The most important thing you can do for your face, besides wear SPF: exfoliate. Top dermas swear that buffing is the key to banishing dullness and beating acne.
We hate to say it, but if you’re not regularly buffing your skin, it’s not living up to its total hot potential. Exfoliators are the unsung heroes of skin care. As teens, our skin cells flake off and reveal a more luminous layer every 14 days. But for every year past the age of 20, the rate increases by a day.
Buffing those bland layers offers a fresher surface plus clears your skin (by zapping pore-clogging cells) and eradicates fine lines (it stimulates skin-plumping collagen). And while there are loads of exfoliators — some gritty, others packed with acids or enzymes — you can’t slap just anything on your face. Seeing results requires consistent use, and that won’t happen if a product is irritating. Follow our guide and say hel-lo gorgeous!
Your stable, not-too-oily-or-dry face means you have a healthy barrier (it keeps good stuff like moisture in and bad stuff like irritating chemicals out). So, you can use any kind of exfoliator, but there’s one that’ll pack a big punch.
Your Best Buffer: A serum, peel, or cleanser with glycolic acid.
Part of the alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) family of buffers, this super-small molecule can penetrate deeper than other AHAs, zapping a hefty amount of dead skin cells fast. We love the non-tacky feel of Avon Anew Glycolic Facial Treatment (P1,000). Try it twice a week, then work up to every other day. Or, wash daily with glycolic acid-rich Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser (P945). Leave it on like a mask for a minute to get the acid’s benefits.
Like chicks with normal skin, your complexion can also withstand all types of exfoliators. Natural oils help prevent your face from becoming raw or irritated.
Your Best Buffer: A salicylic acid toner.
This do-it-all ingredient zaps lackluster dead skin cells, which also block pores, plus dissolves excess oil than can lead to blackheads and breakouts. Just be sure to get it in a high concentration (shoot for at least 1½ percent) and as a toner, which is formulated to stay on skin, not wash off, so it has time to be effective. Many concentrated salicylic acid products are cleansers, and their benefits don’t last long. Use one, like Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion (P1,520) (FYI: It’s a toner, not a traditional lotion), every other day.
Gritty or acidic formulas, as well as new ones your skin isn’t used to can irritate, so you need to be extra careful. Spot-test an exfoliator — or anything foreign, for that matter — on your inner forearm before applying it to your face. Then, proceed only if there is no reaction.
Your Best Buffer: Creamy scrubs made with synthetic beads.
Lotion-like exfoliators with round, synthetic beads (nothing jagged or abrasive like crushed-up nuts or seeds) are gentler and soothing on skin. Check product labels or ingredients lists for terms like fine microbeads or jojoba beads, such as the super creamy one by The Body Shop (Vitamin E Cream Exfoliator) (P795). {Another favorite: The wittily named Philosophy Never Let Them See You Shine Scrub (P1,300)} Apply it in gentle, circular motions (not up and down), and be sure to limit your use to once a week (less if you’re highly reactive.)
Low in protective oils, your skin has little tolerance for glycolic or salicylic acids. But, there’s a gentler way to rid layers of flaky skin (important, since a wall of dead cells blocks moisturizing products, such as lotions, from being absorbed into and hydrating your skin).
Your Best Buffer: An enzyme peel.
Fruits and plants contain natural enzymes that can dissolve that wall. Why a peel? They’re made to ‘shut off’ after, say, five minutes, so you can’t overdo it. Try Ziaja Marine Algae Smoothing Enzyme Peeling (P350). Use only once a week, then add an extra day each week until you’re comfortable using it every other night.
Double-Team Your Skin
Consider this Exfoliating 201: Using bot a physical slougher (something gritty or beady) and a chemical one (an acid) offers a facial-like luminosity. The combo breaks the bonds between surface cells and dissolves them evenly. This is aggressive, so do it only if you’re normal or oily, and limit it to twice a month.
