Why Washing Your Face is Important
Let's face it, after a long, busy day, or a fun night out, sometimes the last thing you want to do is wash your face before jumping into bed. While waking up and seeing mascara on your pillow case is enough to be an annoyance, and spotting an unwelcome breakout when you look in the mirror can see like a curse, at the end of the day, it all comes down to the most important step of your skin-care routine: the one that can make a world of difference if you skip it.
So why is washing your face really so important?
- Removes Build Up - Cleaning your face removes dirt, oil and other unwanted debris. Throughout the day, your skin is continually covered with old dead skin cells, pollutants, bacteria, and viruses. Washing your face daily, morning and night is best, will remove the debris, leaving your skin fresh and clean. Without washing, your skin would be covered with dirt and grime, making it impossible for other products to penetrate the skin properly. So when you get in late and don’t want to clean off your skin, please make the effort. Remove makeup and cleanse your skin properly. In the morning, make sure you cleanse your skin again to remove excess oils and any debris your skin has expelled over the night.
- Boosts Hydration - Regular facial cleansing (along with the use of a good moisturizer) is an important factor in helping the skin maintain a proper level of hydration. Dehydrated skin looks and feels rough, wrinkled and aged. Cleansing helps manage pH levels of the skin; enabling sufficient water and product retention.
- Helps Maintain Clear Skin - Sebum, or oil on the skin, is produced by tiny glands under the skin. Sebum protects your skin from the environment. These tiny glands use hair follicles within the skin as a pathway to the skin’s surface. This creates a barrier we call the acid mantle of the skin. It prevents penetration of bacteria and any other harmful agents that may cause irritation/ damage to your skin. Excessive dirt build up on the surface can cause blockages of the follicle, trapping sebum, sweat, and dead skin cells. The lack of sebum on the skin’s surface allows bacteria to penetrate the follicle causing inflammation. The final result is acne. Proper skin cleansing clears pores of debris to prevent dirt buildup, allowing the sebum oil to reach the skin surface unimpeded; decreasing the chances of a breakout.
Some Other Benefits
Regular cleansing:
- is essential to keeping your skin looking radiant and healthy.
- helps anti-aging products and treatments work properly.
- helps maintain proper pore size.
- encourages proper skin hydration and prevents the production of excess oils.
- keeps your pH balanced on your skin and the acid mantle intact.
- allows your skin to function properly.
What happens when you skip cleansing altogether?
What happens when you stop washing your face is going to vary a lot on the condition of your skin and what your regular routine typically looks like. If you have oily skin and completely stop washing your face, you may see a rise in breakouts and even more oil production. If you have dry skin and completely stop washing your face, you may find that it just continues to look dryer and duller as time goes on.
If you completely stopped washing your face your pores would become clogged resulting in the development of serious acne. The skin could also experience a combination of severe redness, dryness, and irritation from insufficient hydration. Finally, your skin would generally appear dirty, oily, greasy, and could age significantly.
Most likely you would develop an incredible itchiness; to the point where you would be forced to constantly scratch your face. This could lead to breaks of the skin which serve as entry points for infection. Moral of the story: practice proper skin cleansing!
How to Choose the Right Facial Cleansers
- Know your skin type and understand what condition your skin is in. If you are unsure ask your favorite skin professional for direction.
- Always avoid gels, anything that foams, and scrubs as these are surfactants that strip the skin of its natural oil protection, resulting in a dry, dull and rough surface. Surfactants will strip your skin of precious oils and over stimulate your oil glands. Your skin may become clogged with a surface that has been stripped and dried out, this results in a dry surface and infection underneath. These types of products are especially bad on oily acne skins.
- No alcohol or harsh drying agents. These types of products will only encourage dehydration and strip your skin of its natural oils.
- No fragrance.
- Clear Skin - ideal for acne/ congested skin.
- Cleanser No.3 - great for sensitive skin and skin with Rosacea
- How to use: massage a dime sized amount of cleansing oil into your skin. Remove with a warm face cloth and gently pat your face dry. Our cleaning oils also make great moisturizers. After cleansing and drying your face, reapply a small amount of oil as your moisturiser. Repeat this routine day and night.
Milk cleansers, or emulsions, are fabulous on older, mature skin and dry skin.
- Mild Cleanser No.1 - for normal skin without congestion.
- Deep Cleanser No.2 - for dry, mature skin.
- How to use: wet your face first, massage in a small amount of cleanser, and remove with a warm face cloth. By wetting your face and hands with water first you don't use as much cleanser. Repeat morning and night.
- For a complete routine, follow with your favorite serum, face oil, and moisturizer.
The goal with cleansing is to set the foundation for what is to come. Balance the pH so the skin can function correctly, remove and excess dirt and debris, and promote a healthy acid mantle. Cleansing your skin is the most important step in any beauty ritual. So please, next time you think about jumping into bed without rinsing the day away, make sure you wash your face first!
