Too much exfoliation is a common mistake of many of my clients. They feel they need to "scrub" their face clean and use facial brushes or coarse facial scrubs to do so. And often the people that scrub the most are the same ones who have irritated, red, flakey skin.
Coincidence?
No.
I say that a good cleanser, tepid water, and your fingertips is all you really need to get clean, that is unless you are working as a coal miner or something equally dirty.
Harsh scrubbing can destroy the skin's natural barrier function and we need our barrier function. Barrier function is our friend, our protective shield, our bouncer, our doorman, our guard dog. Barrier function keeps in the good stuff and keeps out the bad.
Also, I find often times, these brushes or scrubs are what is making people break out since without proper barrier function, the irritants make their way in and cause havoc. When I get my clients to go gentler, they often look better within a month and have less issues with breakouts, redness, oil, flakiness and inflamed skin.
Don't get me wrong,...I know we need to exfoliate. Each year that passes, our natural cell turnover slows. So, I feel it won't hurt to use a very soft washcloth every once in a while. But I would suggest you do it gently and sparingly. You can also use products like the Hale & Hush Rare Retinal do so some of the heavy lifting without the irritation.
https://juliaelizabetholsson.com/…/rare-retinal-serum-colla…
Or, maybe even visit your trusty neighborhood Esthetician for a gentle and effective Hale & Hush Exfoliating mask every once in a while.