To scrub or not to scrub…
Scrub, exfoliate, polish…We’re not talking about cleaning pots and pans, or scrubbing the floor, we’re talking about removing a layer of dead skin cells from your epidermis (your skin). Your skin is creating new cells and shedding old cells every day; we actually lose a shocking 200,000,000 (yes, you read that right!) EVERY HOUR! Some of these do actually fall off, get transferred onto things we come into contact with – clothes, sheets, etc., but that still leaves a lot just lining the surface of our skin.
When your skin feels a little “rough” to the touch, as opposed to “smooth as a baby’s bottom”, that’s when you know you need to exfoliate and get rid of a layer of those dead cells. Your skin can also develop a dullness in appearance and fine lines will become evident over time. This layer of cells can also create the production of whiteheads and blackheads as hair follicles become blocked and/or sebum trapped. All signs that you need to pay your skin some attention. The good news is that many of these signs can and will be reversed by the simple act of exfoliation.
Both body and face can benefit from a regular exfoliation routine, but do not use the same products on both! Your face has skin that is much more sensitive and needs to be treated differently to your body, especially hands and feet.
Basically there are three levels of exfoliation – the roughest, for your hands and feet can consist of coarse sea salt, pumice stones, ground walnut shells, even sand; the middle level, for your body, could consist of ground apricot kernels, oatmeal, fine sea salt, sugar, etc; the finest level is for your face and is often referred to as a polish rather than a scrub, this could be fine sugar, ground oatmeal, powdered herbs and even fruit enzymes.
The very simplest rough exfoliator, to be used on hands and feet, would consist of something like:
a cup of coarse sea salt mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil and a few drops of your favorite essential oil (if desired). Mix well, then apply to damp skin, rub in well for a few minutes then rinse with warm water. Pat skin dry. Of course you can use any of the rough level exfoliants – ground pumice, ground walnut shells, etc.
For the rest of the body a similar recipe is used but with a finer exfoliant. You can mix one or more together if you like, fine sea salt with oatmeal for example. Again add a tablespoon of olive (or any other carrier oil – avocado, grape seed, wheat germ, vitamin E….) and again, your choice of adding essential oils or not, but only a few drops.
The face is a little trickier; you must avoid the eye area and never use salt of any kind – if you get it in your eyes, it can be terrible. Use the finest ground polishing agents, like ground oatmeal, finely ground coffee grounds, extra fine sugar. Some people cannot even use these on their face, the skin is just too sensitive OR – like myself – their skin has just got thinner as it gets older (happens to us all, I’m afraid) and you find you can no longer scrub your face like you used to. In this case, enzymes are the way to go rather than abrasive granules. Enzymes help to break down the keratin in the skin’s upper layers, which helps it lift off anything dead and it does this in a funky way. The enzymes literally digest the dead skin on your face. Sounds weird but it works!
You can try this recipe:
1 cup fresh pineapple, cubed
½ cup fresh papaya, cubed
1 Tbsp honey
Blend together and apply a thin layer to the face, avoiding eye area. You may feel a tingling sensation; if it gets too uncomfortable, remove it immediately, otherwise leave for 5-10 minutes then remove with warm water. Pat skin dry.
Other things you can try are puréed pumpkin (very in season!!) strawberries, kiwi. Any can be mixed with yoghurt and or honey. I promise you, your skin will thank you for the attention, and you will feel so much better in your own skin. One last word, do not over exfoliate, you should not need to do this more than twice a week and if your skin is sensitive, only once.