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When was the last time you really thought about how you wash your face?
Most of us never think of it, how we do it, or even why we do it the way we do. So, we mindlessly pick up that bar of 99.98% pure soap, spread it all over our face, and then rinse it off with screaming hot water.
Is that bad?
Well, there are worse things we could do to ourselves, but if you are serious about wanting healthy, gorgeous skin, then you might want to read on.
Like everything in life, the more we pay attention to something, the better we get at it. If I could help you to pay just a little more attention to your skin, you would see results almost immediately. When I say, “pay a little more attention” what I really mean is if I could help you to incorporate some “best practices” into your face washing routine, the payoff would healthier skin. Healthier skin is better looking skin.
Before you even turn on the faucet, you want to make sure you have everything you need. Fortunately, it is a short list. You will need:
- a cleanser that is formulated for your skin condition
- warm water
- a clean towel
If you wanted, you could get fancy with all sorts of face-cleansing tools and devices, but you really only need your hands. A note about washcloths: Personally, I do not recommend using a face cloth for daily facial cleansing. The fibers in the cloth have an exfoliating affect on the skin; add to that a little aggressive scrubbing, and you risk damaging/sensitizing the skin. The other reason I’m not a fan is because many people (you know who you are) will use the same washcloth day after day. Two words…bacteria farm! Yuck. Do yourself a favor, and just use your hands.
Let’s get started…
1. Dampen your face with warm water.
You never want to use hot water on your skin because hot water creates a physiological response the causes moisture to evaporate from the skin. Dehydration is an enemy of the skin, it makes un-healthy skin cells become cannibalistic in an effort to rehydrate and become health again. Hot water can also cause vascular dilation–the swelling of blood vessels, which sometimes leaves permanent damage.
2. Apply a quarter-sized dollop of cleanser on you hands,
and rub together to emulsify.
Why a quarter-size amount? More than that is too much, and a waste. Less than that and you run the risk of not having a high enough surfactant-to-water ratio. Ultimately that means you might not really get the entire benefit of the cleansing product. You want to emulsify the product before you place it on your face because many ingredients become active when emulsified. You want that action, so go ahead and create it. The process of emulsifying also assists in a more even application of the cleanser of the skin.
3. Apply the cleanser to you face and neck
Rub a bit of the cleanser on your forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and neck. Starting with your neck, make small circular movements in an upward direction, all the way to the top of your forehead. Try to do this for a full minute. Don’t forget it get into the nooks and crannies like the sides of your nose, and behind your ears.
4. Rinse completely with warm water, and repeat the process one more time
Yes, if you want to get the most benefit, repeat this process twice. It is what the pro’s do, and you should too. The first pass generally removes all the surface grime that lands on our skin during the course of a day, or night. The second pass allows you the ability to get the cleansing ingredients deeper into the pores and follicles so that it is better able to break the surface tension of the oils that have collected.
5. Take a clean towel and pat the skin dry.
It is important to use this technique to dry the skin. When washing your face, one of the inherent results is that your skin has been wet. Water tends to soften the skin temporarily, which actually makes it more susceptible to abrasion. When you rub a towel all over your face, you are rubbing cotton fibers all over. Again, the fibers act as an exfoliant, and on “softened” skin, you run the risk of creating tiny tears on the skin’s surface. You can avoid that by gently patting the skin dry.
By utilizing this technique for cleansing, you are setting up your skin to successfully utilize the products, and treatments that will follow. You are also building the foundation for really healthy skin.
So, who first taught you how to wash your face? What techniques have you been using?