The Importance of Exfoliation

What is Exfoliation?

Exfoliation is the removal of the dead skin cells on the skin’s surface. You can exfoliate by using abrasive brushes on the skin, or by using exfoliating scrubs that contain Micro-pearls or beads which gently exfoliate the skin using your hands or a cloth.

Why is exfoliation important when it comes to waxing?

Exfoliating before hair removal is essential for the treatment to work at its best. It gently loosens the dead skin cells and improves the texture of dry, rough patches and prepares the skin for hair removal.

Proper exfoliation removes dead skin cells which clog the skin and uncovers fresh new cells below. This allows for treatments, such as waxing, to lift the hair from the root, preventing hair breakage and producing a much better result.

It also helps prevent ingrown hairs. An ingrown hair can occur when the hair follicle becomes clogged with dead skin cells. This clogging can force a hair to grow sideways, but regular exfoliation will help prevent that build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin.

How to exfoliate

No matter what part of your body you’re exfoliating, you can exfoliate safely by moving a brush in small, circular motions. To exfoliate your body, start at your legs and slowly work up to your chest, back, and arms. For your face, start at the nose and move up to your forehead, then continue in a circle around the rest of your face. If your pores are clogged, open them up before exfoliating by taking a warm shower. If you don’t have a brush, or you’d rather an exfoliating face and body scrub, apply a generous amount to dry skin and massage in circular motions, concentrating on areas of hard skin and ingrown hairs. Rinse off under running water and repeat 2-3 times per week.

By exfoliating regularly, it allows products to penetrate the skin deeper, which makes moisturising more effective. In short, a regular exfoliating routine will leave your skin looking fresh and healthy as well as preparing your skin for hair removal treatments.

Recommendations

We would recommend our Face and Body Scrub. It is a gentle, non-abrasive face and body polish in a moisturising cream base which contains biodegradable jojoba micro-pearls, which provide an effective exfoliating action without scratching or irritating the skin. The scrub deeply cleanses and refines skin texture to restore a healthy-looking complexion, and is suitable for use on all parts of the face and body. If used regularly at home, it can help in the prevention and treatment of ingrown hairs after waxing or shaving. It can be used as a pre-waxing salon treatment to loosen dead skin cells and lift the hair for better results. We recommend this, particularly for the legs. Shop here…

If you would like to use a brush for exfoliation, for the face, we would recommend using Afterspa Facial Micro Scrubber. This dual sided scrubber with removable towel-like cloth covers everyday complete exfoliation on the face and neck. It helps to eliminate impurities and dead cells for cleaner and healthier skin. Shop here…

For the whole body the Afterspa Exfoliating Scrubber has a sponge inside which creates a luxurious lather and a cleansing bathing experience. Use all over body, feet and all the areas that need a little more exfoliation.

For harder to reach areas the Afterspa Back Scrubber, which comes with handles, exfoliates the full body, including hard-to-reach areas with a cloth-covered sponge made from exfoliating cotton. Deeply cleanses your skin and stimulates circulation if accompanied by a good massage. Shop here…

For sensitive and combination skin the Afterspa Round dual texture scrubber deeply cleanses your skin with a sponge covered in fabric and double texture for face and body. This product is treated with an antimicrobial that provides resistance to the attack of bacteria, fungi and mites. clinically tested, for all skin types. Shop here…

Other products which are great for exfoliating the skin are the AfterSpa Bath & Shower Exfoliating Gloves. Perfect for a pre-tan ritual or to simply deeply exfoliate skin. The exfoliating gloves are also treated with an antimicrobial that provides resistance to the attack of bacteria, fungi and mites and are clinically tested, for all skin types.

Also, Afterspas Exfoliating Wash Cloths, which come in two different colours, are excellent for achieving radiant, clean and soft skin while removing dead cells from your body. The exfoliating gloves are treated with an antimicrobial that provides resistance to the attack of bacteria, fungi and mites and are clinically tested, for all skin types. It is stretchable fabric to clean and polish hard-to-reach areas. Shop here…

The Daily Concepts Body Kit comes with a natural wooden handle, perfect for hard to reach areas or slip your hand into the back pouch of the scrubber for easy handling. It also doubles up as a body applicator, allowing you to apply creams and lotions. The fabrics work thoroughly to keep you clean and moisturised and help with the self-tanning process. Plus, the label indicator lets you know when it needs to be replaced. Perfect for all skin types and great to use if you have sensitive skin. Shop here…

All the Aftercare and Daily Concepts products are not tested on animals and are cruelty-free.