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The Best Exfoliating Cleanser for Head-to-Toe Use

The best exfoliating cleanser

The best exfoliating cleanser can be used from your face to your toes to create soft and smooth skin. That's because the pH balanced foaming base is gentle enough for the face, the ecofriendly beads don't scratch your skin and it contains the best chemical exfoliating ingredients that are appropriate on all of your skin. Plus, you can massage it on dry skin for more exfoliation or moist skin for daily cleansing exfoliation. 

Dermatologist explains the best way to quickly exfoliate dull skin and reveal soft, bright glowing skin.

How does exfoliation brighten your skin quickly?

The top layer of your skin is composed of compacted, dead skin cells. These can build up to create rough and dull skin. This build-up increases with age and sun damage. Lack of friction will allow dead cells to build-up, too. Help the built-up dead cells to slough off, and you will reveal the brighter cells laying below. Skin will be more luminous and smoother to the touch, too. This helps take of years instantly.

What is exfoliation?

Exfoliation of skin is the removal of dull, dead skin cells that are stuck on your outer skin layer, called the stratum corneum. Use exfoliation to soften keratosis pilaris 'chicken skin' bumps, get rid of crusty age spots, lighten sun spots or to just give your skin a youthful sheen and soft feel.

There are 2 ways to exfoliate your skin:

1. Physical exfoliation, which is the physical removal of dead cells with a rough sponge or gritty scrub. 

best exfoliating shower cloth

With physical exfoliation, you use something rough to help loosen and lift adherent dead cells so that you can wash them off of your skin surface. Typically, this is done using a rough paste scrub that contains beads, granules or crystals. Other options include a rough shower cloth such as the Salux Shower Cloth, or a facial exfoliating sponge.

Microdermabrasion is a professional version of this physical exfoliation treatment that relies on suction and a device that either administers high impact crystals or uses a rough wand to exfoliate skin.

2. Chemical exfoliation uses the best exfoliating ingredients (which are acids) that loosen the ‘glue’ that holds dead cells together in your stratum corneum.

Once the ‘glue’ is loosened, the cells slough more easily. Home-use products containing salicylic acid and glycolic acid are the most popular chemical exfoliation ingredients. You can use them in cleansers, creams and lotions, or at-home peel products.

best exfoliating cleanser for face and body

Get the best exfoliation results when you combine an ‘all of the above’ approach with both chemical and physical exfoliation. That’s what I’ve done with the Triple Action Exfoliating Cleanser. This pH balanced cleanser combines physical exfoliation and the two, best chemical exfoliation ingredients.

I love this cleanser! It's like a luxurious hot spa treatment every time I use it, and does not irritate my sensitive skin. A little goes a long way. This will definitely be a permanent addition to my routine. Thank you, Dr. Bailey! Tracey 

What are the 2 best chemical exfoliating ingredients in skin cleansers?

Glycolic acid and salicylic acid give you chemical exfoliation to loosen the intercellular ‘glue.’

  • Salicylic acid is the superhero for oily areas and penetrates deeply into pores to break up pore clogging debris and blackheads, and
  • glycolic acid is the top chemical exfoliator overall for smooth skin.

Eco-friendly beads give you gentle physical exfoliation of your freshly ready to slough dead cells. Rinse off and towel dry for soft, bright skin instantly.

Triple Action Exfoliating Cleanser can be used on the face and the body. It’s great for acne, oily skin, body acne, chest and back acne, keratosis pilaris, age spots and age barnacles (seborrheic keratosis).

I use Triple Action Cleanser on my face in the morning and on my body in the shower with the Salux Cloth. I apply my Glycolic Acid Body Lotion to my body to help prevent crepey skin, age spots and flaky skin. - Dr. Cynthia Bailey

best exfoliating ingredients

Best overall body exfoliation routine for soft skin

Get all the products for smooth body skin in my Ultra-Fast Triple Action Body Smoothing Kit  

I got Ultimate Body Smoothing Kit body exfoliate cleanser and lotion and immediately feel the difference on my rough scaly legs. Laura