Video: What Is the Purpose of an Exfoliant?

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About the Expert

Kristy Charlier

http://officialocm.com/

Kristy Charlier has been a professional aesthetician since 1999. Charlier has international experience and accreditation.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Kristy Charlier, professional aesthetician. And today, I'm going to talk to you about, "What is the purpose of an exfoliant?" When we're younger, we have normal skin - it means that it's functioning at optimum level. The acid mantle on your skin is shedding its skin cells every 28 days. As we get into puberty, the hormones kick in and oil production increases, therefore stimulating more oil in skin for young people. This, combined with dead skin cells that haven't been shed yet, accumulates in the follicle, and this leads to blockages such as open comedones, blackheads which, if left untreated, the wall of the follicle ruptures and can turn into pustules and papules and cystic acne. So, exfoliation is definitely necessary to speed this up so that we get rid of these dead skin cells. So, I'm going to demonstrate on Chelsea today how to use an exfoliant. Today I'm going to use on Chelsea L'Oreal Paris Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub. So, first we're going to make sure that Chelsea's skin is damp. Going to go ahead and dampen her skin. Exfoliating is great to do in the shower, because along with the steam action which will open up those pores, you can gently get in with the granules to properly exfoliate the skin. So, you want to make sure that you use about a pea size of product. Just gently put this into the fingertip. Just about that much. Grab a little bit more water, and make sure that you get a nice foam action here. You can actually feel the apricot seed powder granules here, along with the salycilic and citric acid, the beta hydroxy acids. This is going to go along and gently get rid of this dead skin buildup on her skin. Want to use circular motions, and go down the jawline. Pay particular attention to her oily zones, and down the bridge of her nose. Make sure you gently get into the corners of the nose. This is where a lot of people have that buildup of comedones. Just make sure you don't scrub too much in here, because over scrubbing can actually cause the broken capillaries along that nose area, so, especially around the cheeks as well. I recommend exfoliating about two to three times a week. This exfoliant is actually formulated for everyday use. It is safe enough to use everyday, but I wouldn't recommend scrubbing too hard with it. Just make sure, if you're going to use it everyday, make sure that you have a gentle pressure. So, this is exfoliating scrub comes with an actual scrublet that can assist you in the shower. The scrublet, combined with the beta hydroxy acids of the salicylic and citric acids leaves your natural moisturizing barrier intact while gently cleaning the pore and exfoliating that dead skin cell and oil out of the pore, leaving you with a more dewy complexion that is not dull and lifeless, that is actually nice and glowy. Okay, depending on your skin type and condition, you want to make sure that, you know, you're doing and exfoliant to help clean out those dead skin cells. But, you also don't want to overstimulate the skin, causing broken capillaries. So, I would recommend, if you're more on the oily side, two to three times a week. If you're more on the dry side, you could probably just do once a week. You don't want to overstimulate the skin and cause damage. And, you know, want to keep your barrier intact by removing this dead skin so that you're left with a nice healthy glow. As you can see from Chelsea's skin, it's alive, it's glowing. The healthy skin cells are now coming to the top of the skin. So, that's the purpose of using an exfoliant. I'm Kristy Charlier. Thank you for watching.