Exfoliation NOT moisturisation is key to skin health

Why is healthy skin so important? The skin is the canvass to the face. Having clear, glowing skin increases attractiveness as it allows the viewer to focus on the beautiful facial features of the eyes and the smile.

Most patients that come to see me complain that they have dry skin.

The answer to this historically is to apply more moisturiser.

This is what the big brands in the beauty industry have been pushing us to do for years with their advertising.

This blog post will explain why moisturisation is not the answer but exfoliation is.

As we get older our skin life cycle slows down and this starts as early as our 20’s.

Our skin appears rougher and dryer due to more dead skin cells collecting on the surface of the skin. It is not a true lack of moisture in the skin but a build-up of these dead cells that make the skin appear dry. The answer to this is to use an exfoliator on a regular basis to remove the dead skin cells.

If we overuse moisturisers we are sending a signal down to the cells at the base of the skin to stop producing our own natural moisture and this is how the vicious circle of dryness begins.

The good news is that the cycle can be broken and it takes the skin approximately 3 weeks to reset if the use of a moisturiser is stopped. This will ensure that the skins natural moisturising function is turned on and allow hydration of the skin from within.