Imagine you're a painter.  You're about to paint a wall.  But the wall has old peeling paint, and dust and cobwebs.  Now, you wouldn't just open your tin of paint and start brushing, as the finish would look terrible.   You would prepare the wall, give it a dust, sand out any rough spots and remove the peeling paint.  And you would apply a base coat so that the final coats of paint would look really professional.

Well... consider your face is the wall.   A cleanser and exfoliant are the preparation.  Your moisturiser is the base coat.  And makeup is the final coat.  For your skin to look it's best, you need to clean the cobwebs, exfoliate the peeling paint and apply a base coat.

If you have dry skin, exfoliating will remove the dead skin cells.  Oily/problem skin? - exfoliating will clear the blackheads and blocked sebum and clear your pores.   Normal skin? - still need to exfoliate for optimum skin results. 

If your skin is exfoliated, it is smoother and the pores will not be blocked.  Therefore, your moisturiser will be able to penetrate your skin better, and be more effective.    If you apply makeup, it will be much smoother.  

HOW OFTEN should you exfoliate?   If your skin is really dry/rough... you can exfoliate every day (initially).  But Ideally, you want to exfoliate 2-3 times a week.  First you cleanse your skin, then exfoliate.  Then apply toner (if you use it) then eye cream and moisturiser.

If the product has AHA's or enzymes... avoid the eye area.  But if it is a plain (granular) scrub.... you can gently exfoliate around/under the eye area.  The skin around the eyes can become quite dry and have a build up of dead skin cells, causing dark shadows/circles.  Exfoliating will help.  It will also help the fine lines around the lips if you are a smoker. 

For 13 odd years I have been using the Ahava mud exfoliator - which I love!  It's a granular scrub that has mud ingredients and I've kept this in my shower and I just emulsify with some water and scrub for a minute or so.

But recently I started using one of my newer products.... the Fresh Look Dead Sea Mud Exfoliant.  I just love this product!  It has a duel exfoliating action.... both granular (with Dead Sea salt) and enzymatic (with Pineapple).   Unlike 'regular' scrubs, you use this one a little differently.  You apply it to dry, or slightly damp skin (not wet skin).  You will feel the salt granules, massaging to give a good exfoliation.  Then you wet your fingertips and massage again, and the salt granules will dissolve... and the pineapple enzymes will activate!  See the video below for a live demonstration on me applying this exfoliant!

The other exfoliant I currently have is the Anna Lotan Lightening Care Fresh C exfoliating facial scrub.  This would be particularly good for "mature" skin, and works well with their "lightening" range or AHA products.... although anyone can use it!  It's a rich exfoliating butter that contains Vitamin C and E as well as jojoba, shea butter and coconut oil. 

Our website has a variety of exfoliants, and I am planning to bring in MORE exfoliants from Israel!  You can find the various products in the tab above that says "treatment products".

I hope you enjoy the video below, and would love you to leave a comment.   (please excuse the rubber duckies... didn't realise they were there until I replayed the video)