In one of our previous articles, a barber recommended that people exfoliate their skin before using an electric shaver. Although this might help the shaver remove the entire hair, exfoliation probably isn’t necessary.
Exfoliation can help keep the skin smooth, but don’t count on using it every day before a shave.
In most cases, exfoliation is supposed to remove dead skin cells from the topmost layer of the epidermis. This allows a person to look more youthful, because exfoliation sheds off the dry, wrinkled surface to reveal the cleaner part underneath. It can help to loosen the hair follicles, so that the electric shave can possibly pull out more of the follicle’s root from the shaft. However, the entire process could actually redden the skin, if a person exfoliates every day.
The reddening occurs because not enough dead skin cells have accumulated on the surface. Because of this, the person is actually exfoliating the remaining new skin cells, exposing the more vulnerable layers beneath. This causes more harm than is necessary, especially if men or women are shaving the hair off afterwards.
Our website has covered a few common physical exfoliators, such as pumice stones and microfiber mitts. Although many of these tools worked decently, most people probably wouldn’t use them every day in the first place. The entire process takes too much rubbing for what its worth.
There are also chemical exfoliation creams and procedures. Some of these creams include lotions such as Dove’s Gentle Exfoliating Nourishing Body Wash. These bio-engineered products use chemicals such as alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy acids. These are chemical peels that work in a manner similar to microdermabrasion. They are useful for erasing fine lines and wrinkles. Chemical peels can make the skin feel much smoother.
In many ways, chemical exfoliators are more effective, because they are not as reliant on the power of friction. The chemicals work inside the skin to remove any dead cells. Still, no one should try to use these lotions as frequently as two days in a row. The cream could possibly stress and overwork the skin, causing it to redden the surface.
If they are interested in buying an exfoliating cream or body wash, shoppers should pay close attention to the type of product they want to purchase. For instance, people who are interested in exfoliating the face may want to choose a cream that feels like a fine grain. These types of lotions are effective because the feel of the ingredients in the cream are delicate and less likely to harm the skin. On the other hand, the coarser parts of skin may require a coarser sugar or sea salt scrub.
Be sure to smell each product, to make sure that is comfortable for them to use. Users are probably going to use this cream around their own bodies, so they should be sure that their fragrance doesn’t irritate them in any way. Do not choose any cream that might smell unpleasant.
Even though a chemical exfoliator is a helpful cream to keep around the house, don’t expect this product to cause a big change in the way a person shaves. In each case, the shaver simply grazes across the skin. The lotion only serves to possibly loosen the hair, so that the shaver might uproot more of the root of the hair. Diehard hair removal fanatics will probably prefer other tools in their arsenal, such as an epilator.
In most cases, an exfoliator and a shaver will not uproot the entire hair follicle. The cream may help the skin feel much smoother, though. It is a handy product that can freshen people up before a shave.
