthier and younger.
Long-term exfoliating can increase collagen production. Collagen is key to glowing, vibrant skin. The protein also promotes skin elasticity, minimizing the appearance of fine lines and related sagging.
No, exfoliating does not thin out your skin, but it is important to keep in mind that over-exfoliating can make your skin appear thinner. This is because you're constantly shedding that protective barrier. You want to allow your skin time to recuperate post exfoliation by taking a break in between sessions.
The answer to our million-dollar question is pretty universal across the board: You should exfoliate your face about two to three times a week. (An acid serum two to three nights a week, plus a weekly mask or peel is a great routine to shoot for.)
Dead skin cells can build up under your eyes just as they can on any other part of your face. Poor skin cell turnover can contribute to fine lines, dull skin tone or even tiny white keratin cysts called milia. Gentle exfoliation under the eyes can give the delicate skin there a fresh, healthy start.
Millheiser recommends using a gentle exfoliator on the vulva — not the vagina — in between waxing or shaving. “Doing this three times per week will remove dead skin cells and help prevent ingrown hairs,” she says.
Exfoliated too much, or too hard, for no reason, your skin could lose some of its natural protective properties. You could end up with skin irritation. You could encourage acne breakouts.
Dr Ritu advises that you don't really need to exfoliate, particularly if you're on the younger side. Let's face it, you're rocking that youthful glow anyway! Your regular cleansing routine should be enough to keep your skin clean and healthy and can promote exfoliation of dead skin cells.
When you have flaky, dry skin you need to moisturize, not exfoliate.” Damage from over-exfoliation can present in many ways, including tightness, shininess, stinging, redness and increased sensitivity, Hirsch said. “We tend to grossly overestimate what our skin can handle.”