Exfoliating, that one step in your skincare routine that actually feels like you are doing something to your skin and works-  but do we actually understand it? And are we fixing our skin barrier or damaging it?

Exfoliators come in three different forms: the one we all associate with exfoliating, physical scrubs, chemical exfoliators and enzymes.
Radiance has spoken to Emily Britten, an award winning skincare specialist from Kent to tell us how, what and when we should be exfoliating. 

“Your physical exfoliators are gritty, so you know you’re exfoliating your skin. Chemicals and enzymes don’t have that grittiness.“ Says Emily. “Chemicals are acid based, like salicylic acid, and enzymes are typically fruit based, like pineapple, so they are a lot kinder to the skin than what chemicals are.”

Exfoliating should be done maximum one or two times a week.

She says: “You want to exfoliate in the evenings. The purpose of your skincare routine in the morning is to protect your skin for the day ahead and in the evening is when you do all of your corrective repairs.”

According to Emily, people’s main mistake when exfoliating is thinking that you should physically scrub once a week but then using an acid based cleanser or moisturizer, which results in them exfoliating three times a day, which can be extremely damaging. 

READ MORE: Active vs Non-active Ingredients: What’s the difference?

Emily explained to me our skin’s regeneration process and if it is actually necessary to exfoliate, so I’ll let her explain it to you too: 

“Teenagers and young people are the people who ironically exfoliate the most and are the ones that need it the least,” she says. 

Exfoliating can be a key part of your weekly skincare routine when done properly but can be very detrimental when abused.