Renew, Revive, and Reflect: Exfoliate, now!

The monkeys have it folks, we’re grubby: we live in a pile of dead skin. If you want any moisturizer to work on your skin you gotta get down to the good healthy layers. Your skin is like an onion, you gotta take that flakey dry layer off first to get to the healthy layers. Now onions make most people cry but you don’t want to cry when you exfoliate!

Here are some keys reminders to have in mind when incorporating exfoliating into your skin care routine. For oily and normal skin, lots of scrubbing and sloughing may not be the answer to reducing your oil production and you may be exacerbating the problem by over exfoliating. Think of it as gently brushing off the old dead skin rather than scrubbing at the young living skin. For Dry skin, be mindful of how your skin is feeling, and go slow and less often.

Which exfoliant is right for which job?

Natural Exfoliants range in hardness, sharpness and durability. General rule of thumb? Soft and gentle for the face; mid range hardness for the body and full on hard for the calloused feet. As always, do a test patch first to make sure your skin isn’t irritated.

Lovin’ your Face
Here are some natural options for Face Exfoliating.
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• Ground Oatmeal helps normalize skin pH levels, relieves skin irritation and gently exfoliates sensitive skin.
  
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• Dried Rose Petals have been used since ancient times for skin care. They cleanse the skin, moisturize, fade blemishes and gently exfoliate, leaving a bright, healthy glow. Rose petals work best for Dry and Normal Skin. ​​
  
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• Organic Cane Sugar small grains exfoliates, while drawing moisture to the skin and leaving a healthy glow. Sugar has rounded edges that won’t be too abrasive, especially for Normal skin. The other good news is that it melts quickly, reducing your gentle scrub time.
  
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• Dried Lavender petals exfoliate, countering the effects of pollution with anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties. Lavender petals work best for Normal and Oily skin.
  
  
• Gram Flour, an Indian Beauty regimen staple, removes dead cells, excess sebum and dirt leaving skin clean and smooth. Its awesome for all skin types.

Body Scrubbin’
Here are some natural options for Body Exfoliating.​
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• Epsom Salts, high in magnesium and sulfate, can reduce inflammation, kill bacteria and flush out toxins while removing dead skin cells. The edges on these crystals are a harder than sugar, but just the right range for body skin.
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• Ground Coffee invigorates and tightens up the skin, decreasing the appearance cellulite. Ideal for thighs and butts.
  
  
• Ground Cinnamon improves skin tone, detoxifies and helps reduce signs of aging, Works best on Normal to Oily skin.
  
  
• Ground Apricot Shells are just hard enough on the skin for a thorough, deep cleansing.
  
  
• Ground Brown Rice exfoliates, detoxifies and deeply cleans the skin while tightening and smoothing.​
  
  
• Ground Adzuki Beans exfoliate, detoxify and deeply clean the skin while tightening, smoothing and leaving a healthy glow. Adzuki Beans have been a staple in old school Japanese Beauty care for centuries.

Feet don’t fail me now!
Here are some natural options for Feet Exfoliating.

• Walnut scrubs, structure boasts a higher level of hardness to scrub tough calloused skin, walnut oil carries Vitamin B and Vitamin E to help nourish new skin. Keep this one just on your tough skin bits--it will strip a more than a layer off. There are other blogs that advise using walnut scrubs on the face. Ok, we tried it and were red and raw for days after, taking a full week to recover.
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• Pumice stone, for feet that are hard as rock. This volcanic rock, with swiss cheese like pockets is ideal for scrubbing off callouses. Soak feet first to soften hard skin.

Photo: Hans Mauli

Be gentle with yourself inside and out.

​When you look in the mirror, consider and reflect on the thoughts that rumble around in your mind. Are they who you really are or someone else's idea about who you should be? Our minds are fluid and we can shift our thoughts at any time. Compassion comes with choice and self-care. Slough off the old expectations and images of yourself, so you can nourish and grow the liberating and living pictures of who you actually are. Life's an adventure, enjoy yours!