How Often Should I Exfoliate? Here's What Experts Suggest

Unsplash/Jernej Graj

There are multiple facets to the ideal skin care regimen, and exfoliation is a super important one of them. Done right, it allows you to safely slough off dead skin cells that leave your skin looking dry and dull and make room for the fresh, new layer underneath to breathe and glow. However, there is such a thing as overdoing it, and many of us are a little too scrub-happy, which harms your skin more than it helps it.

Often times, when we notice a new blemish on our faces or find ourselves in the middle of a breakout, we’re quick to assume the reason we’re facing these issues is that our pores are clogged and we need to adopt a more aggressive exfoliation routine to clean things up. However, scrubbing your face with an abrasive material, be it coffee grounds or raw sugar, when it’s already agitated will likely only make matters worse. And preemptively exfoliating daily to avoid said breakouts isn’t ideal, either.

Exfoliating too much strips your skin of its natural oils that it needs to stay balanced. And when you remove too much oil at once, that signals your skin to overproduce more to make up for the deficit. This surge of new oil then creates — you guessed it — the breakouts you’re trying to avoid in the first place. Exfoliating too often can also leave your face raw, red, splotchy and all-around irritated because you’re exposing new skin before it’s ready. Even worse, chronically over-exfoliating your skin can lead it to become thinner over time, increasing signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles.

So, how often should you exfoliate to reap all the benefits and avoid all the pitfalls?

Unsplash/Alex Perez

If you have normal, combination or oily skin, you can exfoliate your face two to three times each week without risking overdoing it and causing excess inflammation or breakouts. And if you have sensitive skin, once a week will suffice. We know, this doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it comes to abrasive products and your skin, a little bit goes a long way.

And if you want the best results from your exfoliation routine, there are three components you need: the actual scrub component that removes dead skin cells, a chemical that uses either enzymes or acids to dissolve dead skin cells and then a soothing moisturizing agent that can calm any irritation inspired by exfoliating. You can accomplish this balance with three separate products or an all-in-one option, but make sure you’re not skipping any of the three steps. We prefer to pick a natural scrub from our kitchen cabinet like fine coffee grounds, use a fruit enzyme exfoliant product separately and then finish up with a generous layer of pure argan oil.

At the end of the day, be kind to your skin, friends. Give it what it needs, and then just let it be.

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