It sounds like something you’d do in a garden to clear the weeds, but it’s actually a way to take care of your skin.  Exfoliation removes dead cells from the surface of your skin, leaving your skin smooth and healthier looking.  The procedure is an important step in facials and body wraps.

Your skin has several layers.  The deepest is the dermis, and it’s responsible for generating new skin cells that move toward the surface.  The outermost layer is the epidermis.  The epidermis is the protective layer consisting of dead cells full of a substance called keratin that is responsible for their protective abilities.  Over time, the dead cells slough off to allow new cells to take their place.

You’ve noticed that younger people seem to have brighter, healthier looking skin.  This is because the process of cell turnover slows as you get older.  It takes longer to replace the dead cells on the epidermis with new cells arriving from the dermis.  In fact, the dead cells tend to accumulate on the skin’s surface, making it look rough and dull.  Exfoliation helps by removing the accumulated cells and uncovering the younger cells underneath.

Exfoliation is performed two ways: mechanically or chemically.  With mechanical exfoliation, the dead cells are removed by rubbing.  This can be accomplished using a number of methods, such as a salt scrub, scrubs using coffee grounds or sugar, skin brushing and microdermabrasion, which is the most aggressive method.  On the face, more gentle abrasives are often used.

Chemical exfoliation uses various substances to dissolve the material that holds skin cells together, thereby loosening them and allowing them to be removed.  The substances can be enzymes, betahydroxy acids or alphahydroxy acids.  Chemical face peels vary in intensity depending on the strength of the chemical used.

The estheticians at Sunlight Day Spa in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS, understand the value of exfoliation and encourage their clients to take advantage of the treatment.  However, they also recommend some caution.

It’s important to remember that your skin has layers and that removing cells from the outer layer makes your skin more susceptible to the burning rays of the sun.  You shouldn’t expose your skin to sunlight immediately after exfoliation.

Also be careful not to exfoliate too often.  Your esthetician is a good resource to ask about frequency of exfoliation for your skin type.  Older skin and sensitive skin can’t be exfoliated as often as young, healthy skin.

Sunlight Day Spa is among Kansas City’s best providers of massage therapy, body wraps and sauna treatments.  The Overland Park day spa is also one of the Kansas City area’s infrared sauna spas, making use of the latest sauna technology to achieve the greatest benefits.  Weekend spa packages are available; as well as packages that include day spa services and lunch.