Do you wash your face properly?

When I was young, we used to have a cheap bar soap on the bathroom sink. Every morning my dad would wet a washcloth, rub it on the bar soap and clean my face with it. I hated that a lot! The washcloth covered my whole face and the soap stung in my eyes. This often made me cry and my father yelled at me that he had to clean my face.

I got older and was allowed to do this myself, I secretly didn’t do it anymore. I got an aversion of bar soap. I thought it was gross. There was often something on it what didn’t belong, such as hair and dust. My dad thought I was acting out and said I could just rinse those things off. But that didn’t convinced me.

When it was suddenly common knowledge that you shouldn’t wash your face with bar soap, I couldn’t take my luck. I knew it, I knew it all along. My father on the other hand, didn’t believe this “nonsense”. And as far as I know, he still washes his face with a washcloth and bar soap every day.

But how do you actually wash your face properly? I splash my face with water, rub in some cleanser and rinse it. Is this correct? I researched the best way to wash your face.

Why do you have to wash your face?

When you wash your face, you remove dirt from it – duh. But you also remove makeup residue and dead skin cells that clog your pores. It also prevents breakouts, reduce skin inflammation and improves your skin health.

If you don’t wash your face, dirt will get stuck in your pores. This will make your pores appear larger and your skin will look dull. It’s therefor important to wash your face (preferably) twice a day.

How should you wash your face?

Like I said, wash your face twice a day. But if that is too much trouble for you, wash it at least once a day in the evening. During the day natural oils, dirt, pollution and sweat accumulate on your skin. If you don’t remove them in the evening it causes irritation, acne and inflammation.

But rather wash your face in the morning. While you turn in your sleep, oils from your hair and bacteria from your saliva are easily transferred to your face. So washing your face is in the morning isn’t a bad idea. And if you have done a skin care routine the night before, then you want to wash off the products before starting your morning routine.

1. Choose the right cleanser for your face

It isn’t always pleasant to you use the same cleanser both in the morning and in the evening. Especially if you have a dry, sensitive or acne-prone skin. When you have a dry or sensitive skin, use a gentle cleanser in the morning. And if you use a cleanser containing salicylic acid for your acne, then it’s too harsh to use it twice a day.

Therefor take a good look which cleanser suite your skin type:
– Dry or sensitive skin? Use a gentle or creamy cleanser.
– Do you have an oily skin? Use a gel or foamy cleanser.
– Normal skin? Use a water-based cleanser.

2. Use the right water temperature

Don’t wash your face with hot water. This can strip your skin’s natural oil barrier. This makes your skin dry and itchy. Hot water is also a trigger for skin conditions, like rosacea. Because it can worsen the skin condition. That’s why it is important to always wash your face with lukewarm water.

3. Don’t scrub too hard

Often people say that you have to cleanse for at least a minute. That isn’t entirely true. Lathering for a long time or washing too aggressively, isn’t that nice for your skin. Your skin will become red and irritated.

This is how you cleanse correctly. Use your fingertips to apply the cleanser in circular motion to your whole face. When the product starts to foam, you’re done and you can rinse your face.

4. Use a clean towel

Use a clean towel every time you wash your face. When you use the same towel over and over will spread bacteria over your face. This can cause acne. Therefor always use a clean towel!

So my biggest face wash sins are: lathering too long and not using a clean towel every day. Did you wash your face properly? What could be better?


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