After exfoliating, make sure you thoroughly rinse away the product and any dead skin cells and then pat your skin dry with a clean towel. ”Apply a moisturizer or shea butter following your [exfoliating] and shower/soak to help your skin retain moisture and look radiant,” advises Burns.
Moisturize. We can't stress this enough. Your skin needs moisture, especially after you exfoliate. Using a super-hydrating facial moisturizer after you exfoliate helps replenish any moisture loss from exfoliating.
Benefits of using exfoliant first
When you exfoliate before cleansing, you are lifting the dead skin cells, excess oil and impurities away from your skin. Then the cleanser comes through to help wash it all away, along with other things like makeup and acne-causing bacteria.
2. moisturizer booster. Most beauty experts agree that applying body lotion or a dry body oil after exfoliation accelerates the effects of moisturizing.
If using your acid exfoliant as part of your morning skincare routine, it's recommended to use a moisturizer with SPF afterwards. Charlotte's Magic Cream Light is a light-textured moisturizer with SPF20, so make sure you use this as your MAGIC moisturizer to hydrate, moisturize and protect your skin.
So, does vitamin C exfoliate skin? Unlike exfoliants that can chemically (AHAs) or physically (face scrubs) remove dead skin cells, the answer to “does vitamin C exfoliate skin?” is no. But it does promote healthy cellular turnover and the production of new skin cells, which is beneficial for proper exfoliation.
Using a potent vitamin C after exfoliation will boost its brightening and firming benefits.
Glycerin is a great choice, because it keeps moisture locked deep in the lower layers of skin (British Journal of Dermatology). Jojoba oil delivers deeply-penetrating moisture while can mimicking skin's natural oils.
Regardless of the formula, apply your toner or serum after cleansing, preferably at night, since exfoliating can make your complexion sun-sensitive. Stick with gel or foaming cleansers rather than oils and balms, which leave a residue that can prevent toners from absorbing, says Mattioli.
Exfoliate the Skin
Use a loofah, washcloth, or exfoliating sponge to gently exfoliate your skin before shaving. Exfoliating will remove any dead skin and allow you to shave the hair as near to the root as possible. Harsh exfoliants aren't necessary and can actually do more harm than good in your pubic area.
Exfoliator goes before both toner and essence! When doing your skin care routine, exfoliator comes right after your double cleanse. This removes any remaining debris from your pores as well as aids in cell turnover. Following up with toner helps bring your skin's pH levels back into balance.
Niacinamide should be used after your BHA exfoliant. From there, you can apply the rest of your products in order of thinnest to thickest texture. For daytime, always finish with SPF 30+ as your last step.
The Cleveland Clinic recommends exfoliating prior to shaving, as exfoliating first will help prevent the razor from becoming overloaded with dead skin cells, which reduces its effectiveness. Basically, exfoliating first is a serious pro-tip for a closer shave.
Toners are basically products you use to rebalance your skin's pH after cleansing, exfoliate, provide your skin with a first layer of hydration, and prime your skin to better absorb the next product(s). You can go for either a hydrating or exfoliating toner, but can also reap the benefits of both by combining the two.
Hyaluronic acid is great for applying after any exfoliating acids.
A toner's job is meant to gently refresh your skin without stripping it of its natural moisture. This means toner won't irritate sensitive skin or cause excessive dryness. Toner also prepares the skin to drink up your post-cleansing moisturizer and any other skin treatments that you may apply.
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.
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.
There's no hard and fast rule to whether you should scrub or cleanse first. We recommend trying out both orders and then going with what suits your skin best. Either way as long as you are cleansing and exfoliating according to your skin type, you can achieve a deep clean for your most beautiful skin.
Despite the use of the word “acid,” hyaluronic acid is not an exfoliator. The kind your body naturally produces is a humectant, a healer, a protector, and a plump-er.
The benefits: it has better bioavailability (how well the skin can use an ingredient), is more efficacious, and has 55% higher antioxidant power than traditional vitamin C. Can I combine vitamin C and glycolic acid?
Salicylic acid is the most common BHA. Concentrations can range between 0.5 and 5 percent, depending on the product at hand. It's well-known as an acne treatment, but it can also help calm down general redness and inflammation.
Even though this is a powerful chemical exfoliator with 16% AHAs (including glycolic and lactic acid), it's actually very gentle on my sensitive, eczema-prone skin. The reason why it's so gentle is because it contains niacinamide, which helps refine the skin's texture without stripping it of its natural moisture.
AHAs and BHAs, such as glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids should never be used with Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an acid, too, and is unstable, so the pH balance will be thrown off by layering these ingredients together and might as well be useless.
Salicylic acid and vitamin C are both effective products on their own but, when combined, they can be even more beneficial. Whether you're looking to brighten your skin, reduce the likelihood of blemishes or just help slow down the skin's natural aging process, these ingredients may be just what you're looking for.