All about skin exfoliating

There are many reasons why skin cells do not hatch normally. Age, lifestyle, stress, hormones and the environment all affect how quickly new skin cells rise to the surface, how well dead ones peel off and how easily they clog pores.

By exfoliating your skin with skincare products, you can achieve smoother, brighter, clearer skin and even fade fine lines. Manual exfoliation can be done either mechanically with granules or chemically with acids and enzymes. Personally, we prefer chemical peels because chemical peels can give better and smoother results more quickly and even gently.

In addition, chemical peels also have other beneficial properties, such as antibacterial and calming properties, as well as firming, moisturising or strengthening the skin.

It’s best to exfoliate according to your skin type. Oily and blemish-prone skin can benefit significantly from daily exfoliation, but for drier and more sensitive skin, 1–3 a week can be much better. Listen to your own skin and start exfoliating slowly. Often less is more when it comes to exfoliating, as too much exfoliation can make symptoms worse.

The effect of exfoliating acids

It is best to exfoliate your skin mainly in the evening as exfoliating acids can sensitise the skin to sunlight, which can lead to skin burning more easily. Exfoliating acids should also not be combined with other active ingredients such as retinol and vitamin C.

There are three types of exfoliating acids: AHA, BHA and PHA

AHAs are water-soluble and therefore exfoliate the surface layers of the skin. They help to remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, brightening and smoothing it. However, they also stimulate skin cells to regenerate faster, which makes the skin look fuller.

BHA acids are fat soluble and therefore penetrate deeper into the pores to cleanse them of sebum, dirt and dead skin cells. That’s why they work best on blackheads and clogged pores. They also anti-bacterial, which can help with irritated pimples.

PHAs are also water-soluble, but they only work on the very surface layer of the skin. They gently exfoliate the skin while effectively moisturising, making them particularly suitable for dry and sensitive skin.

Smuuti Skin’s Kiwi Clear products contain kiwi extract, an exfoliating enzyme actinide and exfoliating acids. Kiwi Clear Gel Cleanser contains kiwi extract and BHA acid to effectively cleanse pores without drying the skin with strong detergents. Kiwi Clear Serum contains kiwi extract and AHA, BHA and PHA acids for a complete exfoliation. It also contains a fruit acid complex, a compound of plant extracts containing AHA acids. It provides a very skin-friendly exfoliation and is therefore the main exfoliating ingredient in the serum.