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.
Your skin needs moisture, especially after you exfoliate. Using a super-hydrating facial moisturizer after you exfoliate helps replenish any moisture loss from exfoliating. Apply sunscreen. “If you can't tone it, tan it” might be your mantra for your midsection, but the sun isn't going to do your face any favors.
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.
After exfoliating, apply toner and serum to intensify the mask treatment. Then, follow up with your favorite purifying face mask.
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.
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.
Hyaluronic acid is great for applying after any exfoliating acids.
Using a potent vitamin C after exfoliation will boost its brightening and firming benefits.
There are various signs that tell you that you are over-exfoliating. These include irritation, redness, inflamed skin, plus your complexion can become dry and flaky. You may develop a rash like texture, leading to uneven tones like patchy, red blotches.
Recommended For You
Once or twice a week is great, but everyday exfoliation is even better. Clinique Derm Pro Dr. Michelle Henry gives us her top five reasons to exfoliate daily. Once or twice a week is great, but everyday exfoliation is even better.
If your face is dull in the morning
With less sleep comes slower skin-cell turnover, which means that dead skin cells will then pile up and result in dull complexion. Rejuvenate your skin by scrubbing away those dead skin cells and you'll be left with brighter looking skin.
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.
You can test this yourself with a well formulated exfoliant: at night, apply your AHA or BHA as usual after cleansing and toning, and do a "split-test." Wait 20 minutes before applying your serum and/or moisturizer to one side, but the other side of your face, apply those next steps immediately.
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.
Second, avoid anything with harsh ingredients like alcohol and fragrance, or anything with a high acid concentration. “The majority of over-the-counter (OTC) cosmetic creams, lotions, and serums are water based and contain less than 2 percent hyaluronic acid,” Frey explains.
“Hyaluronic acid plays well with most ingredients, while caution must be taken when using retinol in combination with alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids, benzoyl peroxide, and some types of vitamin C.” Linkner echoes the tip about avoiding vitamin C.
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.
Exfoliate for about 30 seconds and then rinse off with lukewarm — not hot — water. Avoid exfoliating if your skin has cuts, open wounds, or is sunburned. Apply moisturizer with SPF after exfoliating.
"Toners are most helpful and necessary for people with oily or acne-prone skin, or for people who want extra cleansing after wearing makeup or other heavy skin products such as sunscreen," she said. If you're wondering what else face toner does for your skin, King outlined some additional benefits: It shrinks pores.
In cosmetics, skin toner or simply toner refers to a lotion, tonic or wash designed to cleanse the skin and shrink the appearance of pores, usually used on the face. It also moisturizes, protects and refreshes the skin. Toners can be applied to the skin in different ways: On a cotton round.