Exfoliating skin from the neck down provides the same benefits as it does from the neck up: It helps the skin absorb moisturizer better, unclogs pores, and allows healthier skin cells to surface. There are lots of ways to help get dead skin cells off the body. You can use anything from a gentle washcloth to a well-formulated AHA or BHA product. Topical scrubs are also an option, but are no better than a washcloth. Even though the skin on the body can handle mechanical scrubbing a bit better than the skin on the face can, you still need to be gentle with this kind of physical scouring (except on the heels—callused heels can take a bit more rough treatment to get the built-up layers of thickened dead skin cells off).
Loofahs have one major drawback you need to be aware of. Because they hang around in the shower and are often not cleaned or rotated with a new one, they are an ideal breeding ground for bacteria such as staphylococcus. Overscrubbing or scrubbing over blemishes and cuts with an old loofah that has not been properly cleaned is unwise. Washcloths are easy to throw in the laundry and tend to be less rough and less irritating on the skin and that is always a benefit.
Unequivocally and without exception, no amount of scrubbing or beating at the skin will change or eliminate one dimple on your thighs. The only benefits from exfoliation are those discussed earlier in this book and above, and that’s really it. You might feel your thighs look better after you have scrubbed them and applied various lotions and gels, but all these products and massaging actions do is temporarily swell the skin on the thighs, making them look momentarily smoother.