Best Exfoliators for Your Skin Type: Dry, Oily, Combination, Normal, & Sensitive | Derm Picks

exfoliation can be a great addition to your skincare routine but are you using the correct exfoliant for your skin type let's talk about it I'm Dr Sam Ellis I'm a board certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist in Northern California and I'm here to help you understand your skin and find products that work for you so if that sounds good give this video a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe to the channel the topic of exfoliation comes up a lot when talking about skin care and getting the best looking skin as well as the healthiest skin

so let's talk a little bit about what exfoliation actually is exfoliation is the fundamental skincare technique of using a product to remove the dead skin cells from the surface of the skin our skin exists in multiple layers starting from the deepest layer you have the dermis on top of that you have the epidermis and the Very topmost layer of the epidermis is something called the stratum corium the stratum corium is multiple cell layers thick of dead skin cells and we never want to be removing our entire strap Adam corium which is also known as our

Skin Barrier but as we get older especially those outer skin cell layers can start to build up and make the skin appear dull and exfoliation is one of the ways we can remove some of those outer dead skin cell layers to make the skin look brighter and more clear the process of exfoliation can be achieved via mechanical means or physical exfoliation using things like Scrubs or brushes to manually remove the top layer of dead skin cells or you can use a chemical exfoliant which uses a chemical process to break apart the adhesions between the skin

cells and to allow them to Slough off that way and exfoliation is not just about having less dullness or more Radiance to the skin there are other really amazing benefits to exfoliation like Improvement of skin texture reduction of clogged pores Improvement in skin discoloration as well as better absorption of the topical skin care that you apply on a regular basis and a better makeup application now the one thing that's really important to recognize when it comes to exfoliation and removal of those dead skin cell surface layers is that that there is a limit to how

much exfoliation should really be done and the big problem I see in my practice is people overe exfoliating and truly disrupting Their Skin Barrier and causing more problems down the line so the key when it comes to exfoliating correctly and optimally is to pick the right products for your skin type use them at the correct intervals so you don't want to use them too frequently or infrequently and you also want to make sure that exfoliation is the right type of step to be adding to your skincare routine to help you achieve those goals before we

talk about the right exfoliating produ s for your skin type I think it's important to spend just a little bit of time talking about skin type and what that really means so I really like to think of skin types as something that helps you kind of contextualize or understand the tendency that your skin may have so does it have a tendency towards dryness a tendency towards being oily or a tendency towards being more combination where you have both dry and oily areas and the American Academy of Dermatology recognizes five main skin types that people can

fall into that would be dry skin oily skin combination skin normal skin and we'll talk about that and sensitive skin when you're thinking about your skin type you really want to think okay if I washed my face and then I put no moisturizer on and I waited like an hour how would my skin feel would it feel dry and tight and like oh my gosh I need to put a moisturizer on would it look shiny or a bit oily or would your pores look more prominent because that leans more towards an oily skin type would

you feel like hey I'm not missing anything from my skincare here my skin feels really normal because that puts you more at a normal skin type so sometimes people will be like I don't know how to figure out my skin type and one that's okay like that's not an essential thing but two think about how your skin would react if you were doing nothing to it and that can kind of give you an indication if I'm breaking down the skin types for someone and I'm starting with like normal skin for example one if you have

normal skin you might not be watching this because your skin has just never really given you any issues but normal skin is someone that doesn't feel dry they don't feel oily they've never really felt their skin or had an awareness of their skin and if you're watching this and you have oily or dry skin you're not going to really associate with that because you're going to go oh no I can tell when my skin doesn't feel like its optimal self and we'll kind of move on to that really normal skin is just very comfortable skin

that feels balanced now let's compare that to oily skin those who would say that they have an oily skin type will notice that if they don't wash their face or as time goes on throughout the day that they start to develop shininess or greasiness this will often start in the T-Zone so across the forehead and through the mid face where we have more prominent oil glands but it can extend onto the rest of the face as well people with oily skin will often note that they also have larger or more prominent pores and they can

be very sensitive to the application of certain moisturizers because they can easily feel heavy on the skin people with oily skin may also be more prone to developing acne because clogged pores and an increase or irregular oil production is part of that people who would characterize themselves as having dry skin are really the exact opposite of that so their skin might feel tight or flaky or a bit more sensitive they also may have more fine lines and wrinkles on their skin and they tend to have smaller pores now if your skin is dry and I'll

