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Living Libations: Our Approach to Exfoliation
Jul
It turns out that washing your face twice a day with an oscillating face brush, which uses sound waves to remove bacteria, dirt, and dead skin cells from your pores, is not as beneficial as once believed.
In 2004, L’Oréal introduced the Clarisonic, an ultrasonic oscillating facial brush marketed for daily exfoliation and deep cleaning. Following its release, the market became flooded with similar exfoliation brushes, DIY chemical peels, and gritty masks promising to clear the skin of dead cells, dullness, and dry flakes for a perfect glow. However, by August 2020, The New York Times reported the discontinuation of Clarisonic, highlighting that daily scrubbing is actually harmful to the skin.
For years, the beauty industry has perpetuated the myth that our skin needs exfoliation to be healthy and smooth. But this isn’t true. Under the right conditions, our skin knows exactly what to do…
An Inside Job
Our skin is a self-renewing system. Left to its own devices, our skin naturally sheds 40,000 cells every minute. This dynamic daily process, called desquamation, is an internal job driven by chemical signals from within the body. When this system works properly, external exfoliation is unnecessary for smooth skin.
Despite being only a few millimeters thick, our skin’s multilayered design provides perfect protection. The top layer consists of dead cells held together by a lipid mixture, which naturally shed every two weeks. This natural shedding process is disrupted by oscillating brushes, chemical peels, and excessive scrubbing, leading to an imbalance where cell loss exceeds cell production. This imbalance signals stress in the skin.
Our epidermal ecosystem needs a healthy outer layer of dead cells and lipids as it is our most anti-aging and anti-infection barrier. Premature removal of this layer exposes young cells to irritants and environmental stressors, causing inflammatory issues. Regular disruption of this layer creates a health deficit, leading to missing microbes, inflammation, abnormal cells, and easier access for toxins. This is why Christian Surber, a professor of dermatopharmacology, describes regular exfoliation routines as skin abuse.
Recommendations for exfoliation are common in beauty blogs and magazines, yet scrubbing away our stratum corneum does not address skin imbalances. This top layer, mostly composed of dead skin cells, is vital. Exfoliating it too quickly disrupts the balance, stressing and leaving young cells vulnerable. This premature removal triggers a cycle of inflammation and creates a health deficit of missing microbes, abnormal cells, and easier access for toxins.
Five Steps for Optimal Desquamation
The conditions for optimal desquamation align with those for overall health. Follow these five simple steps for naturally smooth and fresh skin, and you’ll feel better all over.
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Heighten Hydration Healthy cells thrive in a saline environment, and desquamation is more efficient when the body is well-hydrated. Enzymes that loosen the lipid bonds holding dead skin cells together require water to function effectively. Also, well-hydrated mature cells at the skin’s surface swell, weakening these bonds and making it easier for cells to shed.
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Love Your Lymph Achieve glowing skin by dry brushing gently to stimulate the lymphatic system, which lies just under the skin’s surface. This vast network of capillaries supports healthy skin and circulation. Start by pouring 1–2 drops of a lymph-loving essential oil (like Laurel, Cypress, Eucalyptus, or Rosemary) onto your palm, then coat the bristles of a dry brush by gliding it across your palm. Lightly brush your body, starting at your toes and moving towards your heart.
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Eat for Your Microbiome Nourish your skin from within by healing and sealing the gut. Celebrate nourishment with a variety of whole foods, organic fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats and proteins, including essential fatty acids. A diet rich in balanced EFAs keeps the skin lubricated and improves cell hydration.
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Savor Some Sun Gradually and gently expose your skin to the sun to absorb vitamin D. Our skin converts sunlight into vitamin D, a crucial steroid hormone that influences every cell in the body. It’s essential for skin health as it regulates cell synthesis, enzyme activity, peptides, the lipid barrier, and immunity. It also helps cells know when it’s time to die, a key function for desquamation.
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Side-Step Surfactants Surfactants in cosmetic products dissolve our skin’s natural ceramides, enzymes, and hydro-lipid barrier. These surfactants, found in foaming washes, suds, and scrubs, stay in the top layer of the skin even after rinsing, causing chronic degradation. This results in inflammation and microbial elimination, manifesting as melasma, blemishes, redness, dryness, and irritation.
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Botanical Oils are Best Maintain the integrity of your skin’s top layer by using botanical oils for cleansing. Fresh-pressed plant oils feed the skin from the outside in, purifying, calming, and clearing it. Washing with botanicals gently and effectively cleanses and moisturizes the skin while preserving its top layer. Dampen an organic cotton cloth with warm water, apply a squirt of jojoba oil or your favorite oil, and gently wash your face. No need to rinse! For deeper exfoliation, add a dash of clay to your oil cleansing or use Perfect Pearl Powder, Rosemary Reset, or Royal Rose Honey Mask.
Using desquamation-friendly botanicals ensures your skin stays naturally healthy and radiant.
About Nadine Artemis
Nadine Artemis, founder of Living Libations, is the author of “Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums” and “Renegade Beauty: Reveal and Revive Your Natural Radiance,” named one of “The Top 10 Books on Skin Care” by The Strategist of New York Magazine. She is a respected media guest and contributor, with her products receiving rave reviews in publications like the New York Times, LA Times, Elle, People, Vogue, and Hollywood Reporter. Described by Alanis Morissette as “a true-sense visionary,” Nadine crafts elegant formulations and healing creations from rare botanicals, making skin glow worldwide. Her concept of Renegade Beauty encourages effortlessness and inspires people to rethink conventional notions of beauty and wellness.
References:
- Rubin, Courtney. “RIP Clarisonic.” New York Times, 5 Aug. 2020. Link
- Milstone, Leonard M. “Epidermal Desquamation.” Journal of Dermatological Science, Dec. 2004, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 131–140. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2004.05.004
- Walters, Russel M., Guangru Mao, Euen T. Gunn, and Sidney Hornby. “Cleansing Formulations That Respect Skin Barrier Integrity.” Dermatology Research.
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