Can I Exfoliate Daily?

A frequent bone of contention among those who give and partake of beauty advice is the limit of exfoliation. How many times a week can I exfoliate? The real answer is that the answer varies. Obviously an older woman with dry skin can't exfoliate as often as a younger woman with swift cellular turn over and natural skin oils that surface on an all too frequent basis.

Daily Exfoliation

When I say I exfoliate daily, I really mean that exfoliate every time I shower. Sometimes this is 18 hours after my last scrub and sometimes it can be closer to 36 hours. However, this "daily" exfoliation isn't with a heavy-handed product. I usually use my favorite drugstore exfoliator in the shower or tub. The actual product varies from purchase to purchase but usually features standard cleansing ingredients coupled with a moderate amount of grit. Only rarely do I break this routine with a deep treatment in the shower since I prefer to time those.

Sporadic Exfoliation

If I happen to forget to grab my exfoliator tub on the way in the shower or run out, I grab a pad based exfoliating product I keep in my medicine cabinet. Each pad features a light amount of lactic acid. At times I will also use these as a back-up scrub on my neck and upper body when I have a break-out since it is easiest to overlook the décolletage when cleansing in the shower.

Deep Exfoliation

I deep exfoliate on a bit of an erratic schedule because I tend to prefer to use quality peels that are cost-prohibitive to use on a regular basis. In fact, many of my favored deep exfoliating products come as free samples when I order other beauty products from retailers. I actually plan my make-up orders around the best sample skincare products from retailers to ensure I have plenty of my preferred products on hand. When my stock is sufficient, I deep exfoliate every two weeks when I use an extra-tingly product or weekly with a less effective scrub. I will usually skip the shower exfoliation for 48 hours post mega-scrub.

My skin isn't super special or immune to dryness, but it isn't a problem I deal with on a regular basis. The main reason I can exfoliate on a daily or near daily basis is that I rely on a mild scrub for most of my cleansing needs. This keeps my skin soft and shiny and allows for the smooth application of make-up without causing a consistently dry, flaky complexion. If your skin isn't inordinately dry or sensitive to exfoliation, you could scrub daily with the proper products or combination of products.