Do You Exfoliate Too Often?

Before we start to talk about how we treat our skin we first have to analyze the process of aging.  Science now tells us that our epidermis (the upper layer of skin) will never thin. However the dermis (the layer underneath) thins at a rate of 1-1.5% a year, once we hit the middle of our twenties. We know that our skin puts a priority on maintaining our epidermis because it would ultimately lead to death (through infection, fluid loss, etc.) This priority is also evident in that the dermis receives all the nutrients of the skin (through its capillary beds) and has to decide what goes where and it still sends those scarce supplies to the epidermis even though it is thinning itself.

 The dermis will thin because it is overwhelmed with free radicals and inflammation as a result from sun, diet and stress primarily. Darker skin types tend to thin less, due to the extra protection of more melanin. Smokers and partiers dermis will thin faster because of the added toxins that restrict blood vessels, which in turn reduce the nutrient supply. So the rate of cell turnover slows down and we age.  It would be like taking a healthy person and putting them on a 300 calorie a day diet. Their metabolism would slow down and they would experience fat and muscle loss. 

            So, now we come to exfoliation. We want to speed up the cell turnover rate so we exfoliate to speed the process.  There is no question that this works, but what is the result and is it good for our skin in the long run.  The benefit is usually temporary plumping of fine lines and mild lightening of hyperpigmentation. On the flip side the skin has less melanin protection, more damage to repair from the loss of moisture, and protective lipids and a significant increase in the amount of free radical damage to our skin cells.

            The truth is that we do not fully understand how the skin works. Based on the very complex processes involved in wound repair, and normal skin/cell maintenance.  In light of this I recommend we not second-guess the skins decision to slow down, but instead work with it to restore its normal activities. The bottom line, exfoliate less and feed the skin the nutrients it needs more.