How to Get Smooth Skin: Exfoliation Product Guide & Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder Review

Who doesn’t want smoother skin? There is a step to taking care of your skin that seems superfluous, but if done regularly, it makes all your products work even better. Exfoliate! Yes, it’s annoying because it’s yet another step you need to add to your skin care regime. Beauty is hard. 😦

suisaiclosed — Easy to open, even with wet hands

But beauty can also be ridiculously cute, especially when it comes from Japan, like these tiny Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder pods. These combine the cleansing + exfoliating steps.

Why I’m obsessed with Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder:

They exfoliate your skin AND cleanse. Two for the price of one. I recommend using your oil-based makeup remover first and then using the Beauty Clear Powder.
So gentle, it can be used daily. Your face won’t feel stripped and dry afterward.
The granules are so fine, you don’t feel the grittiness–once it’s wet, it feels softer than any other exfoliating powder I’ve ever used. And I mean amazingly silky soft. And I’ve tried a lot! (See below.)
These are not Nespresso coffee capsules, but they are cute tiny one-time use pods that are easy to open, even when your hands are wet.
Great for travel because they’re so small and won’t spill.

Tips:

Use after makeup remover. If you don’t have makeup on, you can go directly to this.

Fine granules

Make a paste with a bit of water
Gently make a paste with the powder with a bit of water in your hands and then massage gently on a wet face. Rinse.
They are much much cheaper in Japan, if you happen to get a free plane ticket there. 😉
Don’t worry, you can get it on Amazon–I recommend the 32-piece size.
This is a good prep for your skin to penetrate the ingredients when putting on serum or using a mask.

Pam’s Exfoliating Product Grittiness Scale:

Softest (gentle) = 1 to Grittiest (bad for sensitive skin) = 5:

Kanebo Suisai Beauty Clear Powder – My favorite for gentle exfoliation. The cleansing is a bonus!
Tatcha Indigo Soothing Rice Enzyme Powder – So gentle, but didn’t feel that effective.
Tatcha Classic Rice Enzyme Powder – Better results than the Indigo one, but starting to feel gritty…
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant – My old school favorite, but your face might feel a bit stripped, relative to the ones above on this list if you have sensitive skin.
GLAMGLOW Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treament – Way too harsh for sensitive skin, with huge sharp pieces of something resembling tree bark in it. Ouch. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Honorable Mention: dr. brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant
- This works well–BUT only use it if your skin is in a stable condition.
- It gets rid of the flakiness!
- I would avoid it if you’ve got eczema, sunburn or anything that would cause your skin to be irritated easily.
- Not a powder; more like a creamy mask with granules. It’s effective for a more thorough exfoliation if your skin can take it and DOES work.
- I use it every week, depending on how stable my skin feels. They recommend using it 1-2 times a week.