Body exfoliation 101: AHA, BHA, scrubs & everything in between

If you want that skin to look like the south of France, as opposed to south London. Is this a car wash? I was like, no, this is not a fishing net, darling. You are not brushing the floor. Okay. 20 pounds for a box of tissues? No, no. The art of exfoliation. I'm here to help you. Because let's be honest, their face is not matching the body, honey. The face, very glow, very dewy. The body is dry, decrepit and aged. But not all hope is lost. Get your pen and paper. Grab a cuppa. Class is in session. Okay, let's set the scene. And why should you listen to me? I'm a medical doctor of 10 years specializing in aesthetic medicine. I have seen thousands and thousands of patients in my time as a doctor. And one common thread amongst my skin patients is that we've got the facial routine on lock. We have our 10 step facial routine. But when it comes to the body, yeah, we're clueless. The facial routine is costing $250, but the body is costing $500. It is not on brand. I don't love that for you. You can do better. And the foundation of any body care routine is exfoliation. This is why my skin looks like this. It is not a coincidence. It is consistent exfoliation that has gotten me to this point. But not only that, I'm hearing that some of you are not even moisturizing. Anyway, one thing at a time, one thing at a time, baby. We have to walk before we can run, okay? So let's start with exfoliation and then we can talk about moisturization next time. What is the art of exfoliation? Exfoliation is an art. You can use a scrub, you can use a sponge, you can use a soap. There's a bunch of modalities that you can use to execute exfoliation. We're not gonna be using all of the modalities because that's gonna be a fast track to ******* up your skin, no. We need to respect that skin barrier, okay? So we're going to be curating Different types of exfoliation across the course of the week in our body care routine according to our skin type and our skin needs. and general preferences as well as convenience okay because consistency is key. well let's start with the basics why do we need to exfoliate? yes the body does naturally exfoliate and in order to help that process along this is where exfoliants come into play okay because we don't want that dead skin on the top layer just sitting there because it's that dead skin that is holding you back from glowy dewy soft smooth kp free Skin. That's why we need to exfoliate. And as we get older that skin renewal process that I just mentioned becomes slower. But it's not only in age that that process can become slower. Skin conditions such as ichthyosis vulgaris, which I'm a victim of, is also one of the other circumstances that that process can be sluggish. So we need to get that dead skin off. And another thing to note is that the body skin has way less oil glands compared to the face. And so because of that there's going to be that natural tendency for the body skin to be drier and for that dry skin just And just to cling on for that much longer. And with all things, I'd like to put it into context. What are some of the things that exfoliation will help you resolve? KP, keratosis pilaris, baby. Yes, I know that is an affliction that is faced by many of you. Exfoliation is also going to be amazing for ingrown hairs, razor bumps, acne of any kind, including bacne. And for those of you that struggle with uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation, you need to be exfoliating. That is the foundation of any hyperpigmentation routine. If you want that skin to look like the South of France, As opposed to South London, maybe we need to be... exfoliating beforehand, okay? No shades of South London. I'm East, but no shades of South London. So what are the different types of exfoliation? And yes, I'm sorry if I'm teaching you how to suck eggs, but it's really important that you understand the basics, the foundations of exfoliation. So then you're not doing a pick and mix on your body, okay? Because this is how you're going to eff up your skin, okay? So you need to understand the basics. So be patient. I'm going to get there, but be patient. The first type of exfoliation is physical exfoliation aka scrubs and dry brushing anything that you are manually doing in order to get that dead skin off that is physical exfoliation however there is a tendency to overdo it some of you are overdoing it and you're causing micro tears to your skin i see you i sometimes maybe one of them but yeah it's not it's not it's not good You're ruining your skin! And then we have chemical exfoliation. It literally does what it says on the tin. It uses chemicals to exfoliate the skin. And this is where my favorite acids come into play. Acids are a form, if not the form, of chemical exfoliation and they work by breaking down the glue in between the skin cells aka the bonds. That's how they get rid of dead skin. And there's three common types of acids. AHAs, BHAs and PHAs. I repeat AHAs, BHAs and PHAs. AHAs essentially stand for alpha hydroxy acids, BHAs stand for beta hydroxy acids and then PHAs stand for polyhydroxy acids. Common examples of AHAs include glycolic acid, lactic acid, mandelic acid and these type of acids are going to