For most skin, exfoliating once or twice a week is enough. Oily skin that stays comfortable may take a little more, dry or sensitive skin usually less, and each product's own directions come first. How often also depends on how you exfoliate: a scrub, an enzyme and an acid work in different ways, and each has its own pace. Exfoliate in the evening, follow with moisturiser, and wear sunscreen the next morning. Below, how the three kinds differ, how often each suits, and the ones we would choose.
Why Exfoliate at All?
Skin renews itself constantly, and the outermost cells are shed as new ones arrive. When that shedding slows or builds up unevenly, skin can look dull and feel rough, and moisturiser and make-up sit less smoothly on it. Exfoliating helps lift those surface cells away, so skin looks fresher and feels softer. It is a supporting step rather than a daily essential: a gentle cleanser, a moisturiser and sunscreen remain the core of any routine.
Scrubs: Exfoliating by Hand
A face scrub uses fine particles in a cream, gel or oil to polish the surface as you massage. The effect is immediate, and so is the risk, because the result depends on how hard you press. Use a light touch, on damp skin, for less than a minute, then rinse with lukewarm water. Once or twice a week suits most skin; less if yours is dry or easily flushed.
Clarins Comfort Scrub sets sugar microcrystals in a nourishing oil base, with mango kernel butter, and turns milky as you rinse. Juvena's Pure Cleansing Refining Peeling uses bamboo granules and is made for all skin types. Jeanne Piaubert's Gommage Éclat is a gel with superfine exfoliating particles, which the house suggests once or twice a week. Dr. Organic's Organic Rose Otto Face Scrub polishes with pumice, alongside rosehip oil, and is massaged onto damp skin away from the eye area.
- Comfort Scrub Exfoliating Face Scrub
- Pure Cleansing Refining Peeling Face Peel
- Gommage Éclat Exfoliating Gel
- Organic Rose Otto Face Scrub
Enzymes: Exfoliating Without Rubbing
Enzyme exfoliators use proteins, often papain from papaya, that loosen the bonds between dead surface cells. They work without friction and are generally milder than acids, which makes them a calm choice for skin that dislikes scrubs. Some are masks you leave on briefly; others are gentle enough to sit inside a daily cleanser.
Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel is a cream with papain and pineapple fruit extract, applied in a thin layer, left for a short time and rinsed away, with no rubbing. Laboratoires Filorga's Skin-Prep Enzymatic Cleansing Foam carries papain in a light foam the house directs for morning and evening. Sensai's Silky Purifying Silk Peeling Powder is a powder, with protease and silk powder in its formula, that becomes a lather in wet hands. Svr Laboratoire Dermatologique's Clairial Night Peel pairs papain with niacinamide in a light texture for the evening, followed by moisturiser, with sun protection the next morning.
- Papaya Enzyme Peel
- Skin-Prep Enzymatic Cleansing Foam
- Silky Purifying Silk Peeling Powder Face Peel
- Clairial Night Peel Face Peel
Acids: Exfoliating by Dissolving
Acid exfoliants, the AHAs such as glycolic and lactic acid, the BHA salicylic acid and the gentler PHAs, loosen surface cells chemically, evenly and without friction. We explain each family in AHA and BHA: Exfoliating Acids Explained, and the everyday acid toner in Facial Toner: What It Does and How to Choose One. Here the question is pace. Leave-on acids are usually begun two or three evenings a week; rinse-off masks and peels are often a weekly step. Use one acid product at a time.
Revox B77's Just Lactic Acid + HA Gentle Peeling Solution combines lactic acid with hyaluronic acid, and the house directs it for the evening, used sparingly and followed by moisturiser, with sunscreen the next day. Caudalie's Vinoperfect Glycolic Peeling Mask pairs glycolic acid with Viniferine, left on for ten minutes and then rinsed. Isdin's Glicoisdin 8 Soft, from the Isdinceutics range, is a cream with an 8% glycolic complex and borage seed oil, followed by moisturiser and daytime SPF.
- Just Lactic Acid + HA Gentle Peeling Solution
- Vinoperfect Glycolic Peeling Mask
- Glicoisdin 8 Soft Face Peel
How Often, by Skin Type
Treat these as starting points, adjusted to your skin and to each product's instructions.
- Oily or combination skin: two or three times a week, if skin stays comfortable.
- Normal skin: once or twice a week.
- Dry skin: once a week, with a gentle formula and a richer moisturiser after.
- Sensitive skin: once a week or less, with the mildest option, after a patch test.
Count every exfoliating product in that number. An acid toner, an enzyme cleanser and a weekly scrub all exfoliate, and together they can be more than skin wants. Tightness, stinging, redness, flaking or a shiny, taut look are signs to stop for a few days, then return less often or choose something gentler.
If Your Skin Is Sensitive
Choose the softest formula you can and use it rarely at first. Declaré's Soft Peeling is an extra gentle, non-abrasive exfoliant made for all skin types, including sensitive skin, with panthenol and witch hazel leaf extract in its formula. Benton's PHA Peeling Gel combines a mild chemical exfoliant, PHA, with fine cellulose for a light polish, and adds sodium hyaluronate and ceramide NP; it is applied to dry skin and rinsed away. Stendhal's Éclat Essentiel La Gelée Exfoliante is a gel with fine exfoliating particles and white pearl extract, made for all skin types and used as a weekly step.
Evenings, Moisturiser and SPF
Evening is the easiest time to exfoliate. Skin has the night to settle, and nothing goes on top but your usual serum and cream. Exfoliate on clean skin, then follow with a moisturiser so it feels comfortable. The next morning, wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen: freshly exfoliated skin, and skin using an acid in particular, can be more sensitive to the sun. Keep scrubs, acids and retinol on separate evenings until you know how your skin responds; Retinol: How to Start, How Often, and What to Pair It With covers that pairing.
Patch Test, and When Not to Exfoliate
Before using a new exfoliator on your face, try a little on a discreet area, such as the side of the jaw, and wait a day or two. If skin stays calm, introduce it slowly. Never exfoliate broken, sunburnt or irritated skin, and keep every product away from the eye area. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and considering an acid product, ask your pharmacist or doctor first. If skin stays red, sore or reactive, stop and ask your pharmacist or doctor.
The Ritual at a Glance
- Choose one exfoliator: a scrub, an enzyme or an acid.
- Begin once a week, in the evening, on clean skin.
- Follow with moisturiser.
- Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen the next morning.
- Build up only if skin stays comfortable, and pause at the first sign of irritation.
If you are unsure where to begin, begin with an enzyme exfoliator once a week. It is the gentlest way to learn how often your skin wants it.
