Should you exfoliate before or after shaving?

Why is exfoliating important?

You may get a flawless shave by using new blades and moisturising your face with lotions, but exfoliating matters just as much. Exfoliating can help remove dry or dead skin cells from the top layer, leaving your face smooth and young-looking.

Every 30 days or so, your face naturally loses dead skin cells. The epidermis is then formed by fresh cells. Dull, dry, and flaky areas may develop if those dead cells don’t shed. By eliminating dead skin cells from the surface of your face, exfoliating helps to accelerate the process of skin rejuvenation.

An exfoliating shower puff, an electric cleansing/exfoliating brush, or other exfoliation equipment can be used to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin.

Exfoliating before shaving.

The pre-shave exfoliation will make your face smoother for your razor to slide through, making for a closer shave. By removing dead skin cells, extra dirt, and oil and lifting hairs so they do not rest flat against the skin, exfoliating is a step worth adding to your routine.

Lifting the hairs prior to shaving allows the shaving gel or foam to be applied much closer to the skin, resulting in an even smoother finish and more protection against razor bumps and other side effects of shaving. Your razor should also glide with far less resistance, so exfoliating before shaving is a good habit.

Exfoliating before shaving helps cut down razor burn, ingrown hairs, and shaving nicks. 

A warm, steamy shower or bath before shaving will not only make you feel good but will help soften your skin and body hair, which makes for a more comfortable shave. Spend around 10 minutes in warm water before shaving to help soften the skin’s outer layer, making it simpler to remove hair and lowering the chance of razor burn. Or at least minimize irritation and the micro-cuts brought by soaking the hair in the region with warm water for a few minutes.

You don’t need anything fancy to exfoliate. A gentle facial scrub or a soft, damp face cloth does the job. Work it over your face in small circles for about 30 seconds, then rinse with lukewarm water. Keep body scrubs off your face, as they’re too rough for it.

Exfoliating after shaving.

Exfoliating after shaving is a different story.

The pre-shave exfoliation prepares your skin for hair removal and leaves a smooth skin feeling on your face. Followed by the moisturizing effect of the shaving cream which helps prevent ingrown hairs and achieve a close shave for best results.

On the other hand, exfoliating freshly shaved skin isn’t the best idea or at least not as beneficial for achieving smoother skin. Using a body scrub or other tools after shaving isn’t all bad, but it isn’t necessary.

It’s usually not a good idea at all to exfoliate right after shaving because some areas of your newly shaven face may still be sensitive or even cut. Exfoliating just after shaving would most likely irritate your skin and increase redness in addition to making everything burn. To get rid of any remaining hairs or dead skin cells that weren’t previously cleaned off, gently pat dry your now-smooth face.

How to find out what type of skin you have?

Examining your naked face in detail is an effective approach to discovering your skin type. Start by washing your face with a mild foamy cleanser suitable for all skin types. After that, wipe it dry gently with a clean towel but do not use any skincare products. Observe how your face feels and develops after 25 to 30 minutes. You most likely have dry skin if it feels tight, dry, and painful. People with excessive shine often have oily skin. You likely have combination skin if it has both oily and dry patches. Having none of these issues likely suggests you are fortunate to have normal skin. However, if you feel irritation this means your skin is sensitive.

How to exfoliate?

There are two types of exfoliation:

Chemical

AHAs (Alpha-hydroxy acids): Glycolic, lactic, tartaric, and citric acids are some examples of AHAs. These function by dissolving the connections binding dull, dead skin cells to the surface of your skin. It will naturally shed dead cells as a result of this.

BHAs (Beta-hydroxy acids): salicylic acid is the one you’ll find in most skincare. It can suit oily or acne-prone skin better.

Mechanical

This exfoliation method includes all tools used on the skin such as a brush, glove, scrub, and sponge.

Treat your face gently while mechanically exfoliating. Use your preferred exfoliating tool or apply scrub with tiny, circular strokes with your finger.

Use a brush sparingly and in short, circular motions. After about 30 seconds of exfoliating, rinse with lukewarm, not hot, water. If your face has cuts, open sores, or is burnt, refrain from exfoliating. After that, use an SPF-containing moisturiser.

Before exfoliating make sure you understand the type of skin you’re working with as different skin types require different treatments.

Oily

Manual exfoliation and brushing might be beneficial for oily or thicker skin. Manual exfoliation helps remove an additional layer of buildup that may be present on the surface of oily skin. Apply an exfoliator or scrub gently in circular movements.

Ordinary

You may use any exfoliating technique if your skin is in good health. For this type, both manual and chemical exfoliation are safe. To determine which approach suits your skin the best, you might need to experiment.

Mix-type

Combining mechanical and chemical exfoliation may be necessary for combination skin. Because it might irritate your skin, never use both on the same day. Use a moisturiser right away if, after exfoliating, you feel your face dry.

Dry

For dry or flaky skin, exfoliating is essential. On dry skin, avoid mechanical exfoliation since it dries out the skin and can create microtears.

Glycolic acid will promote healthy skin turnover by assisting in the removal of dead skin cells that are residing on the skin’s surface. Apply a moisturiser and SPF after applying glycolic acid. It may increase the skin’s susceptibility to sun damage.

Delicate

Do not scrape or use mechanical exfoliating techniques. These will aggravate your skin even more, which might result in redness.

Apply a light chemical exfoliant with a soft washcloth for the best shave. If you’re also dealing with acne, ask your GP or a pharmacist what’s safe for sensitive skin before trying anything stronger.

How often should you exfoliate?

Over-exfoliating is a common skincare mistake. In an effort to care for it, we constantly brush away dry, flaky areas of skin, but exfoliating too often or with a scrub that is too harsh does more harm than good.

Once or twice a week is plenty for most people, and three times is the most you should need. If you use an exfoliator too often on your face, you could damage the skin barrier and cause irritation and more water loss. Even when you believe you are solving the issue, you are actually making it worse.

And don’t forget to always use moisturising lotion after you’re done with the shave.

So now that you know all the dos and don’ts in shaving, make sure you check out our Shop page for premium shaving products that will help you step up your shaving game.