De-Mystifying Exfoliation & The Benefits of Advanced Aesthetic Skin Care

Whether you’re hearing about the importance of exfoliation from a magazine article, a viral video on the newest beauty trend, or just browsing the aisles of the drug store, “exfoliation” is buzzword that gathers a lot of attention for its role in creating flawless and youthful-looking skin. Exfoliation helps the skin to optimally function and look its best. If you’re attempting to stave off the signs of aging or assist with acne concerns, ingrown hairs and folliculitis, redness, hyperpigmentation, orange peel skin or want to brighten uneven skin tone; light, home exfoliation paired with advanced professional treatments at our office are a simple and effective way to work towards that goal.

So, what does exfoliation really mean for your skin and why is it such an integral component of aesthetic skin care?

Your skin is constantly in a state of natural exfoliation. In the basal layer of your skin, your body creates new skin which matures and hardens as it is pushed outwards. The outer layer of skin, or epidermis, is made up of dead skin cells which act as a protectant layer from the elements. This layer of skin is constantly flaking away at the microscopic level, and replenishing at the same time, as your body is regenerating new skin cells.

The skin of a younger person regenerates much faster than the skin of an older person. For example in babies, skin cell renewal takes around 14 days and in teenagers the skin cells renew about every 28 days. In middle aged people, this process takes about 28 to 42 days. For people 50 years or older, it can take up to 84 days before skin cells renew. In order to keep skin healthier and appear younger, encouraging exfoliation will help the skin to look fresher and more rejuvenated.

When we routinely exfoliate our skin, we encourage the skin to behave in a way similar to a younger person. As we age, the skin can appear dull with less moisture, elasticity and become thinner. This is all part of the natural aging process, but slowing the hands of time is possible when we are encouraging the body’s cell turnover through exfoliation. By mimicking the behavior of younger skin, we can mimic the look of younger skin.

Increasing cell turnover through exfoliation is how we expedite the body’s cell renewal process-basically putting your skin’s natural cycle on fast forward. We are removing that dull and lifeless upper layer of skin called the “stratum corneum,” while creating a glowing and youthful look to the skin because we’re removing dead skin at the surface. A common request that we receive in our office is how to improve large pore size, but a frequent exfoliation step as part of at home care can help dissolve the impacted skin, dirt, sebum and makeup that cause the look of dark and enlarged pores, or “blackheads”. We cannot change the pore size but can make the pores appear tightened and smaller. Another common request is irritated, discolored and painful ingrown hairs and folliculitis in areas where the client shaves, waxes or plucks. Laser hair removal is the perfect solution for that, but exfoliation is a key component. Exfoliating the dead skin that is encapsulating the hair follicle will allow the hair to properly push out of the skin instead of growing back inwards causing an ingrown hair. Exfoliation, especially when added as part of a long-term skin care regimen, holds the key to healthy looking skin for many people dealing with chronic skin disorders stemming from congestion in the skin or less than optimal skin function.

There are two ways we can exfoliate the skin – chemical or physical exfoliation. Physical exfoliation describes methods such as using a scrub, a coarse surface, or gommage, which involves friction for exfoliation.

Chemical exfoliation refers to the reaction of an acidic topical agent on the skin, and the severity of the reaction can range from super mild to extreme (think a daily salicylic face wash versus deep phenol peel).

Different types of exfoliation methods can be used for different concerns, and we offer many exfoliation options at Luxe Laser. Let’s dive in and take a look at the aesthetic skin care options that we can provide.

Physical Exfoliation

Dermaplaning restores the beauty of your complexion by stimulating cell turnover and removing up to 21 days of dead skin cells. We use a sterile, rounded surgical stainless-steel scalpel to expertly and safely glide across the skin in this painless and relaxing treatment. 

During Dermaplaning, we remove not only the top layer of your skin but also the vellus hairs (peach fuzz) that can create a dull appearance. Your skin is left buttery-smooth and glowing; an ideal canvas for makeup or skincare products.  

Physical exfoliation is integral to optimal skin health after a laser hair removal session. After laser hair removal you need to exfoliate the skin. Our Candela GentleMax Pro lasers are FDA approved to treat folliculitis barbae (a condition that causes ingrown hairs) to reveal silky skin after a series of treatments. While it sounds contradictory, it is critical that the skin is manually exfoliated in the treatment area(s) as the body prepares to shed the dead hair follicles after a session. During the shedding process hairs expel from the skin anywhere from 1-4 weeks after a treatment, depending on which area(s) are treated. We sell Salux exfoliating wash cloths in our office which have a coarser texture compared to loofahs. These textured cloths can exfoliate your skin from head to toe, but are especially great at helping slough away dead skin in areas that are hard to reach like the back and shoulders and exfoliation is key!

