Exfoliation is the step most people skip in their weekly skincare routine. Exfoliation helps to speed up the process of skin flaking and shedding, by taking off the uppermost, dead layer of cells to expose the finer, more translucent tissue underneath. It is very important in maintaining a smooth skin texture. This is very important for African skin that tend to build up dead cells faster than most skin types. You can exfoliate any area of skin. When exfoliating your face, use products that are designed for your face. There are several ways to exfoliate skin: mechanically and chemically.

       Mechanical exfoliators contain small pieces of grit that, when rubbed on your skin, dislodge the dead skin cells. The most common grit comes from walnut shells and apricot pits. More advanced products use pumice.

       Chemical exfoliators do the same tasks as their mechanical siblings but by using mild fruit acids instead. These products usually contain alpha-hydroxy acids, beta-hydroxy acids, salicylic acids, retinoids or fruit enzymes.

Mechanical Exfoliators: These work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. Exfoliating skin, at least, once a week with a microdermabrasion cream keeps skin glowing year-round. Make sure you use a gentle scrub with tiny grains. Big grains in cheap scrubs can tear skin and cause more harm than good. This is very ideal for dry skin and normal skin. It is not recommended for skin that is prone to acne.

Chemical Exfoliators: Between all the chemical exfoliators listed above, the mildest on African skin is the fruit enzyme exfolaitors.
Fruit enzymes are usually from papaya or pineapple extract and exfoliate by dissolving dead skin cells. Also ideal for oily and acne prone skin.
Glycolic acids, malic acids, lactic acids etc are all forms of alpha hydroxy acids. Lactic acid is the mildest and can aid in correcting discolorations.
Salicylic acid is very ideal for skin with acne.
Retinoids are very ideal to correct pigmentation problems as well repair sun damages. It is recommended that you use creams that contain Retinoids only at nighttime.