be perfect for getting rid of texture, to help smoothness, for pigmentation. It's gonna be perfect for that and then beta hydroxy acids aka salicylic acid that is going to be best for more oily acne prone skin so if you have acne if you have kp that is what you need and the most common pha is gluconolactone phas are perfect for those of you with the most sensitive skin so if you have hella sensitive skin start with a pha okay but baby how often should i exfoliate well i'm not going to give you a straight answer why because it depends on your skin type if you have very sensitive skin Once twice a week is going to be more than enough for you but if you have strong tough resilient skin you can get away with exfoliating every single day. Again if we're exfoliating every single day we might just have to be a little mindful of the type of exfoliants that we use because we don't want to go in the other direction and ruin our skin. I know we like the sensation of feeling squeaky clean but squeaky clean is not a good thing. Squeaky clean is your skin crying. But all of that is just a general framework. What I really want you to get into your mind is that you need to listen to your skin. You need to assess your skin on a daily basis and treat it accordingly. If your skin is feeling tight, red, angry, maybe put down the exfoliant. Let's finally move on to the exciting part, which is all the different ways that you can exfoliate. There are three key moments within your body care routine that you can exfoliate and I'm going to break it down into three buckets. Number one, pre-shower. Number two, in the shower. And number three, post-shower. Do you need to introduce exfoliants at all three stages? Absolutely not. I wouldn't recommend it. Take your pick and stick with it and if you're feeling fancy you can even rotate between different stages of exfoliation. I'll leave that with you. Okay pre-shower there's a couple of different ways that you can exfoliate. The first way is dry brushing. I absolutely love dry brushing. It feels very ritualistic. Again make sure you google you are not brushing the floor. Okay there's a technique, there's a method to this madness. No, no, but yeah, dry brushing is a great place to start. But to be absolutely honest with you, I don't, I've never consistently dry brushed. I don't, I just, I just easily forget. But the next technique that I never forget when it comes to pre-shower exfoliation are scrubs. I love a good scrub. Don't love it so much for my face, but for the body, gagged, obsessed, sensational, beyond. And yes, you're probably wondering, Dr. E, we use scrubs pre-shower? Yes, we do. Why? Because scrubs are best applied on dry skin. Okay, because if you apply scrubs to wet skin, it's just not going to adhere to the body. You're going to be slipping and sliding in the shower and that physical exfoliation ain't going to do ish. It's not, it's just not going to grip the skin and you're just not going to be able to get a good scrub. Okay, so pre-shower. But not all scrubs are equal, honey. Not all scrubs are equal and I fear that some of you don't know the difference. If you have more of a dry skin type, you're going to want to look for a scrub that is more moisturizing. How do you know if scrub is going to be moisturizing because it feels oily. And it leaves a thin film residue on the skin. Whereas other scrubs, such as my favourite from Notorium, that is not a moisturising scrub whatsoever. Your skin is not going to feel moisturised thereafter, absolutely not. Will it feel smooth? Absolutely. But as I said, if you have more of a dry skin type, you're going to want to look for the more oil-based, moisturising type scrubs. And my favourite is from the brand Omorovicza. Omorovicza? Omorovicza? Girl, I don't know. That brand. Love it. And they have a gold scrub. That scrub is the most divine, divine scrub I've used in my life. It smells like a spa, a thermal spa. It's to the point I'm actually holding on to the last scraps of that because I don't want to finish it. I love it that much. Probably one of the best moisturizing scrubs I've used in my life. Like for those of you that are allergic to moisturizing your skin, you could probably get away with just using that scrub and then... Running out the shower, genuinely. And because scrubs can be quite aggressive, do not use a body scrub every single day. Don't. It's tempting, but don't do it. Notorium have a KP scrub that is made specifically for KP. Loves it, obsessed, probably one of the best scrubs for that price point in the market, hands down. And then the next method of pre-shower exfoliation that you're probably not aware of are peeling gels. Peeling gels are a Korean export. We love them, we love her. This is going to be perfect for those of you with more sensitive skin, You want a bit of exfoliation, but not too much. You want to dip your toe in the water, but not too much. And it literally comes out in the form of a liquid. But then as you rub it into your skin, and again, really important that you apply it to dry skin pre-shower. When you rub it into the skin, little particles start to form. They almost look like little flakes. No, it's not dead skin, despite what TikTok wants to tell you. It's not dead skin. Those