When the weather heats up and the humidity starts to rise, it’s tempting to up your skin’s exfoliating game. But you shouldn’t. Sure, it may feel like you’re doing a good thing by removing excess dirt and debris, along with dead skin cells, but exfoliating more than once a week with a scrub or every other week with a chemical exfoliator can actually impact your dermis’ natural protection barrier and not in a good way. Too much rubbing and scrubbing can damage your skin, warn the experts at Featuring…You Spa in Toronto. Not sure how to know or tell when enough is enough? These aesthetic experts do and are sharing six warning signs to alert you to pause your exfoliation regime…
1. Flaky Skin
Over-exfoliation can lead to rough, dehydrated, patchy and flaky skin. This usually means your over-exfoliated skin has lost its ability to absorb or retain moisture.
2. Oily Skin
Sometimes, your skin might produce excess oil as a way of compensating for lost oils due to over-exfoliation. Your skin does this to hydrate and protect itself.
3. Skin Acne
Regular exfoliation, conducted once a week with an at home scrub or every other week with a chemical exfoliator will clear the debris from your pores and prevent pimples. However, when you over-exfoliate, you weaken the skin and damage its defense. This makes it easy for acne-causing bacteria to get into the skin and cause pimples to breed.
4. Tight and Dry Skin
Once your skin is stripped of its natural oils, it might lose its natural lubrication. Over-exfoliating will make your skin feel tight and dry.
5. Skin Irritation and Redness
Skin irritation is one of the earliest signs of over-exfoliation. It’s normal for your skin to turn slightly red after exfoliation but, if your skin remains red for hours or days after you exfoliate, you’re probably over doing it.
6. Shiny Skin
If you have shiny, translucent skin after exfoliating, it may mean you have done some damage The shininess shows after your skin has been stripped of its original texture. It also means that the skin barrier has been weakened, making its appearance seem unnatural.