talk about this a little bit more later in the video you have to understand if that's your natural skin type or your natural skin tendency or if you're using a product that is drying your skin out or damaging Your Skin Barrier and giving you a symptom of dryness when we think about combination skin that tends to have some areas that are oily and some areas that are dry perhaps an oilier T-Zone and then dryness on the cheeks and then I know the American Academy of Dermatology has this fifth skin type of sensitive skin but to

me you can have sensitive skin and be dry sensitive skin and be oily combination skin so to me it's not its own skin type but it is sort of like a skin subtype people with sensitive skin tend to notice environmental triggers or certain products will just cause their skin to look red inflamed itchy Etc so if you are someone with sensitive skin I think this exfoliation video is particularly important for you because those with sensitive skin tend to suffer the most when they use exfoliants incorrectly and I think with that we'll just delve right into

the different exfoliant recommendations for different skin types now these are just my recommendations based on my experience with my patients and interacting with followers of course if you would identify your skin as a particular skin type and you use an exfoliant that I don't mention or you use an exfoliant and it's in a different category than what I mention and you're having success with it that's completely fine skincare can be quite subjective but I want to give you some options here of where to start especially if you haven't had success with exfoliants in the past

let's start off with exfoliants for quote unquote normal skin types and I will say that these exfoliants I think would work well with a variety of skin types you might think okay someone has normal skin do they even need an exfoliant at all but people with normal skin can also have dullness or discoloration that they are trying to improve and an exfoliant can be beneficial in those cases so first up and this might surprise you coming from a dermatologist but it's actually a physical exfoliant recommendation so something that actually scrubs the skin and it is

the tatcha rice polish and the reason a lot of dermatologists and estheticians don't recommend physical scrubs is because people can tend to overdo it or they can overly abaid the skin and disrupt the Skin Barrier too much but I find in clinical practice that one a lot of people really want to use a physical exfoliant like they enjoy the feeling of it their skin feels so smooth afterward they crave that type of exfoliation in their routine so it's nice to have an option for those patients and two I find that physical exfoliant can actually give

you a much more immediate Improvement in the skin and can actually be great for people who suffer from sensitive skin because you're able to tolerate it a bit better than a chemical that might cause irritation for you so I've tried a lot of physical exfoliant in my day and the reason I love the tatcha rice polish so so much is how fine the exfoliation is so it starts out actually as a powder that you put in your hands and then you add a little bit of water and work it into sort of like a grainy

lather and that you can gently massage into your skin but I like it because it's very hard to overdo it there are not big grains that are going to tug on your skin or cause irritation and also how much you're using of this product and how often you're using it are going to determine how much exfoliation you actually get so if you have really robust skin that you find is craving exfoliation on a regular basis I do think this is actually gentle enough to use every day as one of your cleansing steps now in contrast

me as someone who has more sensitive skin I would use this maybe one to two times a week to just help lift off that outer dead skin cell layer and it's not always going to be something that I have to include in my routine really when it comes to exfoliation or any other type of product that you are incorporating into your routine it needs to feel purposeful you're not just doing it cuz you're doing it you're doing it because your skin needs it or it needs to benefit from something like that we'll talk about other

exfoliants that I use in my routine and I personally do some type of exfoliation only one to two times a week so if I'm using this as my physical exfoliant I'm probably not going in with another chemical exfoli step that week at all in contrast to that physical exfoliant I'm also a huge fan of the Sunday Riley good jees lactic acid chemical exfoliant if you have been on this channel for a while this is maybe my most recommended chemical exfoliant but for good reason of the different exfoliating Alpha hydroxy acids out there I would say

lactic acid sort of sits in that like goldilock sweet spot you have something like glycolic acid that's stronger you have things like malic acid and mandelic acid that are not as potent and so lactic acid is perfect for normal skin where you're trying to get that gentle exfoliation and not overdo it and not underdo it another benefit of lactic acid is that it doesn't just act as an exfoliant it also acts as a humectant to draw water to the Skin's surface so it's going to make your skin feel more plump and more hydrated and this

formula has things like licorice root extract which are going to help with discoloration in addition to the exfoliation that you're already doing now there are tons of different lactic acid exfoliants out there on the market I just find that this one feels so lovely on the skin it doesn't irritate the skin which I think is so important and this is something you could use once a week all the way up to once a day depending on how your skin tolerates it the other thing I didn't mentioned earlier on in this video is that exfoliants can

be a nice skin care staple to lean on when you are trying to get pregnant or trying to conceive because they are considered safe for use during these times when you're trying to get pregnant or when you are pregnant you can't use things like topical retinoids which also help with skin cell turnover so an exfoliant in your routine during that time can be great now let's talk about exfoliation for dry dry skin I find that people with dry skin tend to be a little more intimidated by exfoliants or just find that they don't really work

