The commenter made mention of how smooth my skin looked and, thinking back, I give 100% of the credit to my daily exfoliation. It all began when I decided to take my pumice sponge from my pedicure kit to the shower. Exfoliating my heels became a daily habit and I never had to deal with dry, cracked feet ever again.
Then I stumbled upon a video where a woman with amazing even toned skin shared her body routine. She talked candidly about how vigorously she exfoliated her skin. Her routine went something like this:
She'd get into a warm shower and allow the steam to open up her pores. Next she'd vigorously scrub the skin on her body and rinse. Then she'd do it again (up to several times). Each time she scrubbed an area she would do at least 10 rigorous strokes.
(Note this method is for the skin on the body, not the face) When I first tried her technique, I was a bit taken back. My skin had to get accustomed to such intense exfoliation. Once I got used to this method, I'd up the stakes by exfoliating on slightly damp skin instead of on soaking wet skin. Each time I exfoliated, I focused heavily on my legs and the back of my thighs as a way of warding off cellulite by promoting blood flow to that area. And, of course, I'd focus on my arms and chest because they were the most visible parts of my body. Basically, I scrub and scrub and scrub until all the sugar dissolves (If I'm rinsing the sugar off of my body before it's fully dissolved then I have failed).
This was around the same time when I began to frequent the steam room/sauna on a regular basis. I'm a believer that sweating helps to loosen everything up which makes it easier to remove via scrubbing. The combination of heavy sweating and crazy exfoliation created skin like I had never experienced before. Not to mention that I was drinking oodles of water each day.
Let me tell you ladies that everyone who came in contact with my skin has something great to say. Hubby notices, I couldn't stop touching myself, and when I went for a massage, the therapist kept going on about how smooth and soft I was. If you use this technique of sweating + exfoliation + water for a week or two, you'll notice smoother skin. But if you make this a long term habit, you encourage REGULAR cell turnover which means EVEN TOONED SKIN. Seriously, if you want even toned skin, focus on exfoliation. And, if you want to move things along a little faster, pair this method with a lotion like Glytone which works really well because it contains ingredients meant to help fade discoloration.
Consider this an advanced technique. If you have sensitive skin on your body, ease into it. Don't just rush in and try to scrub the skin off your body. It's a process. But one that will pay off dearly if you are diligent.
