Blog

The Right Way To Wash Your Face

Washing your face is a no-brainer.  Wait! Not so fast.  It turns out there are many rights and wrongs when it comes to cleansing your face – from frequency and time of day to the type of water and cleansers that work best.  

 Before You Cleanse

• Wash Your Hands: Topping the list of Dos and Don’ts of Face Washing is removing the dirt, germs, grime and bacteria from your hands before touching your face. Also be sure to rinse all the soap off your hands so the sometimes harsh ingredients in soap don’t irritate sensitive facial skin.

• Remove Makeup: Sounds obvious, but com, says you’re not ready to wash until you remove your makeup. Remove eye makeup with a cotton ball soaked in oil-based eye-makeup remover. Place the ball over lids, wait 10 seconds to dissolve mascara and liner, then gently wipe away the remnants. Use a few cotton pads doused with soothing, soap-free fluid or cleansing cloths to remove makeup from the remainder of your face.

• Check The Water Temperature: Lukewarm water is best for gently, yet effectively, cleansing your face. Hot water can strip the skin of its natural moisture and can break blood vessels and capillaries causing red marks.

 Cleansing

• Use Your Fingertips Not A Washcloth: Even a clean washcloth can be harbor bacteria.

• How To Wash Your Face suggests starting with damp skin. Place cleanser on your fingertips. Begin at the corners of your mouth, glide your fingertips up over your nose, onto your forehead, around the eyes, and down the cheeks until you reach your chin. Do this for one to two minutes to thoroughly remove dirt and oil. Rinse with lukewarm water. Then pat dry with a clean, dry towel. Be gentle. Scrubbing too hard can cause irritation, inflammation and broken capillaries.

• How Often To Cleanse: While opinions may differ, the American Academy of Dermatology advises limiting washing to twice a day - morning and night, before exercising and after sweating. Perspiration, especially when wearing a hat or helmet, irritates the skin.

 More Facial Care Tips

• Apply Moisturizer To Damp Skin to improve absorption, advices com. Waiting until your skin is completely dry will make it harder for the active ingredients to sink into your skin and can cause skin to feel greasy or tacky.

• Wash Your Face After Your Hair: If you wash your face in the shower make sure it’s after you thoroughly rinse the shampoo and conditioner out of your hair. Lots of conditioners contain pore-clogging ingredients that are known to cause acne.

• Cleanse Before Working Out to avoid trapping makeup, dirt and oil into pores as you sweat.

• Exfoliate a maximum of two to three times per week. And, just like facial cleansing, there’s a right way to exfoliate. Learn about the fingertip swirling method and the 10-second palm press, at How To Exfoliate.

 From proper cleansing in the a.m. and p.m. and diligent sunscreen use throughout the day,  to preventing sleep wrinkles all night long, keeping sensitive facial skin looking fresh and healthy requires sticking to your skin care regimen.