You have probably heard those vomit-inducing statistics
about shedding skin cells—how skin debris doubles the weight of your mattress,
and how it composes most of the "dust" you see accumulating around
your bedroom. Though I am no expert on skin debris stats, I can tell you
something about the process that accounts for them: skin turnover.
Skin cells make their way up from the basal layer of the
epidermis to the top layer—the stratum corneum—over a period of two weeks. Once
they arrive at their destination, they should flake off within another two
weeks, but sometimes this doesn't happen. When this fails to occur—when the surface
cells stick together too well—the
dead cells clog pores, preventing sebum (oil) from draining. The result?
Pimples!
So how do you encourage a process that is invisible to the
naked eye? For most skin types, regular cleansing with an appropriate,
non-drying product will promote natural exfoliation. If your skin cells are
especially sticky, however, you'll want to choose a cleanser with willow bark
and fruit acids (Like CLEAN!) Additionally, mandelic acid, which comes from
almonds, helps to dissolve those sticky bonds; you can find it on CLEAR'singredient list.
Of course, the ultimate key to turnover is vitamin A, which
ensures that the bonds between cells are of the appropriate
"stickiness" before they get to the surface.
The take-away for today?
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