well for them but I actually think an exfoliation step for someone who has dry skin can be really beneficial and the reason for that is kind of what I alluded to when I was talking about that Sunday Riley lactic acid Serum is that a lot of exfoliants also have these humant properties to draw water to the Skin's surface so if you have dry skin and your skin is dehydrated using an exfoliant can also give you this other benefit of hydrating the skin as someone who personally has dry skin I have also tried a lot of

different exfoliants over the years and these are some of my personal faves so the first one is actually a newer launch from skin suitical it's the skin ptical cell cycle Catalyst and when I first got this product I was like H I don't know about this like do I really need an exfoliant this is meant to be used on a daily basis and I was kind of intimidated by it but man I have been using it every single day and it is awesome this serum which literally just feels like water when you take it out

of the bottle is described as a 7.7% multi- acid complex this has phytic acid mandelic acid lactic acid salicylic acid and glycolic acid I've been loving this because it has a very gentle blend of alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids and the beta hydroxy acid in here salicylic acid is at quite a low concentration just 0.2% but I love that because I feel like as someone who has dry skin salicylic acid can sometimes dry me out too much but at a lower concentration like this it really helps just kind of unclog or clear the

pores without any dehydration or deoiling of the skin so like I mentioned when you apply this it literally feels like water so you do have to be a bit careful taking it out of the dropper but I use about a third of a dropper on my entire face and the nice thing is there's zero sting so a lot of times with acids we're like okay it needs to sting it needs to burn it needs to feel spicy so that I know that it's working but this works without any of that irritation and it's not to

say that stinging or spiciness with an acid is a bad thing there are sometimes when I'm really looking for that especially in a product that has a higher concentration of exfoliating acids but in this case for something that's a daily use exfoliant I want something a lot more gentle I've just found with this that my skin looks more glowy more radiant more hydrated but I'm not having any peeling or flaking I use this in the morning with my vitamin C and then at night I'm still able to use my topical retinoid so I love this

because I can just use it every single day I don't have to remember if I need to include it in my routine and I think my skin is really benefiting another exfoliant that I really love for people who have dry skin and particularly for people who have dry and sensitive skin is by medicate it's their press and glow PHA tonic and this product uses an exfoliant that maybe a lot of people have not heard of or not familiar with it uses a polyhydroxy acid called gluconolactone polyhydroxy acids in general tend to be more gentle than

Alpha hydroxy acids and gluconolactone specifically is really good at both exfoliating and hydrating the skin so someone has tried to incorporate things like lactic acid or glycolic acid and found them to be too irritating using something that uses polyhydroxy acids can be a nice way to still include an exfoliant but in a more Gentle Way in my practice I treat a lot of patients who have facial eczema or rosacea and these patients still want to exfoliate they still want to remove that dead skin cell layer but a lot of products just don't play nice with

their sensitive and dry skin so if I have a patient like that who wants to exfoliate because their eczema or their rosacea is under good control I will often have them start with a PHA type of product to reduce the risk of inflammation afterward similar to a lot of exfoliants this has a very lightweight liquidy texture so I would apply this first thing on Clean Skin you could do it in the morning or in the evening if you're doing it in the evening I would skip any retinoid that you're using at that time until you

know if you can tolerate this well and then if you are able to use it every day without irritation then bringing it in at the same time as your retinoid may still be okay you may have noticed up to this point a lot of the exfoliants I'm talking about tend to lean on the gentler side of things and that's because generally with exfoliation particularly of your face neck and chest skin you do not need to use high concentrations or really Heavy Hitters to see results now one of my favorite exfoliants for oily skin is the

peach slices acne exfoliating toner and you don't have to have acne to benefit from this toner but I think they call it an acne toner because it has 2% salicylic acid and as a reminder salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid it's good at delving into the pores and breaking up those clogs within them because salicylic acid is much better than Alpha hydroxy acids at removing oils from the skin I find that oily skinned individuals tend to lean into salicylic acid products because it helps with their oil control now there are tons of different 2%

salicylic acid toners out there on the market I just think this overall formulation is really lovely it also has a little bit of glycolic acid and lactic acid in there as well so you're not just getting that removal of oil from the skin but it also does still help remove that outer dead skinin cell layer as well so you can really glow this also has some nice soothing anti-inflammatory and antibacterial ingredients so that if you do struggle with acne or your skin is more irritated maybe from some acne products that you're using this toner is

