Is your skin ready for Summer? Need a good Scrub?
Hi Leonie,
We all need a good scrub up ... and spring time is a great time to look at renovating your skin in time for the great baring of your body that happens over summer.
This edition of our newly renamed Moon Haven Herald is dedicated to the role of exfoliation in the skin renovation process.
Of course we also celebrate an Eric milestone.. one we are very thankful he has achieved and we discuss how you can use a little strategic avoidance therapy to bypass the chaos of CHOGM.
So in summary ...
...in this edition we're giving you the low down on exfoliation
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Find out the best technique to avoid permanent damage to your skin
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Understand why most women are not getting the best results from their current exfoliant regime
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Discover the different exfoliants that are best for YOU
PLUS
- CHOGM and the Long Weekend - escape down south!
So here we go....:
It's time to renew and renovate...your skin
Spring is the best time to prepare your skin for the warmer months ahead
Spring is here ...the willie wag tails outside my bedroom window are chirping away each morning as the sun rises... the weather is sunny one minute and the stormy the next... my garden is growing at an awesome pace...the weeds especially! So, over the next week or so, I have to plan some time to tend to the garden and bring it into some order.
Review and renovate: Take stock of what you've got
The same goes for my skin and general health - they both could do with a general review and renovation. Over winter I must admit that I tend to neglect my body a little. I am not so diligent with the moisturiser on my legs and arms and I certainly don't exfoliate as I should.
How about you?
Spring is a great time to take stock of what is happening to and in your body and get it ready for the great uncovering that happens in Summer.
Are you ready to bare your limbs to the world? Is your skin well hydrated and glowing with health.
I can hear the collective sighs from here!
First Step: Exfoliate The first step in any skin renovation program is exfoliation. You see, when we exfoliate our skin we remove the dull, dry, flaking and old skin cells from the uppermost layers. This helps to unblock pores, gently stimulate circulation and allow the skin to shine. (i.e. increases luminosity...something we all want!)
Do it GENTLY!
We all love a good scrub. You know what I mean...getting in there and really giving your skin a good working over
You can feel the blood rushing to the surface and your skin goes bright red...
BUT...
Did you know that you may be doing more harm than good?
If we looked at skin that has a hard exfoliation under a microscope you would see huge gashes and gouges in the surface of the skin re the exfoliating granules have taken away not only the old, loose flakes but have actually damaged the developing new skin underneath.
With the skin this badly damaged the body must divert some of its energy to repairing the skin as well fighting off infection where the skin has been broken.
This is not the way to exfoliate.
How to exfoliate correctly
There are a few simple rules to follow when exfoliating your skin... be it your face or body.
1. Always wet your skin before applying any exfoliant. By doing this you allow the exfoliating granules to slide over the surface of the skin. This will help to reduce irritation and allow the loosened skin cells to floats away from the pores and not block them.
2. Apply a generous amount of exfoliant to the skin and gently (and I mean gently) polish your skin by using small circular motions over the surface of the skin. You should only apply as much pressure so that you can just feel the cream or other exfoliant being moved against the skin. It is almost as if you are just brushing the skin lightly to shoo away a fly.
3. Wash away the exfoliant under running water. I find it best to exfoliate in the shower. that way you don't have to worry about mess, the excess exfoliant is washed down the drain and you can fit it into your normal showering routine.
4. Gently pat your skin dry
5. Apply a good moisturiser to your skin.
That's it... it's simple and easy and something you should do for your face and body once a week.
All Exfoliants are not created equal
Which is the best exfoliant for you?
When we formulate an exfoliant for the Moon Haven range I take into account where the product will be used...face or body.
You see our facial skin deserves a much gentler approach than what we would use for our body. Where a good salt or sugar scrub is fantastic for the hard horny layers of our body it is far too harsh for our face.
It all comes down to the exfoliant medium we use in our products. In the case of our Body Polishes we use wonderful sea salt to gently scrub away the hardened skin and loose skin cells from our body. Because each salt crystal is cubic, angular and sharp it is great for dealing with the hardened horny layers of the tougher skin of the body.
BUT it is far too harsh to use on our faces.
What should NOT be in a facial scrub
I shudder in absolute horror when I see facial scrubs formulated with things like
- walnut shells,
- ground herbs,
- apricot kernels,
- sandalwood powder,
- aluminium and other metalic powders.
Because each of these produce irregularly shaped and sharp edged particles they do far more damage than good to facial skin - especially if applied and used incorrectly on the skin. The results could be likened to using sandpaper directly on your skin!
Skin sensitisation due to the wrong exfoliant is completely avoidable We see so many cases of totally avoidable skin sensitisation and rosacea that is directly related to the incorrect choice and use of exfoliant products.
If your skin feels warm and tingly after using an exfoliant product on any skin...be it body or face... it is either too harsh for you or you were too harsh in your application.
What should you look for in a facial exfoliant
For the face we should always use an exfoliant product formulated with rounded particles to help GENTLY polish away the dull and loosened older skin to make way for the newer, bright skin underneath. By using a light (and I do mean a light, feather touch) circular motion, you loosen the old, clogging skin cells from surface of your skin and wash these away when you rinse you face clean.
WARNING...Look at your ingredient list on your facial scrubs
So the best thing you could do for your skin today is to go through all your bottles and jars of old face scrubs and discard any that contain exfoliant ingredients that are not gentle on the skin... ort reserve these for use on your body... buit apply then with caution... inly use them only on the tougher areas of your body.
We recommend....
Of course our Moisturising Facial Scrub with Organic Australian Clays
is choc full of gentle on the skin, regular spherical shaped microshperes which are perfect for use of the face.
I love it when we demonstrate our facial scrub on visitors to the cottage.. they can't beleve that applying the facial scrub with such a feather light circular motion can produce such amazing skin brightening results.
Call into the cottage for a demonstration... you'll be amazed .
When you're next at the Moon Haven cottage ask us and we'd love to show you how to use an exfoliant correctly... because there is nothing like seeing and FEELING for yourself what the right sort of exfoliant can do for your skin.
Exfoliate more often and your skin can become over sensitised, removing the newly formed skin cells and not allowing the skin to recover ...less frequently and your skin can become dull and faded, accentuating your wrinkles and making the skin look aged and de-vitalised.
