How to Properly Exfoliate Skin When It's Cold
You might think that exfoliating your skin is only going to make it worse during autumn and winter, but it’s all about using the right products rather than just using any old thing and hoping for the best. Let’s look at why you need to exfoliate and the best way to do it to help your skin rather than hinder it.
Sensitive skin can be the bane of many men’s existence when the colder months roll in. Cold winds, changes in temperature as you move indoors and out, and the reduction in humidity in the air can all lead to sensitive skin becoming that much worse. Redness and itching come calling and you end up feeling like you might be better off hibernating until spring.
Can you exfoliate sensitive skin?
The short answer is yes, you can exfoliate sensitive skin, but you need to make sure you don’t over-exfoliate, and you have to use the right products. Sensitive skin is usually synonymous with dryness, redness and flaking which you might think would only be exacerbated by exfoliating.
But as usual, the trick is finding the right balance and making sure your skincare products are designed to help your particular skin type. You also need to decide whether you’re going to opt for a physical exfoliation – i.e., one based on movement and scrubbing – or a chemical one, which means the product’s ingredients themselves strip the skin of its top layer.
What does scrubbing do to your face?
Physical exfoliating, or scrubbing, is when you use a rough flannel or rotating brush alongside a scrub product to work at the top layer of skin and remove dead skin cells and accumulated grime. With sensitive skin, however, scrubbing can make things worse.
If you struggle with sensitive skin, the trick is to choose a face scrub that has been designed with your sensitivity in mind. Gentle and kind to skin, our Sensitive Face Scrub contains baobab oil, which is pressed from the seed of the baobab fruit, grown across South Africa. The oil has high emollient power and is known for its skin smoothing and moisturisation properties. It is soothing and mellow and works with, rather than against, your skin.
Do facial scrubs damage your skin?
Facial scrubs don’t damage the skin by default. How you use the products and the ingredients inside will have different effects on different types of skin. Sensitive skin is prone to irritation at the best of times, so it may be that the scrub you are using contains ingredients that don’t help.
Men with sensitive skin need extra gentle and caring products. All our Sensitive products are fragrance free to help minimise irritation. Our Sensitive Face Scrub uses quinoa husk as the exfoliating agent, which is much gentler than the dreaded walnut and apricot seed scrubs that have made the skincare headlines recently, which can cause microtears on the surface of your skin.
How do you exfoliate your face?
For the best results, use your face scrub as part of your overall skincare routine. Start by washing your face with your usual product (we recommend using the Bulldog Sensitive Face Wash as it contains the same kind-to-skin ingredients as the scrub). Then, apply the scrub to your face and massage gently – you don’t need to rub very hard for it to do its stuff – then pat dry with a clean towel. Make sure you pat rather than wipe dry as it’s gentler on your face.
After you’ve exfoliated, continue with your routine which usually means a good quality moisturiser. Again, we recommend using our Sensitive Moisturiser as it’s designed specifically for your skin type.
Do I need to use aftershave?
Sometimes, shaving can leave your skin feeling irritated and itchy. You can use a sensitive skin aftershave balm to smoothen your skin and leave it feeling soft. Ours is a non-sticky, non-greasy and non-drying formulation that moisturises the skin to leave it feeling soft and protected.
We would also suggest exfoliating before you shave as it’ll help you get a closer shave by smoothing the skin and hopefully minimising the chance of cuts. It could also help lift the hairs, meaning you are less likely to catch them on your razor (which might normally lead to ingrown hairs).