not going to overdo it while we're on the topic of acne though I do want to as a dermatologist say that if you are struggling with acne breakouts salicylic acid is not necessarily the first product I would reach for you want to have things in your routine like retinoids and benzil peroxide I feel like salicylic acid is a nice adjunct to help with poor congestion but if you're not using something like benzil peroxide or retinoid I would start there another exfoliant I really like for oily skin and this has been recommended to me by many

of my oily skinned patients is by skin Meda it's their Ahab BHA cleanser they call it their aha Baja cleanser though so this cleanser has multiple acids in it glycolic acid lactic acid malic acid but the thing that I really like about it is that it's used in a cleanser form so for people who are oily but maybe have more dehydrated skin or more sens sensitive or easily irritated skin are still getting that exposure to exfoliating acids but not in the form of a leave on product that may cause more irritation for them now this

cleanser does have some Botanical oils in it which I find to be amazing for like the experiential aspect of the cleanser like a fragranced cleanser to me is just like yes I am in a spa this is awesome but if you are sensitive to fragrance it's important to know that about this product some people are going to be able to use an exfoliating cleanser like this every single day if you are new to this cleanser I would start out by using it one to maybe two times a week to see how your skin responds and

then if you're able to incorporate it more frequently and don't notice any increased irritation in your skin use it that way let's move on to combination skin and I feel like combination skin can kind of handle a variety of different exfoliants so it may take a little bit of trial and error to find your perfect one but one of my favorite exfoliation recommendations for people who have combination skin are the Dr Dennis gross alpab beta Universal peel pads so these are a two-step pad system that use Alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids as well

as a little bit of retinol to help exfoliate the skin there's a first step and then there's a neutralizing pad that you do afterwards and the neutralizing pad is really there so you don't overdo it these do have a good amount of glycolic acid I would say that these are quite spicy when you first apply them but they don't lead to a lot of irritation in my experience now because these are more potent even though they're called a daily peel pad I would never use these daily personally I would start out by using them maybe

once a week and then work up thereafter I also find these pads are pretty juicy juicy so I don't just use them on my face if I have a pad and I'm using it I'm bringing it down onto my neck my chest my hands and there's usually enough in there for me to get my forearms as well now as a reminder these do have retinol in them so if you are trying to conceive or you pregnant this would not be my first choice and I also want to remind people that exfoliation does increase your risk

of sun sensitivity so if you are bringing these things onto your face neck chest hands Etc you need to make sure that you are bringing your sunscreen onto your face neck chest hands Etc now if you have combinations skin that tends to be a bit more sensitive I absolutely love the cavey renewing cleanser this has just a little bit of salicylic acid in it and so I find that if you lean a little bit oily but you might have some dry areas the salicylic acid in there is good for taking away that oil but not

overly stripping the skin and this is such a gentle cleanser that I really feel like you could use this most days in your routine if not every day without overdoing it and because this is using a small amount of salicylic acid this is really going to help mostly with oiliness maybe a little bit of pore congestion you're not going to get a ton of Correction of dark spots or dullness with this particular formula but if you're just looking for exfoliation to help with poor congestion this is a great option last but not least let's talk

about an exfoliant for sensitive skin and you may have noticed I have woven in several different exfoliants within this video that I think are great for sensitive skin but this one just comes to mind and that is the skin sual retexturizing activator I think in all the years that I've had a YouTube channel I don't think I've ever recommended more than one skin cutical product in a single video but I do find that they do exfoliants really well so this is an exfoliant that is designed for daily use and it uses some exfoliants that a

lot of people are not familiar with which are hydroxy ethyl Ura and aminosulfonic acid and these exfoliants are great because they are really gentle they are nourishing and hydrating to the skin but they are very very gentle so if you are someone with really sensitive skin who has struggled to incorporate glycolic acid lactic acid maybe even malic acid or mandelic acid using something that has compounds that your skin has not seen before is worth a try I would also think of this like a beginner exfoliant again if you have sensitive skin if you're dealing with

another skin condition like eczema or rosacea or psoriasis that is under control but you're looking to start incorporating exfoliation products I think this one's great because this is a more gentle type of exfoliation that is meant for daily use I don't find that this gives you that like immediate next day glow but if you use it consistently over weeks you will notice that your skin is more Supple it's smoother and it's more so I hope this exfoliation guide was helpful for you I'm so curious what is your skin type and what's your favorite exfoliant I'm

always down to hear more recommendations and to try new products thank you so much for being here don't forget to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel and I'll see you next time