One of my favorite self-care & skin care rituals for healthy glowing skin is unwinding at the end of the day with an exfoliating face mask and a facial massage . 

The best way to reveal a smoother, softer brighter complexion is to exfoliate dull, lackluster rough skin. It's one of the skin care steps that most are skipping. Now I get it, life is busy but if you really want to unlock glowing skin, definitely do not skip it. But with so many exfoliating products and masks on the market, it's confusing to know what is best for your skin.  

Enter the Ultimate Guide to Exfoliating... 

Why Should You Exfoliate Your Skin and How Often Should You Exfoliate

The top layer of your skin is made up of a protective layer of dead skin cells that naturally sheds every few weeks (that's our skin cell turnover). But your skin cell turnover slows down with age and other factors like diet, stress level, sun exposure, and environmental changes. When your skin turnover slows down, it can cause an excess of dead skin, and you'll notice that dull, rough complexion we talked about earlier. 

✨Exfoliating buffs away those dead skin cells.

✨Helps lessen breakouts by preventing build up in pores

✨Enhances product absorption for serums and moisturizers, giving you that healthy, radiant glow!

✨To keep skin soft, smooth, and skincare products working optimally, exfoliate at least 1 time weekly (but no more than 2x).  More is NOT More when it comes to exfoliating. Over-exfoliation typically causes more irritation.

 

How Do You Know When You Need To Exfoliate?

The easiest way to tell if you skin needs to be exfoliated is touching your face. Anytime you feel rough patches, textured skin, it's probably time to exfoliate, then deeply hydrate and moisturize skin.

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

 Watch these two glow giving tutorials with more easy pro tips to learn how often you should exfoliate, tricks to know when, and a relaxing facial massage technique for smoother brighter softer skin

 

 

 

3 Different Types of Exfoliations to Buff Away Dead Skin

You're probably wondering what types of ingredients you should look for in your exfoliating mask. There are three types of exfoliants you can look for to promote healthy skin turnover:

• manual exfoliants:  kaolin clay, oat flour, and fruit powders gently buff away dead skin cells to reveal a brighter, smoother complexion.
• enzyme exfoliants: fruit, vegetables, and honey that break down the proteins between dead skin to help them shed.
• chemical exfoliants: alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy cids (BHAs), and polyhydroxy acids (PHAs) speed up the skin turnover process, clear pores, and smooth skin. The most gentle acid is PHA which is found in honey. 

Pro tip: Berry Bright is the perfect brightening fruit smoothie that provides three types of exfoliation to feed your skin antioxidants while gently revealing softer smoother skin.

 

Elevate your masking and exfoliating experience with a bit of alchemy!

Everyone's skin is unique, and mask-mixing is a fantastic way to boost and customize your masking experience to give your skin exactly what it needs!

After cleansing your skin, use the spa worthy "recipes" below to customize to your skins needs. Just remember, your face starts at your boobs. Bring your mask down your neck and chest to keep your entire face looking its best.

1. Brightening Smoothie Mask

Use this mask when you're looking for a glowy, even complexion! In addition to the exfoliating benefits of Berry Bright and Clay Play, the Vitamin C in Phyto Tonic is the ultimate multi-tasker that helps to deeply hydrate, brighten skin and even out skin tone. 

Combine:

• 1/2 tsp Clay Play
• a dollop of Berry Bright
• A few mists of Hydration Boost

Leave on for 15 minutes, then remove. Follow up with your skincare routine.

 

2. Detox and Relax Mask

Use this mask when you need to draw out impurities, absorb excess oil, and protect your skin by neutralizing free radicals.

Combine:

• 1 tsp or so of Clay Play (if you like a thicker mask, add more Clay Play)
• 5-6 Mists of Phyto Tonic and Hydration Boost (or several drops of water).

Leave on for 10 minutes and mist skin throughout with Phyto Tonic to rehydrate the mask.

PRO TIP: Don't let a clay mask dry and crack because it might be too skin stripping. Adding Phyto Tonic and Hydration Boost actives the clays and other ingredients keeping the mask hydrated.

3. Multi-Tasking Moisturizing and Brightening Mask

Use this mask when your skin is feeling dehydrated, dry, and dull. Our multi-functioning Clean Slate balm and Berry Bright brightening mask make the perfect team - they plump, brighten, nourish, and moisturize your skin! I've been really loving this combo for softer, brighter, supple, soft skin.

Combine:

• A dollop of Clean Slate 
• A dollop of Berry Bright

Add a dollop of each to your fingertips then rub your hands together to mix. Massage onto face, neck, and chest. This is one that you can wear for HOURS while working in your home office, lounging as you netflix and chill, or even when you're folding that laundry that's been giving you the stink eye for the past week.

 

Demystifying masking and exfoliating isn't that difficult. You just want to listen to what your skin is telling you, follow your skintuition, and play around. The good thing is all of Me Time Botanicals products play nicely together. 

I hope these tips leave you with bright skin days ahead of you!

 

For more ways to keep your skin healthy..here's the #1 way to prevent premature aging with antioxidants in your skincare.