What Is an Exfoliant?

When it comes to getting glowing, flawless skin, an exfoliator is key! An exfoliant can help to get rid of pore-clogging excess dead skin cells, improve skin texture, and encourage cellular turnover for firmer, younger-looking skin. When it comes to the guys, a good face exfoliator is a godsend for dealing with ingrown beard hairs, too. Exfoliators come in many forms - the best exfoliant for you depends on your skin type!

Which Exfoliant is Right For Me?

Depending on your skin type, you’ve got two main categories of face exfoliator to choose from: chemical and physical. Either one will help scrub away dead skin cells for smoother, brighter looking skin. They’re not just for your face, either - regular body exfoliation is great for scrubbing away dead skin for super smooth skin from head to toe. 

Physical Exfoliator

A physical face exfoliant product contains tiny particles that physically scrub away dead skin cells to improve skin texture and help decongest pores. An exfoliating scrub can be made of natural particles like walnut shells or jojoba microbeads to buff dead skin away. These natural exfoliating granules are much more environmentally-friendly than plastic microbeads, too! 

An exfoliating scrub can polish away larger particles than acid exfoliants, so they’re not as good at encouraging skin cell turnover. They're better for instant results, like getting rid of visible skin flakes and instantly smoother skin. 

Physical exfoliators tend to be better for oily, acne-prone skin as they can help to clear away any pore-clogging debris for clearer skin.

Chemical Exfoliator

This process is also called acid exfoliation - these skin care ingredients gently dissolve the ‘glue’ that holds dead skin cells to the skin. A salicylic acid exfoliant is one of the most common types of acid face exfoliant - it’s perfect for oily skin types as it breaks down sebum for skin that’s less greasy and clog-prone. It impacts pore size, too - since there’s fewer dead skin cells and less sebum to fill up pores, they look much smaller and skin looks glass-like. 

Other chemical exfoliants include lactic acid and glycolic acid. These skincare ingredients are better for normal to combination skin - they’re less effective for breakouts, but great at brightening skin, smoothing texture, and reducing the look of wrinkles. 

A third face exfoliator that falls in this category is enzyme exfoliants. They’re usually a form of naturally-sourced fruit acids that provide gentle, yet effective exfoliation.

Acidic exfoliation is great for all skin types, but mature skin definitely benefits more from the slight anti-ageing benefits they offer. 

Does A Gentle Face Exfoliator Exist?

Yes! In most cases, the gentler the better - the best exfoliator for sensitive skin is a soft scrubor a low-percentage acid exfoliator. There’s no reason for sensitive skin to miss out on the benefits of a great exfoliant!

Beauty Affairs has exfoliants to suit all skin routines - from a gentle Declaré exfoliator to a more intensive exfoliating treatment from Elizabeth Arden, all your favourite brands are here to help you get gorgeous, glowing skin.

Related Categories

Chemical Exfoliant | Physical Exfoliant