How to Exfoliate Legs: Step-wise Guide

If you follow your skincare routine but do not exfoliate the skin, it can never be as effective as you want it to be. Our legs normally become dry after hair removal, and they are highly exposed to impurities as the day progresses.

But we ignore them the most, which leads to their dull look with dark ankles and knees. Exfoliating the legs will not only help improve the skin appearance but also treat ingrown hair. It also improves circulation and lets the skincare products absorb well. So, this article will provide you with a guide on how to exfoliate your legs.

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: Benefits of Regular Leg Exfoliation
• Part 2: How to Exfoliate Legs
• Part 3: Best Exfoliators for Ingrown Hair on Legs
• Part 4: How Often Should You Exfoliate Your Legs

Part 1: Benefits of Regular Leg Exfoliation

Improved Skin Texture

Exfoliating your legs regularly helps improve their texture. Exfoliation removes dead cells, dirt, and dust from the surface of your legs that stick to them throughout the day. Since all the impurities are gone, your skin will become smoother and softer.

Increased Product Absorption

The accumulation of dirt and impurities not only dulls your skin but also hinders the absorption of moisturizers and other skin-softening agents you apply to your legs. The impurities form another layer between your skin and the product. Exfoliating removes these impurities, and all the products come in contact with your fresh skin. Moreover, pores also become unclogged, thus leading to increased absorption.

Reduced Appearance of Ingrown Hair

Ingrown hair occurs when your hair curls inside your skin instead of growing out. One of the reasons for these ingrown hairs is your clogged pores. These clogged pores occur as dead cells and dirt gets collected above these pores. Exfoliation unclogs pores thus reducing the risk and appearance of ingrown hair.

Enhanced Skin Appearance

Lastly, as your body is deeply cleansed with an exfoliating agent, the product absorption increases, so the overall appearance of your skin also increases. Your skin becomes brighter, fresher, and glowing.

Part 2: How to Exfoliate Legs

Now let’s discuss how can you exfoliate your legs

• To make the exfoliation effective, you should start by cleansing by first rinsing your skin with clean water and then using a mild hydrating soap to wash off impurities from the legs
• Now start the exfoliation from your feet including the heels and the toes. Gently rub them and then move them to your ankles, calves, and knees.
• Then clean your inner thighs and the outer area. While following this, make sure you are applying the exfoliating scrub in gentle and small circular motions
• Circular motions help improve the circulation of your body and facilitate you to clean your skin evenly

While applying the exfoliating agent, you need to apply a bit of pressure on the area and this pressure can be adjusted with respect to your skin sensitivity.

Part 3: Best Exfoliators for Ingrown Hair on Legs

Now you know about the detailed procedure of exfoliating your legs but with what agents? We have these top recommendations for you that will help in gently cleaning your skin and managing your ingrown hair.

1. Dylonic Exfoliating Body Scrub

Price: $8.99

Material: Silicone

Best for: Sensitive skin

Key Features:

• The cyclonic exfoliating scrub is made of chemical-free materials so that it does not irritate your sensitive skin while exfoliation
• It comes with a handle and the ergonomic design lets you reach all your leg areas easily
• You can use the brush on both wet and dry skin
• The bristles are firm and flexible allowing easy leg exfoliation

Review “This item worked like a charm, it really did get all the grime and left my skin feeling very smooth, although you do have to be careful how hard you scrub, but either way it was great”

2. GiGi No Bump Body Scrub

Price: $9.88

Active Ingredients: Salicylic acid

Texture: Slimy

Best for: All skin types

Key Features:

• The GiGi No Bump Body scrub is mild and gentle on the skin, allowing you to use it not only on your legs but also on other areas to reduce the appearance of ingrown hair
• It has a skin conditioning agent called the Rice Bran Wax that soothes and moisturizes your skin after the exfoliation
• The salicylic acid gets rid of entrapped dirt and removes excess oil from the skin. This helps prevent breakouts and blackheads
• The skin conditioning agent also empowers your protective skin barrier

Review ” I have a lot of ingrown hair problems and I wanted to look up what women use to solve them. This product and an exfoliator scrubber came up as frequently bought together, so I decided to do it. I use this probably every other day and I think it has been helping.”

3. pureSCRUBS Premium Organic Body Scrub Set

Price:$28.95

Active Ingredients: Vitamin E and Argon oil

Best for:  Oily, dry, or normal skin

Key Features:

• The scrub is a combination of dead sea salt with nourishing oils. This allows not only exfoliating but also softening and nourishment of your skin with a single agent
• The package comes with a scrub, a wooden spoon, an exfoliating loofah, and oatmeal-infused bar soap. So, it’s a complete package for giving your skin fresher and cleaner feels
• It has a slight coconut scent that will make you feel fresh
• The scrub not only helps with ingrown hair but also dark spots, acne, and stretch marks

Review “Love this product. I get ingrown hairs on my legs and was looking for a scrub to help with the issue. Works great! As a guy, the cucumber scent is very light but smells fresh! ”

4. First Aid Beauty Ingrown Hair Pad

Price: $20

Active Ingredients: Glycolic acid and Salicylic acid

Best for: All skin types

Key Features:

• The ingrown hair pad has glycolic acid and salicylic acid that cleans your skin, unclog pores, and improve it’s appearance
• To further soothe, moisturize, and brighten your skin, the pads contain witch hazel and aloe vera gel
• The product is clinically proven and 90% of the participants found their skin bump-free after utilizing the product
• It is free from synthetic fragrances, parabens, or skin irritants like formaldehyde
• The product is tested by dermatologists for its safety for your legs

Review ” One of the best products I have used for ingrown hairs. It definitely prevents any of you from using it regularly. Would recommend it for after shaving or waxing. It’s amazing on my sensitive skin.”

5. Bushbalm Ingrown Hair Exfoliating Scrub

Price: $23

Active Ingredients:  Sugar

Best for:  All skin types

Key Features:

• Firstly, this solution to ingrown hair is vegan-friendly and cruelty-free
• This natural scrub is made of sugar that can help reduce the appearance of grown hair, keratosis pilaris, and small red bumps on the legs
• It has a slight aroma of vanilla along with tangerine to freshen your breathe
• It is free of any harmful chemicals and toxic materials

Review ” This product has truly changed my skin. After spending literally hundreds of dollars at the dermatologist, I found this product online and decided to give it a try. It has changed my life. My skin has never been this clear, smooth, and beautiful.”

Part 4: How Often Should You Exfoliate Your Legs

Exfoliating your legs is good and beneficial not only for skin but also for hair removal procedures. However, if you are exfoliating occasionally, it will not have any effect on your skin. On the other hand, if you are over-exfoliating, your skin can easily get redness, rashes, inflammation, and even bleeding in some cases. Over-exfoliation is also painful. So, you should know the right frequency of exfoliation.

The best frequency for exfoliating your legs is only once a week. At maximum, you can exfoliate two times per week but exceeding this leads to harmful side effects of exfoliation. Those with oily skin can increase the frequency but for dry skin, one time per week is enough

Moreover, 3 minutes are enough to get rid of dead cells but the time can vary according to the product you are using.

Conclusion

If you want your legs to look smooth and the skin to look healthy, exfoliation should be a must-follow step in your skincare routine. It enhances blood circulation, makes your skin look fresh, removes bumps and ingrown hair, and unclogs your pores. All these factors ultimately improve the texture of your skin.

To exfoliate your legs, you can use exfoliating gloves, scrubs, or even DIY products. The choice totally depends on you, and if one method does not suit you, you can try the other. After you find the method that works best for you, maintain a consistent routine so that your skin stays healthy and fresh for a long time.