Chemical vs. Physical Exfoliants: What’s the Difference & How Do You Use Them?

Who wants dull, rough or lackluster skin? No one! The good news: There are ways to address these issues. Time to learnmore about chemical vs. physical exfoliants and how to use them.

Skin exfoliation is a simple technique that dates back to ancient Egypt and involves sloughing away dirt and dead skincells to reveal fresh, radiant skin. And it's still the key to a vibrant, healthy-looking complexion.

It's important to consider how chemical vs. physical exfoliants can benefit your skin. If your skincare routine islooking a little rough around the edges, here's how to smooth it out with exfoliation.

What Is a Chemical Exfoliant?

Chemical exfoliants work by breaking down the intercellular "glue" that holds dead skin cells together. Once these bondsdissolve, the dead cells fall away allowing newer skin to surface. Neutrogena's Stubborn Texture Liquid ExfoliatingTreatment is a great choice for a gentle yet effective liquid exfoliator for glowing skin.

While they may sound daunting, chemical exfoliators can be surprisingly gentle, often containing low levels of natural,food-derived acids and enzymes. Some examples include alpha hydroxy acid exfoliants, like lactic acid (found in sourmilk), glycolic acid (from sugar cane) and tartaric acid (from grapes). Skin that's oily or prone to enlarged pores orblemishes will do well with salicylic acid, an oil-soluble beta hydroxy acid that can penetrate pore-clogging debris.To boost cellular turnover, neoglucosamine is a chemical exfoliant that makes your skin feel hydrated while visiblyreducing hyperpigmentation.

How Long Does Chemical Exfoliation Take to Work?

Depending on your skin type and regularity of use, you might notice some benefits of chemical exfoliation instantly, butit's not uncommon for it to take several weeks to see full effects. How often should you use a chemical exfoliant? Forbest results, follow product directions.

How to Use Chemical Exfoliant

If you opt to use a chemical exfoliator in your skincare routine, look for a product made with the natural exfoliantslisted above. A good one to try is Neutrogena's Stubborn Texture Acne Facial Cleanser, which contains polyhydroxy acid(PHA), glycolic acid (AHA) and salicylic acid (BHA) to gently remove dead skin and excess oil and sweep away surfaceskin for a clearer looking complexion.

Do You Wash Off a Chemical Exfoliant?

As an added bonus, chemical exfoliants don't require any scrubbing on your part. Leaving it on the skin allows it topenetrate skin's deeper layers and boost cellular turnover without the friction that could upset sensitive skin.

What Is a Physical Exfoliant?

With physical exfoliators, you manually scrub away dead cells from the skin's topmost layer using abrasive ingredientslike sugar, microbeads, rice bran powder or jojoba seeds. The scrubbing action boosts the feeling of microcirculationand lymphatic drainage, leaving you with a fresh, glowing appearance.

While the treatment offers a dose of instant gratification, it does come with a caveat: If your product's exfoliantcontains jagged particles or you scrub too vigorously while exfoliating, a physical exfoliator might leave your skinwith microtears rather than a glowing complexion. Avoid these issues by choosing products with smooth, round granulesand treating your skin gently as you exfoliate.

What's the Difference Between Chemical and Physical Exfoliants?

Now you know about both chemical and physical exfoliants. But what is the difference between physical and chemicalexfoliation? In chemical exfoliation, you're relying on acids to remove the top layers of skin. The great thing aboutchemical exfoliation is that there's no scrubbing required, while physical exfoliants manually remove dead skin throughscrubbing or particles.

Wondering if you can use both types of exfoliants in your skincare routine? While you can alternate between the two,it's best not to use chemical and physical exfoliants at the same time or even on the same day. Over-exfoliation canirritate your delicate skin.

It's Possible to Over-Exfoliate

As with most things in life, moderation is key. After all, there are only so many dead cells to slough away. Goingoverboard and over-exfoliating can disrupt your skin's natural barrier, causing irritation, inflammation and breakouts.It could also make you more vulnerable to sun damage and moisture loss.

So, start slowly and gradually work your way up to exfoliating two or three times a week. The key is to watch how yourskin reacts and go from there. Finally, remember that freshly exfoliated skin is more fragile and needs to be protectedwith a good moisturizer and sunscreen.