are particles called gummage okay and that's actually going to provide a little bit of physical exfoliation. So you're getting chemical and physical exfoliation all at the same time two for the price of one. I love this one from Medicube because it has a blend of acids. It's got BHAs, PHAs and LHAs as well as a bit of kojic acid. So you're going to particularly love this if you have an uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation. Now it's time to jump in to the shower and as a side note some of you are doing a wash and go. You're spending 30 seconds in that shower and you're out. Is this a car wash? 10 minutes minimum in my humble opinion. in my humble opinion 10 minutes minimum because we're doing up and down back and front unseen and seen body parts including behind your ears including behind your knees including your toes some of your toes are dirty okay so if you're doing all of that notwithstanding if you're washing your hair Minimum 10 minutes. Minimum. Okay this is where it gets real fun. No this is not a fishing net darling. It is not a fishing net. It is an African net sponge. I love my African net sponge. It is. We have been in a deep meaningful Very committed relationship, like this is a staple in African households. So why is an Africanette sponge an elite type of sponge? Because of how it's constructed and how it's made. It's way more hygienic than a traditional loofah, it dries incredibly easy and so you're not going to get all that nasty bacteria dampness forming in your sponge. Like if you've ever seen a black person's body and you're like how is their skin so smooth, supple? It is because they're using this. I will preface by saying that Africanette sponge may be a little bit hard for some of you with very sensitive skin. If you've never used a sponge in your life, starting with this might be a bit much, so we can work our way towards this. Just go get like a loofah, don't know what that is, but start there honey, then we can work our way to that. But if you're feeling daring, go get this. Where can you get this? You can get it off Amazon, you can get it off TikTok shop, You can get it at your local beauty supply store. Rub. Yeah anyway, do I need to try to use an Africanette sponge? No. God help me. And then the next form of exfoliation within the shower is a body wash. Ideally a body wash that's infused with acids. Body wash. Very easy, very simple. Body wash. I have this one from the brand The Perfect Derma and the reason I love this is because it's got 15% glycolic acid, okay? So this is very much for the experts, intermediates and ups only. If you're a beginner, don't do it, don't do it. Also has azelaic acid, which is one of my favorite acids, by the way. But if you can't get your hands on this, Notorium also do a bunch of different acid-based washes. Ameliorate, also another great brand. Alpha H, there's a couple of different brands. Take your pick. And so personally, what I often do, though not every single day, is I get my acid-based body wash, put a little bit on my Africanet sponge. There we go. Very easy. Very easy. But personally, day-to-day, this is more than enough. That way I can have fun with the different body washes that I use. I typically use more nourishing body washes because I do have quite dry skin so I'm very conscious of not over stripping the skin, don't over strip the skin. And then the last method of exfoliation within the shower is an exfoliating bar. Yes, not a common type of exfoliation by any means but I do love a good exfoliating bar. This one is from the brand Soft Services. I think it's that affogato orange scent and interestingly it does feel pretty smooth when you take it out of the packet but after the first use when you put it under some water it actually becomes more rough in texture and actually I think sometimes the Soft Services one is a little bit aggressive and topicals also do a really good buffing bar as well. Would I use the buffing bar on my African net sponge? No I would not. Again that is the highway ticket to ruining your skin one or the other baby, one or the other baby, not both, one or the other. I know some of you are the daring type. I know some of you like to live life on the edge. But using both is aggressive. Pick one or the other. And then with an exfoliating body wash, that's where, again, you can tailor the type of acid in the body wash according to what you are trying to treat. If you have acne, KP, look for the Naturium Salicylic Acid Body Wash. Whereas if you have or want to address uneven skin or have a pigmentation, just general smoothness of the skin, go for a glycolic-based body wash. And then with all of those methods of exfoliation within the shower, yes, work these products all over the body, but pay special attention to the extra dry areas. What are some of the extra dry areas? The elbows, baby, the elbows. The knees, okay? Those heels are disgusting. Those heels are tickling your partner in bed, okay? Scrub those heels, baby. Scrub them. Mm-mm. Just any areas of dryness, any areas of KP, really pay attention and spend a little bit longer with exfoliation. Because I know someone's going to ask me, actually, you don't even ask. You never ask for permission. You just do it anyway