Your skin's protective barrier helps retain moisture and protect against environmental aggressors. Over-exfoliation can damage this barrier, leading to increased sensitivity and dryness. Excessive exfoliation can accelerate the aging process by breaking down collagen and elastin, leading to wrinkles and sagging skin.
While getting rid of skin impurities on a regular basis is good, doing it too much can aggravate the skin. Over-exfoliation can lead to redness, irritation, and may leave the skin inworse condition than what you started with. To achieve clearer, brighter skin, exfoliation on a consistent basis is what works well.
Over-exfoliation may have the opposite effect of beautifying your skin. This can come from either exfoliating too often or scrubbing too hard. This can remove too much skin, causing dryness or irritation. Exfoliating creams should be kept away from children.
A healthy, resilient skin barrier is vital for maintaining skin health. Over exfoliation disrupts this barrier and puts the skin at risk of losing essential nutrients and water. In turn, the skin may appear dull and lose its suppleness. Over time, this can lead to premature aging, fine lines, and wrinkles.
Dry, sensitive skin
For people with dry or sensitive skin, exfoliating twice a week is the maximum frequency dermatologists recommend. You may want to exfoliate only once a week or even every other week if you use products that can cause dryness and irritation, such as retinoids.
Never exfoliate if you have open cuts or wounds or if your skin is sunburned.
Severe over-exfoliation can lead to permanent scarring and speed up the signs of aging. Be sure to research your skin type to learn how often you should be exfoliating your skin.
In the case of those with particularly sensitive skin, excessive exfoliation can even result in damaged blood vessels beneath the skin. Over-exfoliated skin will lose elasticity and seem dry, rough, and flaky.
But if you've overdone it, your skin will look shiny and artificial instead. Over-exfoliating will smooth your skin's natural texture too much, creating more of a waxy appearance. Removing skin cells and natural oils and exposing the underlying skin before that new skin is ready can cause the skin to look waxy.
The Risks of Over-Exfoliation
Too much exfoliation can also be harmful. Over-exfoliating can lead to skin irritation, redness, and sensitivity. It can worsen pigmentation issues or even cause new ones. Hence, it's essential to find the right balance in your exfoliation routine, tailored to your skin's needs.
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.
Your recovery routine should include a gentle cleanser, moisturizing creams, SPF, and repair creams that help to treat the skin barrier. Seek ingredients like hyaluronic acid, squalene, zinc oxide, shea butter, and glycerin. These ingredients are all hydrating and calming.
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.
Aggressive scrubbing with harsh facial exfoliants can micro-tear the skin and exacerbate issues like acne and irritation. Choose formulas with gentle ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids or fruit enzymes to avoid over-sensitizing the skin.
Esthetician Taylor Worden adds there are other signs your skin is over-exfoliated, including redness, dryness, burning, peeling, rashes, breakouts, inflammation, tenderness, and stinging.
Exfoliation is an excellent option for those suffering from superficial scars and scars due to acne. Although exfoliation won't completely remove scars, it can diminish the appearance of scars by removing the dead cells on the skin's surface and revealing the healthier layer of cells underneath.
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.
When it comes to morning versus night exfoliation, you're going to reap the best benefits from exfoliating in the morning time. This is due to the oils your skin produces overnight. You'll be able to more smoothly remove all impurities, dead skin, and oils, when you exfoliate in the morning, rather than at night.
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.
“The best practice is to avoid over-scrubbing because you want to maintain a healthy and intact skin barrier,” Dr. Khalifian notes. Going too hard can leave your skin red and irritated. Use it after cleansing, and always follow with moisturizer to lock in hydration.
While there is no ideal frequency, experts suggest that showering several times per week is plenty for most people (unless you are grimy, sweaty, or have other reasons to shower more often). Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice.
Below are dermatologist-recommended and NBC Select staff-favorite products that contain exfoliating ingredients like AHAs and BHAs and are in line with experts' guidance. Although some of these products may be safe for daily use, experts recommend exfoliating one to three times a week.