Do You Even Exfoliate?

Did you know that your skin is the largest organ of your entire body? Its funny to think about skin as an organ, but it is. Our skin is much like a child or an older person, honest to a fault. If something isnt right on the inside, it will most definitely present itself on the outside.  Taking care of your skin can be so easy with the basics of staying hydrated, eating properly and exfoliating regularly. Yes you read that correctly. Exfoliating. Exfoliating is a key process that so many people miss when it comes to caring for the skin, and not just the skin on our faces.  As we move through our days for various reasons the skin on our body can shed, flake or become dull. Exfoliating is useful because it can help remove the dead and flaky skin by bringing newer + healthier skin to the surface. 

Very similar to the face, you should be exfoliating your body at least 1-2x a week depending on your specific skin type ie sensitive/dry. Exfoliating should always be followed up with a solid moisturizer to add moisture back into the skin (super important).

Now while there are quite a few benefits to exfoliating (brighter + healthier skin), there are some things to also consider before adding exfoliating to your normal routine. Remember that the skin WILL tell you what is working or is not working. So you really want to pay attention to how the skin reacts. Start off very small by exfoliating the full body just 1 time a week, remembering to moisturize afterwards. Take notice of how your skin feels after exfoliating and if there are any changes over the next few days. From there you can add more days as you see fit.

The Methods

Exfoliating your skin doesn’t have to be expensive or an intensive process. There are really two methods that are used to remove dead + dull skin and both are super simple. The 1st method is pretty common and is more than likely something that you are already doing without even knowing it. Using a loofah, washcloth or a body brush to clean the body is considered exfoliating since each item is removing dead skin cells when being used.

My most favorite way of exfoliating is the 2nd method, which is a body scrub. Body scrubs can be found at any retailer that sells body wash and soaps. They can come in an array of colors or scents and even can be for specific skin needs. Now while having those options are great it is also important to note that some of those same products can have strange ingredients added to the base of the scrub for the sole purpose of color, scent or shelf stability. As always do your research when purchasing products and double check those ingredients.

If you wanted to cut down on the weird ingredients you could consider making your own scrub.  The base of any good scrub is made out of ingredients that you may have on hand easily at any given time, using sugar and an oil. I create my own scrub using a basic recipe that I will share below. My base pretty much stays the same each time I make a scrub with the addition of different ingredients such as coffee grounds or essential oils like Citrus. It really depends on what Im looking for in a scrub at that time. You can add ingredients to it to make it your own but please be sure to research those ingredients first and follow the 1 day a week method to see how your body reacts before adding more days to your body care routine.

Basic Body Scrub

• ½ cup brown sugar (I also swap fo white sugar sometimes)
• ½ coconut oil (any oil of your choice)
• 5 drops eucalyptus oil (optional and can use any essential oil that you like)

1. Mix sugar and oil in a container
2. Check consistency, add more sugar/oil until you reach the consistency you like
3. Add essential oils (optional)
4. Store in a room temp location ( I typically leave mine in the shower)