What it is and what it is for?
Peels are treatments with an intense exfoliating action, but that bring together all the characteristics so that they can be applied at home, in complete safety.
These cares generally use chemical and/or enzymatic exfoliants; promoting the detachment of superficial skin cells and thus facilitating their elimination. In this way, they increase blood circulation and brighten and improve the appearance of the skin.
What are the most used ingredients and their function?
Exfoliants and peels have several ingredients, the most effective and common being the following:
Glycolic acid, which has exfoliating benefits, which causes the elimination of dead cells in the skin, smoothing it out. In addition, it increases collagen levels in the skin, making it great for improving skin texture and balancing oiliness.
Lactic acid, a milder ingredient than glycolic acid. It also has exfoliating benefits, but acts less irritatingly. This ingredient promotes a more uniform and radiant skin.
Salicylic acid, an ingredient with exfoliating and sebum-regulating properties. That is, it renews the skin, removing dead cells and excess oil. In addition, it promotes an anti-inflammatory action.
Retinol, also known as vitamin A, an ingredient that increases skin renewal, which means it helps to remove dead cells and stimulates the generation of new healthy skin cells.
Which types exist and what are their differences?
There are two types of scrubs, chemical or physical.
Physical exfoliation is the most common, as it removes dead cells from friction with the particles present in the exfoliant. It can generally be used by all skin types, as long as it is not rubbed too hard so as not to attack the driest and most sensitive skin, being a great example Gommage Douceur Framboise by Payot.
The chemical scrub works on the basis of acid PH components that help to peel the skin, revealing a new layer. That is, chemical exfoliation removes dead cells through peeling caused by a chemical substance with exfoliating action, such as for example Intensive Aha Peel Serum by Esthederm.
What is the most used packaging format and what are the most frequent sizes?
The packaging of exfoliating and facial peels can vary between dispenser, tube, jar, dropper or bottle. Their quantities range from 15ml to 150ml.
What to take into account when choosing an exfoliating or peeling?
When choosing an exfoliating care, it is very important to assess your skin type and see if the treatment you want corresponds to the same. Otherwise, it may cause adverse effects to those desired.
In dry skin, physical exfoliating should be avoided, as they can dry out the skin and cause microcracks. In these cases, opt for the use of chemical exfoliants, as they help remove dead cells present on the skin surface and stimulate healthy skin renewal.
On oily skin you can use stronger chemical and physical exfoliants, such as Exfoliating Scrub by Clinique.
If your skin type is normal, you can choose any method of exfoliation. Choose to experiment to find out which method works best for your skin. You can start, for example, with The Gommage Beauté Skin Resurfacing Peel by Guerlain.
In combined skins, the ideal is to work in each area individually and alternate products as needed. That is, in oily areas follow the advice for oily skin and in dry areas for dry skin. You can apply Sébium Gel Gommant Exfoliant Purifiant by Bioderma.
Finally, if you have sensitive skin, avoid rubbing or using physical exfoliation, as it will irritate your skin even more. Choose a mild chemical scrub and apply with gentle movements, such as Gommage Surfin by La Roche Posay.
What are the recommendations for use and tips?
In order to improve your experience with exfoliating care, the most important, as mentioned earlier, is the choice of the product. That is, assess the needs of your skin and look for a product adapted to it.
Whenever you need to apply hand care, make sure you have it very clean, as it can pass unwanted bacteria on your face.
Usually, exfoliating your skin once or twice a week is enough. Do not overdo the number of exfoliations you do, because if the product is too intense, it can irritate the skin.
Finally, be careful how you exfoliate, if you press too hard and rub your skin it can cause irritation, always choose to make gentle and delicate movements.
What are the pros and cons of using exfoliating or peeling?
Exfoliants and peels improve the condition of the skin, once it gets effectively clean, uniform and smoother, but we must also take into account the disadvantages.
In certain cases, allergic reactions can be triggered by these products. In such cases, it will be important to check the composition of the product and make sure that none of them could be harmful to the skin.
On the other hand, depending on the objective of the care, it can bring numerous benefits, such as: clean and deeply purify the skin; improve skin cell renewal; uniform skin texture; facilitate blood microcirculation; effectively illuminate and moisturize skin.