because I saw that you did it yesterday. We are not using scrubs. We're not using exfoliating bars. We're not using our African Exsponge to intimate areas. No. If you must use a bit of exfoliation to the kitty cat, external kitty cat, external, we can use post-shave ingrown serums. They're specifically formulated for intimate areas. So you're going to have a low concentration of acid within them. One of my favourites include the Venus post-shave serum. Love it. Obsessed with it. Leaves the skin super smooth. But going in with the African net sponge. Combined with the- no. Well done for making it to the end, baby. Now time for the post-shower routine. This is actually one of my favorite ways to exfoliate post-shower, by using an acid toner. And these two are my favorite. It is not sponsored, but I just love these. The Glycolic Acid Toner and the Salicylic Acid Toner from The Ordinary. Cheap as chips. This is the epitome of unsexy skincare that bloody works, okay? But you're probably wondering, um, Dr. E, like, how do I put this? on my body so you can apply this like an essence i.e in the palm of your hand and then rub it into the skin yes you can do it that way however it's hella messy this is really runny absolutely not no so my favorite way to apply these toners is actually with these clean skin club towels it's so funny side note when i first came across these i was like 20 pounds for a box of tissues but now I'm a convert. I have eaten my words and I bloody love these. These are disposable. I love these because they're so damn big. They actually have a bit of like a rough texture to them and so it's going to provide a little bit of physical exfoliation whilst you're piling on the chemical exfoliation. Okay so how are we going to do this baby? Get the toner. Splash splash. Rub it in. And you're going to be doing this when you come out of the shower on damp skin. Not wet, but damp skin. Remember, glycolic acid is for uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation, texture. Or use the salicylic acid if you have acne, KP, etc. And if you're wondering whether you should layer these two acids in the same sitting, the answer is no. However, can you use it in different zones of your body? Absolutely. Also, glycolic acid doubles up as a fantastic deodorant. So you can even apply this to your underarms too. But if the whole putting the toner on the massive cotton pad is a bit too much for you, I get it. Cool. Let's keep things efficient and instead let's use a toner pad. This is from the brand Cellomax and it's the TXA body clarifying pad and there's a couple reasons I love this. The pads are large. Obviously you can use your facial toner pad on your body. You might end up using a lot, but of course you can. You're going to love these pads, especially if you have hyperpigmentation. With all things, however, please manage your expectations. Pigmentation that has been there for decades is not going to disappear after a month. Life's not. But will it look better? That I can promise you. And if you don't like the sound of either of those, check out exfoliating sprays. Cyclar do a really good glycolic acid based spray. Really just take your pick. Take your pick. And then another one of my favorite ways to exfoliate the body is through a cream. This is another unsexy but very sexy product because it works. This is the SA Smoothing Cream from CeraVe. It smells like nothing, let's be honest, but This legit works and I find actually I get the best out of exfoliating creams when I use them twice a day morning and night. I know the girls will tell you that you need to apply your body cream on damp skin however if it's formulated with acids that's not always the case okay. Some of these products literally state that you must apply it on dry skin so just read the instructions if in doubt but for me I like to apply them on like semi-dry skin not wet not damp. Somewhere in the middle, you know. And the reason I love this is that not only does it have salicylic acid, but it also has urea. 10% urea, which is going to be the miracle you need if you have dry skin. I swear by urea. Urea has transformed my skin. And if you want to take that moisturization routine to the next level, finish off with a body oil just to lock all of that in. Okay. That is what I personally do. We always add on an oil. Always. And lastly, just to address the elephant in the room. If you're going to be exfoliating your body, you need to be wearing body sunscreen. You need to be wearing body sunscreen, darling. Why? Because AHAs. Increase the skin sensitivity to the sun. Okay? Gon burn, baby, gon burn. Okay? So you need to be wearing sunscreen. Because you can't be doing all of that goodness in the skincare gym and undoing it by not wearing sunscreen. And so with all of that in mind, you have no excuse to have dry, crepey, dusty skin this summer. Or even this year. There's no excuse. I have laid down the framework for the art of exfoliation. But let me know if you have any comments and questions, and I'll get back to you. But also let me know what else you want to see from me. You know, I'm a YouTuber now, so let me know, um, and I'll give the girls what they want, within reason. But yeah, let me know. Ah! My first YouTube video!