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I once thought exfoliating was a pretty useless skincare step, and I felt I had better things to do with my time, like playing Duck Hunt, reading cheesy V.C. Andrews books and watching The Craft for the millionth time.

That changed around the time I hit 30. My skin started to change, started looking duller and less dewy.

Turns out that as we age the body takes progressively longer to “turn over” new skin cells, the process of pushing new cells to the surface of the skin to replace dead ones.

Why exfoliate?

The longer dead skin cells hang around on the surface of the face, the greater the likelihood of clogged pores, acne and a dull, lackluster complexion.

Exfoliation to the rescue!

Exfoliation, whether physical (like with a facial scrub) or chemical (like with a toner containing salicylic acid), brightens dull skin by sloughing away dead skin cells and increasing the rate of cell turnover.

It can also help to clear breakouts, smooth out the skin and enhance the efficacy of anti-aging treatments and moisturizers by increasing their rate of absorption.

I definitely notice a difference in my skin now when I go too long without exfoliating. It looks older, as in less rosy and glowy.

How often should you exfoliate?

Many beauty experts and dermatologists are divided on how much exfoliating one should do. Some doctors recommend exfoliating just once or twice a week; others say twice a day.
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