We must refrain from indulging in the obsession for a healthy face skin

Feb 10, 2009 19:51 GMT  ·  By
Scrubbing the face should not be done more than twice a week, dermatologists warn
   Scrubbing the face should not be done more than twice a week, dermatologists warn

There are so many products available promising to offer us healthy, great looking, radiant skin, that the temptation to use them as much as we can slowly sneaks in. This does not mean, though, that we should give in to it and ruin our face in the process, dermatologists warn. Exfoliating and over-scrubbing the skin on our face can have terrible results, quite the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.

We are a generation obsessed with scrubbing our face, in a desperate bid to always keep it clean from impurities in the environment, dermatologists say. This, combined with the genuine bombardment we’re subject to daily from cosmetic brands, leads to over-indulging in a treatment that, if done by a certain set of rules, would truly work wonders for our face.

“Avoid crushed nuts or apricot kernels – these can be too harsh. Opt for spherical beads rather than jagged grains which are similar to rubbing glass on your face. Apricot kernels repeatedly massaged over the face can cause the face to bleed.” renowned facialist Sarah Chapman tells the Daily Mail.

While we might be tempted to believe that the harsher the scrub, the better the results, dermatologists share that, in reality, things actually stand the other way around, so we should always go for the gentlest treatment available.

Even so, that does not mean that we must exfoliate every time we get the chance. While scrubbing does have its many advantages, if done too often it can truly ruin the face. “Over-exfoliation causes irritation, redness, dryness, flakiness and broken capillaries. It will simply leave the skin oily underneath and dry on the top.” facialist Vaishaly Patel also weighs in. Instead of scrubbing whenever we feel like it, we should learn to read the signs that the body itself is sending us, as Chapman explains.

“When you notice that skin looks dull and doesn't reflect light properly, it is often a build up of dead cells – then it is time to exfoliate,” Chapman says. It’s only by following this simple rule that we can truly enjoy the benefits of a good scrub that comes to aid the skin in regaining its beauty, and not ruin whatever is left of its youthful self.

“[Scrubbing] stimulates surface circulation and cell turnover, improving tone and condition. Every skin type will benefit from exfoliating once or twice a week to get rid of deep-down grime, dry flaky skin cells and lift other pore-clogging impurities. Exfoliating will also kickstart a sluggish circulation, so that the skin becomes more receptive to whatever treatment products are applied.” Lionel de Benetti of Clarins also reveals for the Mail.