5 Exfoliating Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

Chelsea Dolan

February 21, 2020

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Exfoliating is one of the most important steps in every good skincare routine. It’s a healthy way to rid your skin of the dead skin cells that gradually build up each day, but if you’re not careful, this step can cause more harm than good. To avoid irritation, dryness and other unwanted problems, make sure to be aware of the five most common exfoliating mistakes you might not even know you’re making.

1. Not Prepping Your Skin Correctly

Before even picking up your exfoliator, you need to prep your skin. Your face needs to be rid of all make-up and cleansed properly before scrubbing off the dead skin cells. Some facial cleansers already have exfoliant acting ingredients in their formulas. In that case, be gentle or go with a non-exfoliating cleanser to avoid doing too much.

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2. Scrubbing Too Hard

You might feel the need to forcibly scrub your skin to get the most out of your exfoliating session, but this is one of the worst things you can do because the skin on your face is highly sensitive. Exfoliating too harshly will tear your skin and potentially cause scarring. To avoid this problem, let the product do the work for you. Use your hand or a rotating brush and gently sweep the surface of the skin and have the exfoliant do the rest.

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3. Exfoliating Too Much Or Not Enough

While cleansing and moisturizing your face is something you should do every day, this isn’t the case for exfoliation. Scrubbing your skin every night can cause damage to your face by producing redness and irritation. On the other hand, not exfoliating enough can make your skin duller and more textured. The number of times you should exfoliate per week depends on your skin type. People with normal-to-combination can get away with exfoliating up to three times a week. If you have sensitive skin, then less is more. You should gently exfoliate only one to two times each week to avoid irritation.

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4. Forgetting To Moisturize Afterward

Not only does exfoliating your skin scrub away dead skin cells, but it also inevitably scrubs away moisture. Not all exfoliating products are moisturizing which means they may strip away the natural oils that hydrate your face. As long as you have a good moisturizer incorporated into your routine, this is an easy problem to fix. Applying moisturizer post-exfoliating will reapply all the moisture you lost in the process of exfoliating.

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5. Not Using The Right Product For Your Skin

Certain exfoliating products cater to different skin types such as oily, acne-prone, sensitive and more. This means depending on your personal skin type, the exfoliator you’re using could be completely wrong for you. Look at the ingredients of your exfoliant to help decide if it will help your skin needs. For example, avoid products with microbeads if you have sensitive skin. While it might be a holy grail product for people with dry skin, it will probably trigger unwanted irritation if you’re not careful.

Looking to shop some of the best exfoliating products in the market? These are a few of our favorites, which have been hand-picked by our beauty editors!