Do You Wear Foundation? Don't Forget to Exfoliate

If you wear tinted moisturizer or foundation, you must exfoliate once a week or the foundation will just sit atop your dead skin cells, making your complexion appear ashen. What's worse, foundation can actually highlight flaky skin (a huge beauty faux pas).

Dewy, glowy skin never goes out of style. To get the glow, I recommend a microdermabrasion scrub used once or twice a week to slough off dead skin cells. You'll notice your moisturizer, foundation and blush go on much smoother when skin is exfoliated. Some tips:

1. Use a scrub or other exfoliant once a week (I can't wait to start using Retin-A this fall, I'm waiting a couple months because you must stay out of the sun when using vitamin A products).
2. Apply sunscreen every morning and moisturizer at night. (Sunscreen is naturally moisturizing, so no need to double dip in the mornings). Don't skip the sunscreen, exfoliated skin is more susceptible to sun damage.
3. Don't skip the neck. Too many women forgo caring for the neck and end up with smooth faces and wrinkly necks later in life. Exfoliate the neck at the same time you do the face.

Some great exfoliants: Alpha Hydrox AHA souffle (buy it here), and the pricier but very effective Lancome Microdermabrasion kit, which I use (buy it here).

Photo: Lancome's kit, courtesy Pricegrabber