"If you have dry skin, stick to more gentle exfoliators like poly-hydroxy acids or even ultra-gentle manual exfoliators with fine powders like bamboo, rice, or sugars," says Dr. Zeichner.

Chemical exfoliators are typically AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids), BHAs (beta-hydroxy acids), or PHAs (poly-hydroxy acids). I cover the differences between AHAs and BHAs in depth here. But put simply ...