REMOVING DEAD SKIN CELLS

Desquamation (the shedding of the outer layers of the skin) often becomes patchy or slows down when skin ages becomes damaged. Inadequate desquamation is what underlies dry or blemished skin. Dry skin simply looks flaky. Blemished skin may include clogged pores, acne, skin spots, or redness. Each of these conditions can benefit from actively exfoliating your skin to renew its youthful, glowing appearance.

Herbal skin care products can be especially powerful for promoting desquamation. The key is to use natural skin care products that are not irritating and that provide deep cleansing.

REMOVING DEAD SKIN CELLS

It may be surprising to learn that the outer layer of your skin consists entirely of dead skin cells. You are literally covered with them! Normally these outer cells have been dead for at least a month. They are crucial for forming a protective layer against damage by microbial infection and by environmental toxins, including overexposure to UV light. Normal skin sheds millions of dead skin cells every day. The amount of skin shedding is balanced with the formation of new cells for maintaining the integrity of the outer protective layer of cells.

This natural balance gets thrown off kilter when shedding slows down due to aging or external damage. This imbalance may cause the normally protective layer of dead skin cells to thicken beyond what is necessary, which causes dull-looking skin. That is when taking an active role in skin exfoliation becomes important for restoring the proper cycle of shedding and regeneration.

EXFOLIATING DRY SKIN

By the way, skin begins to dry out even before it becomes flaky-looking. A simple home test will tell you whether your skin is getting too dry. Gently rub a small piece of clear tape on your forehead. After you carefully remove it, look for any little pieces of flaky skin on the tape. They indicate dead skin cells that are not being removed quickly enough by healthy desquamation.

Removing dry skin cells is particularly important before using rehydrating creams. Rehydrating dead cells makes little sense. They should instead be removed beforehand by active exfoliation. Winter is the season when exfoliation is particularly important, since skin dries out more in cold air that holds less moisture. Indoor air in winter can be super-dry when it is heated by a natural gas furnace.

Exfoliating Blemished Skin

Skin cell buildup can clog pores, trap oil in follicles, cause patchy redness, and promote the growth of acne-causing bacteria. Any of these conditions will benefit tremendously from an active exfoliating program with the right herbal formulas. Such formulas consist of a mixture of herbs that cleanse, disinfect, and reduce inflammation while invigorating skin in preparation for applying anti-aging and moisturizing products.

Care must be taken to avoid common skin care ingredients that are overly drying or inflammatory. Such ingredients often include strong anti-bacterial agents and inflammatory organic acids. Especially watch out for substances such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA; e.g., glycolic acid) and beta-hydroxy acids (BHA; e.g., salicylic acid), since these are powerful oxidizing agents. Oxidizing agents may temporarily reduce wrinkles by inflaming cells to make them puff up to look smooth. However, this not truly beneficial for skin.

REVERSING SKIN WRINKLING

As the skin's natural desquamation slows, the accumulation of dry skin cells create a wrinkled appearance. This is when herbs that promote the structural proteins, collagen and elastin, in the lower levels of the epidermis can trick the skin into acting young again.

Many herbs impart such activities, led by green tea and also including Chinese Angelica root, white mulberry, and white peony, among others.

Article By Dr. Dennis Clark, Ph.D

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