A beginners guide to exfoliation
Discover how to prep your skin before shaving or epilating and transform your hair-removal experience. Forget sensitive skin or post-treatment redness. Exfoliate well and achieve smooth, soft skin in minutes.
Why does exfoliating matter?
Your life is hectic. Your schedule is always packed. Do you really have time to add another step to your beauty routine? When it comes to exfoliating the answer is always yes. Exfoliating gets rid of those pesky dead skin cells that clog up the surface of your skin, giving your razor or epilator the cleanest surface to work from. This prevents snags and irritations, giving you a close, clean, and most importantly smooth result. Think of it as the foundation step to your hair-removal routine. It’s possible to skip it but if you do, the outcome is almost certain to be less than impressive.
Your exfoliating tool Kit
Ok, so you’re sold on exfoliation. What do you need now? There are many ways to freshen up your skin before hair removal. You could grab a good old-fashioned loofah and get scrubbing, choose a body brush (manual or electronic), exfoliating gloves, or even a specially designed body scrub. If you love home-made beauty remedies, you can also mix up your own exfoliation potion using sugar, olive oil, and a few drops of your favourite essential oils.
How do i exfoliate?
Exfoliate gently in the bath or shower, working in small circles, applying even pressure, and covering the whole of the area you plan to remove hair from. Be careful to adapt your exfoliation routine to your unique skin type and take extra care if you have naturally sensitive skin. After exfoliating, rinse skin thoroughly with plenty of warm water, before choosing the hair-removal method of your choice. We love the pretty and practical Panasonic ES-ED96 Epilator which combines an innovative sonic vibration scrub head (for pre-hair-removal epilation) with an efficient wet and dry epilator. It has everything you need for easy and effective hair removal.
Don’t forget the heat
For effective and comfortable exfoliation and hair removal, you need to keep things hot. Heat softens and relaxes the skin, making it easier to slough off dead skin cells and remove unwanted hair. This means it is a good idea to exfoliate after a soak in the tub or during a steamy shower. The combination of heat and moisture will leave skin supple and open up the hair follicles. Because of this, it’s useful to choose a hair-removal method that is compatible with water. A good old-fashioned razor works well with damp skin and protective foam, while a wet and dry epilator is one of the most efficient and long-lasting ways to get rid of unwanted hair. The Panasonic ES-ED53 4 IN 1 Wet and Dry Epilator is a useful addition to your hair-removal kit, providing comfortable epilation for the legs, arms, and bikini line. While the Panasonic ES-ED93 Epilator is pretty in pink, with an added attachment for smoothing and softening tired feet.
Hair removal tips after exfoliation
After you have exfoliated the area you want to remove hair from, you still need to take steps to show your skin a little love. Make sure you choose a moisturizing shaving foam or shower gel to pair with your razor or epilator. These will ensure a smooth glide over the skin and help to nourish the skin, preventing it from drying out. If you are epilating, move the epilator upwards (against the direction of hair growth) in a smooth gliding motion. You should also pull the skin taught where necessary, to allow your device to glide with ease. And remember to take your time, rushing will only lead to frustrating missed spots and can make the process more uncomfortable.
Protect skin after hair removal
After you have exfoliated and removed any unwanted hair, it’s time to treat your skin to another shot of hydration. After skin is dry and hair free, apply your favourite body butter or moisturiser all over and relax while it sinks in. Now you’re ready to enjoy that fresh and gorgeous, smooth-skin feeling.
Give your skin a break
You shouldn’t exfoliate every day. Skin, especially skin which has been through recent hair removal is sensitive and over-zealous exfoliation can do more harm than good. Exfoliation on freshly shaved or epilated skin is likely to leave you with nothing but redness and irritation. Instead, aim to exfoliate once or twice a week and tie the treatment in with your regular hair-removal routine. That way you’ll get all of the benefits of exfoliation without any of the sensitivity, redness, or drama.
Ready to transform your hair-removal routine? Visit the Panasonic online store today for the most innovative and effective hair-removal devices around. However you choose to banish unwanted hair, don’t forget the most important step in your skincare routine – exfoliation.