Debate: Should we exfoliate before or after extractions in a standard facial?

I keep seeing estheticians on Instagram doing exfoliation after extractions and I swear it makes more sense to do it before to soften the skin first, so what's the actual right order here and why does nobody talk about this?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_gibson17d ago

You said "I keep seeing estheticians on Instagram doing exfoliation after extractions" and honestly that's probably because Instagram is all about the visual satisfaction of seeing gunk come out, not about what actually works best for skin. Here's the thing nobody talks about - if you exfoliate after extractions, you're basically rubbing acid or granules into open pores and micro-tears you just created, which is a fast track to irritation and maybe even scarring. I've seen estheticians argue that doing it after "smooths everything out" but that's backwards logic. Exfoliating before softens the buildup and loosens everything up so extractions take less pressure and cause less damage in the first place. Prevents the whole problem rather than trying to fix it after you've already manhandled someone's face.

the_kevin17d ago

Wait, are you serious? People are actually rubbing acids into freshly poked pores? That sounds like a nightmare, I'm cringing just thinking about it.