What's The Big Deal With Exfoliation?
I talk all day long with my clients about exfoliation. One client told me that I'm like a dentist talking about flossing; that made me laugh.
But it is that important! We should all be flossing and we should all be exfoliating.
As we age our skin loses the ability to slough of the dead outer layers of surface skin. That's why older folks have dry, duller skin. I think we're all clear on that.
With regards to body waxing and especially bikini area waxing, it is super important to exfoliate. If you have a bunch of dead skin laying on the surface, the hairs will try to grow back through, curl under, get caught under the dead skin, and make a big, painful, infected bump. Everyone deals with ingrown hairs, some have them pretty bad and some have very few, but we all get them and the way to prevent and treat them is to get rid of that dead skin. The more dead skin you can get rid of by exfoliation, the better waxing results you will have and the fewer ingrown hairs you will have to deal with.
Please know that while I discuss this topic it is in reference to body waxing. Not facial waxing.
You can exfoliate in lots of different ways and with a variety of different methods. I don't care what you use as long as you stay within a few parameters; to start with, it must be pretty abrasive. An exfoliating body wash won't work as those are too gentle. Similarly, a body pouf won't work, those are too gentle. What I you want to use is something like a scrub made out of sugar or salt. Exfoliation gloves can work, too. Exfoliating cloths made out of hemp are great option, just make sure it's pretty abrasive. I also like the natural fiber loofahs and think they work well but listen to this: You need to use natural fiber loofas DRY. Get those wet and they become too soft to be effective and they grow bacteria in all those little holes. Yuck.
Wait until 2-3 days after your wax and then begin exfoliating the area 3 or 4 times a week, every week. Forever. Exfoliation needs to become a habit and a regular part of your self care regimen.
For lots of folks scrubbing 3-4 times a week still isn't enough to prevent ingrown hairs and they need to kick it up a notch. In this situation it is necessary to add an ingrown hair serum to your regimen, and you are going to use it every single day. Ingrown hair serums use chemical exfoliants like glycolic and lactic acid to remove even more dead skin, kill bacteria, and sooth the skin. My ingrown hair serum, Buena Cera Serum Exfoliant, contains glycolic acid, lactic acid, aloe, green tea, chamomile, and sea kelp. It's gentle enough to use every day and it's super effective.
My happiest clients with the best results are the ones who are super consistent with their exfoliating and ingrown hair serum usage. They exfoliate in the shower 3-4 times a week and they apply their ingrown hair serum every day. They have beautiful skin, with no ingrown hairs. That can be you, too!
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