Exfoliation

I am going to be 33 this year. It is only in the last couple of years I actually began considering my skin and how old I truly look. As a twenty-something I liked the claims of various skincare companies and I'd laugh at the utterly wrinkle-less woman advertising a wrinkle cream. But I truly didn't think all that much about it.

I had an incredibly vague idea what exfoliation was and zero practical idea of why one should do it. Then I started using L'Bri. They told me to exfoliate, so I did, sometimes. Then I started learning a little bit about why. So I did, a little more. And, as is often the case, I don't make it a personal ownership/responsibility until something dramatic happens for me. (Ask me about the eye gel incident sometime).

Back in early December I used our Fruit Enzyme Facial Peel one morning before work. This peel uses fruit enzymes to pull up the dead skin cells off the surface of your skin, and then it gathers them together in these little balls that you

can feel under your finger tips as you rub it around on your face. It is simultaneously disgusting and highly gratifying. I do it in the shower so all those little balls of skin can go right down my shower drain, and I don't have to worry about cleaning out the sink afterwards or anything.

The thing about it was, I did it on a Tuesday morning. On Thursday morning I was doing something at my desk and set my jaw into my hand and noticed that my skin was still soft!! TWO DAYS LATER!

I was blown away! And I've been using these products for almost 5 years!

I have had similar experiences with the Facial Masque in the past. But since I only like to do that one at night, and it needs ten minutes to dry, and time-management has never been my forte, I often neglect that one.

Last week, I saw a twitter post from Bethenny Frankel, one of my heroes, that said

"Good tip: when using those bath/shower scrubs,do on dry skin in shower.Then turn on water&rinse.much better results.smooth like a baby."

and I thought, "I've never tried that."

So yesterday, when I got into the shower I did my

normal shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shave routine and instead of putting some of our Exfoliating Facial & Body Scrub right into my cleanser to use on my face, I just used a dollop of it right on my dampened, but not intentionally wetted face.

OH. MY. GAWD.

My skin was about as soft as the facial peel made it, and i noticed the difference!

This is one of those things I love about L'Bri and about skincare and about the internet. You read one small tip from someone and suddenly you can totally change how you do something and actually see the difference! I've done this a few different times with L'Bri products and man oh man, it makes a difference.

I figured since exfoliation is the process of sloughing off the old to bring the new to the forefront, New Year's was a good time to bring it up. :)

So, with all of my thoughts on the matter, what are yours? What's your favorite exfoliation? What do you notice or not notice? What would you like to see after you exfoliate? Let me hear ya!