Beauty for dark skin: a guide to exfoliating

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/may/08/beauty-dark-skin-guide-exfoliating

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The grossest things tend to have immediate gratification. It starts with picking your nose age five, then graduates to squeezing your spots and ferociously jamming cotton buds into your ears. Exfoliation is another one of these habits that we're compelled to love – and that satisfaction of having instantlysoft skin is second to none.

But over-exfoliation could be one of the main players in skin aggravation, says Dr Virginia Hubbard, a consultant dermatologist at London Bridge hospital. "Darker skin is more likely to develop patchy pigmentation (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) if it is irritated or damaged – that's exactly what excessive exfoliation is." That's not all: exfoliating too much can also disrupt your skin's natural equilibrium, causing it to overproduce sebum (or underproduce it). Frankly, if our skin could talk, it would tell us to put the scrub down, or at least limit it.

But how much is too much when it comes to buffing your skin? Knowing how our skin behaves on a biological level is helpful. "There is evidence that black skin has a more compact stratum corneum (the outer layer of the skin, which is essentially dead cells), larger pore size and higher sebum secretion than other skin types," says Hubbard. That means it's vital to keep the surface as debris-free as possible to avoid the build up of spot-causing bacteria.

Asian skins need to pay attention too. "Asian skin is found to have a weaker barrier function, making it more it sensitive to external chemical elements," explains Hubbard. And subjecting your face to vigorous scrubbing is a sure-fire way of weakening that barrier further.

Past the teen years, skin takes 20-40 days to renew itself, so using an exfoliator once a week is fine – encouraged, even. But mechanical exfoliation – that's loofahs, scrubs or microdermabrasion – can irritate the skin to the point of increasing or triggering post-inflammatory pigmentation. Take extra care if your product is nut kernel-based; the jagged edges on the particles can create micro-cuts that inflame the skin further. That's where the new breed of non-scrubbing exfoliators come into their own. They use gentle peeling elements to lift away any cellular hangers-on, leaving you with soothed but fresh-looking skin.

These are some of the best non-scrubbing exfoliators I've tried. All of them should be used sparingly and in light amounts, and as a result will last for a long time (in the case of Clarisonic, indefinitely). You'll never revert to micro-blasting your face again, I promise.

Indeed Labs Facial Powdered Exfoliator, £18.99, boots.comThis micro-powder activates in water and uses enzymes to remove the outer layer of dead skin cells on your face, leaving it ultra-smooth and glowing. And no scrub in sight.

Clarisonic Mia 2 Sonic Facial Brush, £125, clarisonic.co.ukThere are two opposing camps when it comes to electrical facial brushes, but for me, the Clarisonic is the deepest clean you can get without using a power-hose on your pores. Switch to the sensitive head and use it every three days to ensure you're not overdoing the exfoliation.

Revive Glycolic Renewal Kit, £190, spacenk.com(One set contains 30 cleansing pads and 118ml renewal gel)I wrestled for ages with putting this in here – it's a lot of money. That said, it's one of the best exfoliators I've used and makes the most visible difference to my skin out of any beauty product I've tried. You can use this pad/glycolic acid combo weekly, but I'd go for once every two or three weeks to save costs and be kinder to your skin – it's powerful stuff.

Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel, £49.50, murad.co.ukYou've got to love a mask that uses glycolic acid, vitamin C and fig extract to slay the top layer of your skin into submission, leaving it glowing, soft and radiant. I promise, it's not scary in any way.

Antonia Burrell Luminous Light Polishing Powder, £45, antoniaburrell.comThis gentle, all-natural powder is the perfect choice for sensitive skins. It uses zinc and colloidal oatmeal to naturally exfoliate any areas of build-up on the skin, and it is so gentle that you can use it regularly. Once you try it, you will be addicted.

Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder, £38, spacenk.co.ukAs it hits water, this fine powder becomes a gentle exfoliating foam. It contains white clay, rose and jasmine which soften your skin as they clean it, leaving your skin mega-soft and happy.

• Anita Bhagwandas is the beauty and health editor at Women's Health UK.