Contrary to popular myths, the safest way to wash your face is with your hands; washcloths and scrubs can be too abrasive on the skin, and might potentially harm healthy cells, resulting in irritation. It's therefore essential to wash your hands before washing your face.
Use a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser that does not contain alcohol. Wet your face with lukewarm water and use your fingertips to apply cleanser. Resist the temptation to scrub your skin because scrubbing irritates the skin. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry with a soft towel.
The Skin on Your Face is Fragile
Because of that, hand soap can be harsh and damaging to put on your face. Using hand soap can cause acne, wrinkles, dry patches, and even rashes! It's best to use a gentle face wash that is meant for your skin type.
What is a washcloth good for when it comes to skincare? In the shower, you can use it to clean your body better than you can with just soap and your hands. That's because one major skincare perk of washcloths is that they provide gentle physical exfoliation for the face and body.
Wash them after three uses maximum.
"It's important to wash them frequently—not only do they have close contact with your face, but they can also absorb water or sweat and become breeding grounds for bacteria."
The good thing is there are now tools to help take dirt and debris off of your face without your fingers touching it. The OG face brush, a Clarisonic is the best way to really get makeup, dirt, and bacteria off of your face. Squeeze your favorite cleanser onto the brush head and go to town.
“In terms of whether we should stop washing our faces altogether, the answer will most likely always be no,” says David Lortscher, MD, a San Diego dermatologist. “But washing your face with a cleanser can be skipped every once in awhile. Some people prefer to simply rinse their face with water and no cleanser.
“A toner or toning lotion can be even better than washing in the morning,” says Carlen. “This is because your day cream penetrates better when your skin is damp but you don't want to strip your skin just to put nutrients back in.”
Use a brush.
Facial cleansing brushes provide a great way to smooth skin, clear pores, remove dead skin, and prevent breakouts. Simply apply your favorite facial cleanser to your face and then gently massage it in with your facial cleansing brush, relaxing your skin and your face as you prepare to go to sleep.
Your skin looks better in the morning as your body has spent the sleep time repairing and renewing your skin cells. Your skin is also slightly thicker in the morning and fluid has returned to your face, meaning fine lines and wrinkles look less pronounced.
Those with very dry skin or eczema will find that water-cleansing helps to retain the skin's natural moisture. However, persons with oily, acne-prone, or combination skin might need soap or liquid cleanser to dissolve excess oil which often clogs pores and causes breakouts.
Have no fear – we've done our share of research, and the answer is clear: post-shower is definitely the way to go. Sure, washing your face in the shower saves time but it can also do more harm than good – like, clogging pores with other products (gross) or drying out skin with hot water (ouch).
There are several reasons why cleansing before bed is good for the skin. Remove the dirt and debris. This is an obvious one, but quite important. Throughout the day, the surface of the skin builds up dead skin cells, oil, bacteria, sweat, and other debris.
It's best to wash twice a day—morning and night—if you can. However, you can forgo the morning cleanse, if that suits you. But you should always, always wash your face before bed: "If you only want to do it once a day, do it at night so you can take all the pollution off before you go to sleep," says Downie.
“You should wash your face in the morning for various reasons,” she says. “Bacteria can accumulate throughout the night and, also, you should prime your skin by cleansing it for your morning skincare routine, not to mention to remove your nighttime creams and serums used the night before.”
Zeichner typically recommends washing your face twice per day, in the morning and before bedtime. But going to bed with clean skin is a must.
The three areas, according to one doctor, you really only need to wash with soap are your armpits, groin and feet. The rest of your body is good with a simple rinse of water.
According to dermatologists, you should exfoliate first, then wash your hair, and then wash your body. This will ensure that each shower product you use has time to work. If you have concerns about your skin, you should follow this order as closely as you can. This will help prevent acne, razor burn, or dry hair.
During the day as you're upright, the dermal fluid moves towards your legs, but overnight, when your body is horizontal during sleep, dermal fluid settles back. This swells up your facial skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, like pumping water back into a raisin or rehydrating a shriveled, dried sponge.