Gommage Is the Most Gentle—and Effective—Way to Exfoliate Your Skin

In the world of skincare, "gentle exfoliation" is often viewed as an oxymoron. If it's gentle, it can't possibly be exfoliating properly…right?

For the longest time, I fell victim to this flawed skincare notion. And because I, like everyone else in this world, crave smooth skin (I even have an excoriation disorder diagnosis to prove it), I'd turn to harsh chemical peels and microbead-infused scrubs that left my poor face stinging, red, and raw. The problem with my compulsive need for having untextured skin 24/7 is that my skin is also sensitive, and if you know anything about having sensitive skin, you know that it doesn't play well with exfoliation.

When you hear exfoliation, you probably think of chemical and physical exfoliation. Physical (also referred to as mechanical) exfoliation involves physically scrubbing dead surface skin cells with a tool or scrub, while chemical exfoliation uses ingredients like glycolic, lactic, or salicylic acid to get rid of dead skin cells over time. Both techniques can come with notoriously negative side effects for sensitive skin, but what if I told you that there was a way to combine the two methods and not reap any irritation?

I'm talking about a gentle method of exfoliation that originated in France. It's called gommage, which literally translates "to erase" in French. And it's a fitting term (more on that in a moment)—the process involves sloughing off (i.e., erasing) dead skin by applying a viscous gel and massaging it into your face. Most significantly, it disproves the idea that peeling off a layer of your face is a requirement to score smooth skin.