It’s the natural process of shedding dead skin cells from the surface of skin.

The dulling effect of dead surface cells makes skin look flaky, rough, lifeless. Removing this layer—or exfoliating—reveals the fresher, smoother, brighter skin underneath.

Natural exfoliation is an uneven process that slows with age, season or hormonal shifts. It becomes more erratic when you’re stressed and with chronic sun exposure. Gentle, twice-daily exfoliation optimizes the turnover of dead skin cells to reveal younger, brighter, livelier skin. It refines skin’s texture, too.

Fresh, vibrant, luminous skin starts with Clinique’s iconic skin routine: cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize. Each formula in the routine is customized to your skin type. Incorporate our skin-energizing formulas into your daily regimen to promote optimal exfoliation and reveal your skin’s best version of itself.

There are a lot of misperceptions about exfoliation and that’s one of the most common. In fact, all skins can benefit from exfoliation; the key is finding the correct strength of exfoliation for your skin type.

If your skin feels irritated, then you may be exfoliating too much. You are probably not exfoliating enough if your skin looks dull and is not absorbing your moisturizer properly.

When you exfoliate, it’s crucial not to introduce any irritants—fragrance being the most common culprit. Good to know Clinique is 100% fragrance free.