Exfoliation, Scrub and Gommage

Skin rejuvenation can be achieved by reducing a fatigued look; i.e., smoothing wrinkles, lightening dark spots, shedding persistently attached dead cells and removing oxidized sebum. Once superficial skin layers are eliminated, the skin beneath begins to produce shielding stratum corneum cells, and “fresh” cells come to the skin’s surface, glowing and untouched. This skin purification achieves its goal of renewal, resulting in a visible difference. The process also has the benefit of increasing capillary circulation, which supplies additional nutrients to the skin.

Cosmetic means for achieving rejuvenated skin can be positioned according to intensity of action, skin renewal speed and some functioning details, thus: gommage, scrub, exfoliation and peel represent the four rejuvenation strategies. In some regions, peel refers to aggressive treatments requiring authorized operators such as dermatologists or medical doctors. Therefore, this column will discuss only the first three methods for a better skin glow.

Aiding Cell Detachment

Skin cell detachment takes place physiologically every hour of the day, at the pace of millions of cells per day;1 nevertheless, this process can be aided by cosmetic means. Such intervention is frequently made necessary by the residual adhesion forces that glue dead cells to one another, mediated by intercellular cement residues. This happens mainly when skin cell renewal slows and the progressive aging of skin metabolism does not provide enough driving force for cell detachment. In other cases, uneven pigmentation following exposure to environmental agents such as sun and wind is the cause of the long-term residence of worn superficial cells. Dry skin conditions, progressive wrinkling artificial tanning and the slowing of capillary microcirculation frequently are aggravating elements as well.

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