Is There a Right and Wrong Way to Wash Your Face?

Is There a Right and Wrong Way to Wash Your Face?

Men may like that rugged look, but most women prefer to have a softer, gentler face. The old lather up with a bar of soap, rinse and then towel dry routine is the wrong way to wash for ladies who want smooth skin. The skin on a woman’s face actually is more sensitive than on other parts of her body and it requires a bit more pampering.

Soap Doesn’t Cut It

First off, forget about soap – especially deodorant soap – it is fine for the rest of your body, but it is a bit too harsh for delicate facial tissue. There is a multitude of relatively inexpensive facial cleansers available. It does not matter if you have dry skin, oily skin or normal skin, there are products that will provide you with better skin care and cleaner pores. You do not have to feel like a prima donna just because you use a special facial cleanser; most dermatologists recommend it, especially for women. You do not have cake your face in a green mud mask every day either, just buy a nice cleanser that you can gently wash off.

No Scrubbing

Look at a washcloth. Do you see how coarse the fabric is? You might as well be scrubbing your face with a hairbrush. You will notice a lot less redness and blotchiness to your skin once you quite torturing it with a washcloth. For the best results, pick a cleanser that is light enough that you can rinse it away without scrubbing, just be careful to let the water flow evenly over your face and keep your eyes closed so that they do not get irritated. If you have to brush some of the cleanser off, do it lightly with clean hands.

Water Temperature

Cold water tends to make facial cleansers congeal and thereby makes it more difficult to rinse them off. Hot water will dry your skin out. The best bet is to use lukewarm water. If you love long hot bubble baths, or refreshingly cold showers than you should bath or shower first and then wash your face in the sink. Even lukewarm water will expand your pores a little bit – which isn’t a bad thing because it helps the cleanser get in there and get dirt out – so after you wash your face it might be a good idea to rinse with cold water to contract those open pores.

Frequency

Even though it can be an absolute nightmare if you wear makeup, you should wash your face at least twice a day. Once in the morning before you put any makeup on and then again at night after you remove your makeup works for most women. However, if you have especially oily skin you may want to throw a mid-afternoon wash into your routine if it is possible.

It may seem like a lot of work to properly wash your face, especially when you are already dealing with a hectic lifestyle to begin with, but consider it a long-term investment. The more time you spend taking care of your face’s skin now, the more radiant and beautiful it will appear throughout the years to come.