One of the best first steps in the quest for smooth skin is exfoliating. Coupled with a healthy diet, plenty of water every day, and a good night’s sleep, there are few things better for your skin. But before you rush out and buy the first exfoliator you see, let the experts at SiO Beauty give you some helpful tips. Along the way, we’ll answer such questions as:
- Why is exfoliation so important?
- How often should I exfoliate?
- Should I use a store-bought or all-natural exfoliator?
After we answer those questions, we’ll list the eight best all-natural face exfoliators you can use in your fight against aging and wrinkled skin. As an added bonus, we’ll show you the best way to get smooth skin overnight. So let’s get down to business!
Why Is Exfoliation So Important?
Exfoliation is important for healthy, young-looking skin because your body is always producing new skin cells. The old skin cells usually slough off over the course of a few days or a week. Sometimes, though, a small amount of cells are left behind that can clog otherwise clean pores and make your skin look older than it actually is.
Using an exfoliant (also known as an exfoliator) as part of your skincare routine helps remove old, dead skin cells and speeds up cell renewal. This makes it easier for new, healthy skin to grow. As great as all that sounds, it’s very easy to overdo exfoliation and cause more damage to your skin than is necessary. That brings us to our next question.
How Often Should I Exfoliate?
As explained above, exfoliation removes the top layer of dead skin cells and exposes the delicate, sensitive skin underneath. That can be great for your looks, but it can make your skin more susceptible to damage from environmental factors like pollution and the sun’s UV rays.
That’s why we recommend exfoliating your face, neck, and chest only once per week. Restricting this part of your skincare routine to once every five to seven days gives your new skin time to build up some defense against the environmental factors that work to tear it down.
But sometimes, even exfoliating daily or once a week can do more harm than good if you have the wrong exfoliant. But what makes one exfoliant better than another? We’ll answer that question in the next section.
Should I Use A Store-Bought Or All-Natural Exfoliator?
Store-bought exfoliators often contain caustic ingredients—like alcohol—that can dry out tender skin with just one application. If you’re looking for a safe store-bought exfoliator specially designed for your chest area, we suggest SiO Beauty’s Décolleté Cleansing Discs.
If you really want to go the all-natural route, the best place to look is in your kitchen or at your local market. If you think it’s too good to be true, read on to learn about the eight best all-natural face exfoliators (in no particular order).
The 8 Best All-Natural Face Exfoliators
Try these all-natural face exfoliators for fresher skin with fewer wrinkles.
1) Oatmeal As An Exfoliant
Oats, or oatmeal, is one of the gentlest exfoliators available. Because of this, it’s great for those with sensitive skin. In addition to its powers as a face exfoliator, oatmeal also contains anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties that can benefit all skin types.
For an even bigger moisturizing boost, mix two to three tablespoons of finely-ground oats with one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of raw or organic milk.
Insider tip: milk draws out oils while soothing skin!
Gently scrub the mixture onto your face, neck, and chest using circular motions, let the exfoliator sit for fifteen minutes, and then rinse with lukewarm water.
2) Baking Soda As An Exfoliant
Many expensive exfoliant products contain baking soda as their main ingredient, so you know it must be good...and it is. Baking soda is very gentle on irritated skin but still does an excellent job of removing dead skin cells. And it’s super simple to use. You can mix it in with your regular skin cleanser for an added boost or make a paste with one teaspoon of baking soda and two teaspoons of water. It’s just that easy!
3) Sea Salt As An Exfoliant
While being a mild abrasive, sea salt also contains trace minerals that can rejuvenate tired skin, promote moisture retention, and stimulate cell growth. Sea salt works best as an all-natural exfoliator, but you can use regular table salt if you’re in a pinch. Mix one teaspoon of salt with two teaspoons of your favorite oil (e.g., olive or coconut) for a simple-yet-effective exfoliating scrub.
