specific skin care questions about exfoliation

[o0ceania]

Hey there,

a friend of mine had a discussion about exfoliation and he thought it was a bad thing to exfoliate with any product to create cell turnover because:
- the skin doesn't need rapid cell turn over that often, and dividing the cells constantly is going to weaken the source of the cell which is eventually going to kill it. he claims cells aren't meant to be renewed so much, because if they were, we'd live forever since our cells would never die. since they do eventually die, expediting the process of killing the cell by continually making it renew itself is going to kill the source of the cell early on.

to me this seems like a bunch of BS! i know we don't live forever, but that's not related to the life of our skin cells but rather the health of our hearts and veins and how much blood and nutrition our brain is getting. i thought that the skin never really dies, it just keeps renewing itself....like one of the most self-renewing organs of the body. u can have healthy skin and still have a stroke or heart attack.

what do u all think?

other questions i'm still trying to figure out answers to are:
-about retinoids: is using them to exfoliate and boost collagen around and on the lips a good idea?
-i've heard that white sugar and salt are booth good exfoliants to use all over the body and face. true? if so, how can sugar be good externally if internally it's usually bad for u?

 

[miuminne]

I think that salt&sugar can be used only for body,the are too harsh for face.
Clarins has 2 body scrubs with salt:Relaxing body polisher and Toning body polisher,I didn't like them a lot,but many people do
The Body Shop has many body polishers with sugar.
I used to do the following thing:mixed Johnson&Johnson baby oil with sugar and used this paste as a body polisher-the skin was very soft!!Olive oil was better,but I smelled like a greek salad

 

[o0ceania]

u used baby oil and sugar? i thought u said sugar was too harsh for the face?

 

[ELLE_ME]

Yes, I`ve heard that myself, its based on the theory that skin cells only renew themselves a limited number of times... and thats just what it is, a theory..I think it forgets to mention one very important thing..and that is the fact that exfoliation only removes dead skin cells..(im not refering to cemical/laser peel..thats something different)..surface cell build up that makes your skin look dull and grey..

Yes, its true that, because of the increased blood flow to the cells, it also makes the cells divide faster...but not faster than what is optimal for them...And only because the cells, with the increased blood flow, gets optimal conditions to divide themselves...You have to remember that its not only exfoliation that triggers cells to turn over...the same effect will be seen with any action that increases the blood flow to your skin...so if you look at it that way..its like saying that for instance exersize has a long term damage potential to your skin..

 

[SomethingElse]

I am a sauna addict. I use Epson salts, kosher salt and corn meal mostly. Sugar and honey also wonderful to clean and soften the skin. But it is mostly the sauna itself that keeps my skin in perfect condition. A good workout is fabulous as well.