Image: iStock.
During a delightful facial recently (the kind where I ended up jolting awake suddenly, hoping the beauty therapist didn’t notice) I asked a question:
“When you used the exfoliator just before, why did you just sort of press it on rather than rub it in?”
“That’s how you’re meant to use it,” she explained in that soothing facialist voice I assume they’re taught at facial school.
“But aren’t you meant to just gently massage it onto your face?”
Silence.
“You know, in a circular motion?”
Crickets.
It turns out she was right. And I was wrong. So very wrong. If you’re someone who’s massaged or rubbed your exfoliator onto your face, you’ve apparently missed the memo.
“By ‘rubbing’ exfoliator too vigorously over the skin’s surface we can damage the protective layer. A gentle gliding or ‘press and release’ action with wet fingertips should be all that is required,” explains Danielle Williams, Jurlique’s Education Specialist. (Post continues after gallery.)
The Glow team's favourite exfoliators
“If we are overly zealous with either our technique or frequency, we can deplete the hydrolipidic barrier that prevents moisture loss, as well as contributing to ruptured capillaries by thinning the surface layer.”
Sure, exfoliating is fantastic for removing dead skin cells. It leaves your skin smooth and more able to soak up the goodness from serums and moisturisers but we don’t need to grind the product into our skin to achieve this.