4) Sugar As An Exfoliant
A gentler alternative to sea salt is sugar. Sugar is more finely ground, so it won’t be as abrasive as salt is. Sugar also contains small amounts of glycolic acid, which helps break down dead skin cells, prevent clogged pores, and decrease fine lines.
Mix one teaspoon of sugar (either white or brown will do just fine) with two teaspoons of oil like you did with the salt or honey, and you’ll have a powerful, all-natural exfoliator.
5) Apple Cider Vinegar As An Exfoliant
Apple cider vinegar contains natural alphahydroxy acids, which help loosen dead skin cells so they will naturally slough off more easily. And like all the other exfoliators on this list, using apple cider vinegar couldn’t be easier. Soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and rub it on your face, neck, and chest with circular motions after washing as usual.
6) Coffee As An Exfoliant
Coffee, like salt and sugar, is a great exfoliant because it’s mildly abrasive. That means that it will remove the top layer of skin without damaging the skin underneath.
Coffee, as you know, contains caffeine, which is why so many of us drink it in the morning to wake up. That same caffeine can perk up your skin and decrease puffiness when used topically.
Add one teaspoon of fresh or used coffee grounds to one teaspoon of your favorite oil for a nourishing, skin-tightening, wrinkle-fighting scrub that is as good as your favorite cup of coffee in the morning.
7) Ground Rice As An Exfoliant
Ground rice (rice powder or flour) is another gentle-yet-effective, all-natural exfoliant. The texture of the ground rice and the softness of the tiny granules are what makes this product so effective.
Ground rice is also very absorbent, so it can soak up excess oil (and dead skin cells along with it), which helps keep pores clean and clear. Mix two teaspoons of ground rice with one tablespoon of honey for a great anti-blemish exfoliant that is safe for all skin types.
8) Almond Powder As An Exfoliant
We’ve long heard about the health benefits of eating almonds. But those same nuts, when finely ground, can act as a gentle exfoliator that helps keep your skin healthy, too. You’ll probably have to shop for this product though because most people don’t keep it on their shelves like salt, sugar, and coffee.
But the results will be worth the effort. One teaspoon of almond powder and one teaspoon of water mixed together is all you’ll need to gently exfoliate your face once per week.
Moisture Is More Important Than Exfoliation
Stripping away dead skin cells to give new skin time to shine is an important step in the war against wrinkles. But there’s an even more crucial process that can mean the difference between wrinkled skin and smooth skin, no matter how much or little you exfoliate. What is this miracle process? Moisturizing.
Moisturizing, or keeping your skin hydrated, is often considered to be the holy grail of the skincare world. The more water you can keep in your skin, the better. This is because moisture:
- Slows the signs of aging.
- Reduces inflammation.
- Plumps skin.
- Promotes collagen growth.
- Fights acne.
- Balances pH.
- Protects skin.
Creams and balms do a decent job of keeping moisture in your skin, but they can only go so far and eventually wear off. But there is a solution that moisturizes your skin for a full six to eight hours every day. What is that solution? The medical grade silicone patch.
Though you may have never heard of a medical grade silicone skin patch, the technology has been around for years. Medical grade silicone sheets were originally used in hospitals to help heal stubborn burns and scars. The patches work by creating a microclimate underneath the patch that pulls moisture from deep beneath the skin and brings it to the surface. This leads to plumper, smoother, healthier and replenished skin.
SiO Beauty harnessed that same technology to create its line of SiO Beauty medical grade silicone power patches. With SiO Beauty patches, all the healing happens while you sleep. Simply select one (or many) of SiO Beauty’s specially-designed shapes, including:
- Brow.
- Face.
- Eye & Smile.
- Neck.
- Décolleté.
Then just apply the patches nightly before you go to bed (yes, you can wear more than one at a time!) and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll wake up in the morning with firmer, more hydrated skin, and if you have wrinkles, you will see an immediately smoothed appearance.
The more you wear the SiO silicone power patches, the more pronounced the results will be over time. Still not convinced? Check out these amazing results from real women.
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