Great skin isn’t just for your face! 

Nano-Fractional skin resurfacing by Venus Viva

This treatment is great to improve an “orange peel” skin texture leaving your skin radiant after the skin heals-healing time is usually one week. This treatment is melasma-safe, can help improve mild hyperpigmentation and can be used in combination with IPL or Laser Genesis for a more targeted approach to improve pigmentation issues.

Chemical Exfoliation 

With chemical exfoliation, Luxe Laser offers a myriad of options including:

HydraFacial – This much beloved facial treatment includes a mini peel as part of its proprietary rejuvenating system which also includes cleansing and infusion steps for a gorgeous glow. The textured vortex head on the HydraFacial handpiece creates a unique hybrid physical/chemical exfoliation step-as the vortex head gently polishes the skin and simultaneously extracts and infuses anti-aging topicals for two-prong approach. The combination of chemical exfoliation with light physical exfoliation are what makes this red-carpet facial so well-loved. If you’ve been searching for a relaxing HydraFacial in Portland, this is one of our most popular services. 

PCA Medical Grade Chemical Peels – We offer several different chemical peel options at our office, all of which are superficial peels or “lunchtime” peels, meaning the pain is minimal, the exfoliation is mild to moderate, and you’ll be able to live your life with minimal social downtime. That’s not to say they’re not effective! These medical grade peels can be very effective at helping with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, dullness, redness, and encouraging cell turnover. Once the dead skin flakes away, your skin will feel smooth, fresh and glowing.  Your Certified Advanced Esthetician will guide you to the best peel for your skin type and goal. 

Ultra Peel 1™ –This chemical peel combines trichloroacetic acid, azelaic acid and kojic acid to encourage cell turnover without stripping the skin of natural moisture. Great for aging skin (any skin type), it helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles while promoting an even skin tone.

PCA™ Peel H/R – The PCA™ Peel with Hydroquinone and Resorcinol is ideal for more resilient skin types; this is the deepest PCA™ peel available in our office. A modified version of a Jessner’s peel, it combines lactic acid, salicylic acid, kojic acid, citric acid, hydroquinone and resorcinol to deeply exfoliate, clarify and lift pigment. This peel is not recommended for clients with deeper complexions.

Sensi Peel™ – The Sensi Peel™ is PCA™’s most famous peel treatment. It works using trichloroacetic acid, azelaic acid, kojic acid, lactic acid and arbutin in a gentle application that’s safe for all skin types. Great for those suffering from sensitive skin or rosacea (any skin type), this peel helps with superficial texture, redness and overall brightness.

4% Pure Retinol Peel – This concentrated retinol peel is designed for skin in need of rejuvenation and targets discoloration and aging. This peel will smooth, brighten and even out the skin tone by increasing cell turnover. This peel also features key ingredients marigold extract, Silybum marianum fruit extract, vitamin E and olive oil to calm the skin and fight free radical damage with antioxidant properties.

Pigment Correct Peel –This patent-pending approach to peel formulation features “Multi-Acid Synergistic Technology,” combining lactic, mandelic and pyruvic (LMP) acids to lift existing discoloration while tranexamic acid (TXA) suppresses melanin synthesis to prevent the formulation of new discoloration. Target hyperpigmentation, melasma and deliver higher efficacy with less irritation than single-acid formulations. Safe for all skin types.

Are Peels Suitable for All Skin Types?

Some chemical peels are too risky for melanated skin, as there is a possibility of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so we need to be careful with how we remove that top layer of dead skin safely.

Generally, manual exfoliation will usually be safe for melanin-rich skin types, but we also have special formulations of chemical peels for clients that are deeper complected, Sensi Peel, PCA Peel and Pigment Correct are a few great options. Naturally occurring melanin in the skin can also mean a tendency towards hyperpigmentation, and exfoliation is a great way to encourage the lightening of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Take It Off, Baby! Book A Treatment Today

You can schedule an appointment 7-days a week for a painless, no-downtime exfoliating treatment at our medspa in Portland any day or add an exfoliating step to your existing aesthetic skin care regimen for a combo treatment! Some classic combinations are a chemical peel and Laser Genesis treatment, dermaplaning and IPL, or HydraFacial and microneedling . . . the possibilities are endless! Consider adding an exfoliating step with our AnteAGE Regenzyme Peel to your microneedling session for superior product penetration. You’ve got nothing to lose but dull skin!