Human skin is an amazing organ — protective, waterproof, and exceedingly useful. It’s also constantly changing and regenerating itself. Your skin is made up of three layers: from outermost to innermost are the epidermis, keratin and dermis. The dermis is constantly moving upwards and the new skin cells gradually push their way to the top layer about every 28 days. The top layer sloughs off as dead skin cells.

In contrast to a snake, we don’t shed our skin all at once. Our skin is constantly shedding from all parts of the body at a rate of approximately 30,000 cells per hour! Now, not all of those cells actually leave the body, resulting in an accumulation of about 720,000 dead skin cells every 24 hours. That’s a lot of dead skin cells to lug around!

So, imagine now, that you have purchased some amazing moisturizers to apply to your skin and you’re thinking that you are doing your skin a big favour. Well, you could have, if the cream didn’t have to fight its way through all those dead cells!

If you are going to invest in the largest organ of the body, please, do yourself a favour and exfoliate! My suggestion? For my face: I like to exfoliate daily with a gentle exfoliant. My favourite is the Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant and I mix that with the Lemon Cleanser and a little water. This helps ensure a daily healthy glow. Once a week I exfoliate with the Pear and Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher for a deeper exfoliation. For my body: I use a natural jute brush, always scrubbing upwards towards the heart in a circular motion. I would like to say that I do this daily, but I try to do this at least every two or three days.

Of course, nothing compares to a professional exfoliation either through a monthly or at the very least, seasonal facial and body wrap from Bamboo Spa.