What Is Exfoliation?

Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin buildup. There are three types of exfoliation: physical, mechanical, and chemical. Not only does exfoliation improve cellular renewal, but it also improves skin circulation and allows for more effective absorption of your skincare products.

Our goal is to encourage cell turnover, and we can do that with all kinds of exfoliation. However, as with everything in life, moderation is the key to exfoliation. You don’t want to overdo it and end up with skin irritation.

Physical Exfoliation

The easiest way to enhance exfoliation is to add a physical scrub or enzyme to your skincare routine once or twice a week. Be careful with scrubs. Some have granules that can scratch or damage the skin. Just go on Instagram and look at all the memes posted by Aestheticians and Derms on a particular “apricot scrub.” The products we like at Physician Skin Solutions in Glendale are Skin Medica’s AHA/BHA scrub, which combines chemical and physical exfoliation. Another is Defenage’s Two-minute mask which utilizes physical granules and enzymes (their job is to eat dead skin cells), and finally, Dr. Maltais Rx Buff scrub, which works great on the face or body.

Mechanical Exfoliation

Another economical way to keep your skin clear of dead skin buildup is to get microdermabrasion. At Physician Skin Solutions at Arrowhead, Dr. Maltais chose the DiamondTome system. The wand is the original crystal-free microdermabrasion device. With natural diamond chips embedded in the tip, this wand glides over your skin to clear away dirt, debris, and dead skin cells, revealing a smoother and clearer complexion.

Suppose you have a lot of vellus hair (white peach fuzz). In that case, you may want to consider Dermaplaning, where our trained medical aestheticians use a scalpel to remove dead skin cells, vellus hair, and debris.

In our Glendale, Az office, both Microderm and dermaplaning treatments cost approximately $125 per session. However, you can get it for a lower price by purchasing packages or combining it with other treatments at Physician Skin Solutions.

Laser Exfoliation

Another unique and multi-benefit treatment is the Hollywood Laser Peel. It not only exfoliates but also creates collagen, evens skin tone, clears clogged pores, and can helps eliminate acne. First, we apply a patented carbon lotion that seeps deep into the pores and sebaceous glands. Our medical Laser Technicians then heat the carbon with the Hollywood Spectra Laser. Once heated, the laser settings are changed to vaporize the carbon off your skin. The vaporizing removes dirt, oil, dead skin cells, and more. In addition, the gentle heating of the laser helps stimulate collagen and kills acne bacteria.

Chemical Exfoliation

Chemical exfoliation is the use of acids. Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) include glycolic acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and lactic acid, all of which are naturally occurring organic acids in many foods and milk sugar. AHAs are water-soluble acids that, when used in peels, must be neutralized for them to stop working. Salicylic is the only Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), and it’s derived from Willow bark. Salicylic is oil soluble and is self-neutralizes in peels. Other acid types include Trichloric Acid (TCA), fruit acids/enzymes, and combo peels, like Jessner, that combine multiple ingredients.

Glycolic acid has the lowest molecular weight, making it easier to penetrate the skin. It is great at breaking the bonds that hold your dead skin cells together. It has other benefits, such as collagen generation. Salicylic acid is excellent for oily and acne-prone skin. It can remove excess sebum (oil) and reduce sebum production, making it an ideal ingredient for unclogging pores. Plus, salicylic acid has mild anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

Retinoids (Retinol and Tretinoin) 

Retinoids are technically not exfoliators. However, they speed up desquamation (shedding skin cells), unclog pores, and improve skin look by increasing cell turnover and regeneration. All experts agree that retinoids are a proven and effective anti-ager. Please don’t believe me. Google it! Retinoids also help control acne and breakouts.

How to incorporate Chemical Exfoliation

There are millions of products out there that incorporate acids into their formulas. We recommend starting gently by adding an acid-based cleanser to your skincare routine. We recommend a glycolic cleanser if you are concerned about exfoliation, lines, and wrinkles and have normal to dry skin. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, we recommend a Salicylic cleanser. You can add a treatment product, pad, or even at-home peels once your skin has acclimated to your cleanser.

Chemical Peels

Our Glendale, AZ office typically does light or superficial peels, meaning most don’t make you peel. Instead, they help break the bonds that secure your dead skin cells so they will exfoliate faster. We often combine these peels with microdermabrasion or dermaplaning to give you the best physical and chemical exfoliation. The good news is there is no downtime to most of these treatments.

Our Apeele peel, (I know a stupid name for a peel), usually does make you peel, It is a very predictable peel that our patients love. For example, if your appointment is on a Thursday and we would apply the three-layer peel, and you would keep it on for six to eight hours. It has a yellow sheen, so you may not want to be out and about. After your wait time, you would wash off the solution. The next day your skin will start to redden and feel warmer throughout the day. Over the weekend, almost all of your peeling will occur. On Monday, most of the peeling is complete, you may have a little around the edges of your face, or the already peeled skin may do a secondary flaky peel, which appears as dry skin. You can easily apply a moisturizer, SPF, and makeup.

If you are more of a go-big or go-home type. You may want to consider a Jessner peel which we apply in layers. Your skin will peel if we do three layers or more. The skin will first darken and crust, then, in a couple of days, the crust sloughs off, revealing beautiful new skin. If that sounds too crazy, you may opt for gentle laser resurfacing like the LaseMD Ultra, which has virtually no downtime.