How to Properly Wash Your Face
About once or twice a day, ideally in the morning and at night or after working out, you should wash your face. Follow these instructions to achieve the best effects from this important skincare regimen:
Choose your face wash. Facial cleansers come in a wide variety; some are dryer to aid with oily face, while others are more moisturizing to help with dry skin. If you are unclear of your skin type, use a gentle cleanser or seek advice from your dermatologist on the best kind of skincare products.
Remove makeup. If you are wearing any lipstick, highlighter, bronzer, or other cosmetics, wipe your face clean with micellar water or makeup remover before you wash it.
Wash your hands. To stop bacteria from spreading from fingers to face, wash your hands for twenty seconds. Wash your hands with soap and warm water, then pat them dry.
Lather the face cleanser in your palm. Pump just once to get a bit of the foaming cleanser on your hand. Add a little warm water, and gingerly rub it around your palm, so it’s spread around your hand and ready for applying.
Massage your face. Circularly stroking the cleanser on your face will help it spread smoothly.
Turn on your water. The temperature of the water is crucial to your skincare routine. Your pores won’t be more easily cleaned by cold water, and overly hot water will dry up your skin and remove its natural oils. Watch your face with lukewarm water.
Rinse your face. To avoid pressing your face, cup some warm water in your hand and bring it to your face, stroking with the skin just below your fingertips. Repeat this a few times to completely use up the cleanser.
Pat dry with a clean towel. Use a soft towel to dab at the face and eye area to dry up.
What Is the Best Way to Wash Your Face?
Lukewarm water and a mild facial cleanser are the two easiest things to use while washing your face. You could also wish to supplement your cleaning regimen with a few other items and apparatus:
–Micellar water: Micellar water, a solution made composed of tiny micelles, removes makeup and gets the face ready to be washed.
-Soft washcloth: Be gentle with your skin and stay away from using abrasive washcloths that can irritate it.
-Toner: Toners restore the pH balance of your skin and shield it from bacterial damage. Numerous toners have anti-aging qualities. Your T-zone—the region that spans the forehead horizontally and the area from the chin up the nose to the space between the eyebrows—needs toner.
-Moisturizer: Dryness is combated by moisturizers, which can be either specialized lotions or straightforward sunscreens with a very low SPF.
When should you wash your face?
You should wash your skin twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, for the majority of people. Wash your face every night, though, at the very least.
When it comes to taking care of your skin, the overnight wash is essentially the beginner’s manual, and this is true even if you don’t use makeup. Natural oils and perspiration build up on the skin during the day, according to Dr. Zeichner. Since we are exposed to the environment, our outer skin layer accumulates dirt and pollution. At the end of the day, failing to remove all of this dirt and grime may result in skin rashes, inflammation, and breakouts of acne.
A second rinse in the morning is recommended for the majority of people. Dr. Rachel Nazarian, a dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York and New Jersey, tells SELF that bacteria from your saliva and oils from your hair are readily transferred to your face and eyes while you’re tossing and turning at night. Therefore, it’s advisable to cleanse in the morning even if you wash your face at night and your pillows frequently. Additionally, you should wash off any products you used the night before, such as treatments, serums, moisturizers, or night creams, before applying your daily cosmetics.
You should only be aware that you might need to use a different cleanser in the morning than you do at night. For instance, you might want to use micellar water or a mild cleanser in the morning if you have sensitive or dry skin. Additionally, you could discover that a cleanser containing salicylic acid that you’re using to help manage your acne is too abrasive or drying to use twice a day.
Can you just wash your face with water?
It might be a good idea to switch your morning cleanser for a water-only rinse if your skin is very sensitive.
But be sure to set aside some time in the evening to properly wash your face. This is due to the possibility that washing twice day with a cleanser could irritate or excessively dry out skin that is exceedingly dry or sensitive. Dermatologists still advise using a mild cleanser at night to remove oil, residue, and anything else that has accumulated over the day, even if you do reduce your morning cleansing regimen to only water.
Here are some additional face-washing advice from dermatologists to help you get the best, clearest skin you’ve ever had.
Only wash your face as often as you have to
Ideally, you should wash your face twice a day—in the morning and at night—as well as after exercise or any other activity that causes you to perspire excessively. However, that is the most.
If you are not prone to skin problems, washing your face more than twice a day is not really necessary, according to Dr. Garden. In addition to causing dry, irritated skin, over-washing can paradoxically cause the skin to produce too much oil. Therefore, the vast majority of us should continue using soap twice daily; if your skin is extremely sensitive, only use water in the morning.
But certainly, washing your face after exercise is quite important. Sweat and filth build up on the skin while you exercise, according to Dr. Zeichner. Don’t forget your face wash the next time you pack your gym bag because failing to wash your face after working out can raise your risk of getting acne outbreaks.
Use your moisturizer quickly after cleansing
The order in which you perform your skin-care routine, especially moisturizing, can have a significant impact on how effective it is. The majority of moisturizers have both occlusive and humectant chemicals, which attract water into the skin (which help seal that hydration into the skin). In order to retain even more of that moisture in, apply your moisturizer while your skin is still somewhat damp after cleansing—not completely wet. (By the way, if you have acne, you still need to moisturize; just be sure to choose a moisturizer for acne-prone skin that has been recommended by a specialist.)
According to dermatologist Ellen Marmur, M.D., of New York City, “the surface cells dehydrate and are really tougher to moisturize if you wait even a few minutes.” Of course, if there are a few additional steps between cleansing and moisturizing, it can be a little bit challenging. But if you can manage it, you’ll hydrate your skin even more.
Additionally, keep in mind that you ought to apply sunscreen every day that offers broad-spectrum protection and at least SPF 30. Apply a sunscreen on top if your daytime moisturizer is missing that ingredient. According to Dr. Garden, “the SPF will assist safeguard all the hard work you’ve been putting into your skin care.”
You may need a makeup remover in addition to your cleanser.
You are surely aware of the dangers of going to bed wearing a lot of makeup (acne and dullness, for instance). But if your makeup contains oil or mineral SPF elements, your mild cleanser might not be able to get rid of all that makeup.
According to Dr. Nazarian, “many makeup products are smudge-proof or waterproof, so basic cleansers will not remove them properly.” Because of this, it’s crucial to remove makeup gently before washing—especially when removing long-wear makeup—using a mild makeup-removing wipe, micellar water, or oil-based makeup remover.
This is also the idea underlying the practice of double cleansing, in which you first remove makeup with an oil- or balm-based cleanser before washing out any dirt that remains with a water-based cleanser. It depends on your skin type, your budget, and your personal preferences whether or not you want to use two different products to wash your face every night because modern cleansers are surprisingly powerful.
You can skip cleansing after applying a mask
Most face masks and peels come with instructions that advise using them on freshly cleaned skin. This is due to the fact that these skin treatments necessitate a thoroughly clean, bare face in order for the chemicals to fully penetrate the skin. If you’ve used any thick or oil-based serums, treatments, or other products before the mask, it may prevent the chemicals from penetrating the skin deeply enough to have an impact.You do not, however, need to scrub your skin once the mask is off. According to Dr. Marmur, masks can contain extremely potent and concentrated chemicals. He advises letting your skin continue to benefit from them after you remove the mask.
When it’s time to remove the mask, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. For instance, sheet masks typically don’t need to be cleaned off after use; all you have to do is pat the leftover goop into your skin and wait for it to permeate. However, if you’re using a clay mask that needs to be removed, do it by just using lukewarm water to gently wipe it away.