A few days ago I was chatting with a friend of mine who came to visit me. She had recently developed mild breakouts on her face and it seem to be worsening due to the hot weather we are currently experiencing. When I probed her a bit, I discovered that she seldom take time to specially wash her face except when she takes her bath in the morning and take a shower when going to bed at night.
Many people I know fall into this category. This is one area I have continually spoken to my clients about. Washing your face is a daily ritual you must engage in.
The face is the most exposed part of the human body. If you consider what your face is constantly exposed to everyday; sun rays, makeup, sweat, dust, particles in the air etc. you’ll come to a fair conclusion that the face deserves a special treatment on a day to day basis. Most times we resort solely to the use of creams, lotions and makeup to beautify our face but even those might be doing more harm than good if we refuse to engage the basic ritual of washing the face thoroughly everyday.
Cleaning the face daily removes all the traces of dirt, pollution, dead skin cells layer, excess oil (sebum) from the face and opens up the pores of your facial skin.
Many of the people who are using anti-ageing creams right now wouldn’t have needed to if they observe a daily facial cleaning ritual.
Here are a few benefits of washing your face regularly.
- Opens up the pores. This allows your skin to breathe. Many of the creams and makeup products we use end up clogging the pores of the skin and while your face may look beautiful and smooth because of the makeup, your skin is actually starved of surface air.
- Reduces breakouts. The dirt on our faces is a breeding ground for bacteria. Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is the name of the bacteria that live on the skin and contributes to the infection of pimples. The inability of the skin to breathe is one of the reasons this bacteria multiplies in the oily matter found on the skin and causes breakouts. Washing the face prevents this.
- Prevent Wrinkles. Moisture allows the cells of the skin to be full and healthy, which results in a fairly tight skin. Premature ageing of the skin is mostly a result of loss of skin water.
- Helps your skincare products to work better. If you find out that most of the skincare products you have purchased have not worked for you as claimed, it could most likely be because you do not have a holistic face washing regimen. Washing your face allows your moisturisers to sink deeper into the skin and work.
- A funny aside, is that washing your face before bed allows you to enjoy your sleep a lot better. Your pillow cases do not get dirtied by your face and they smell a lot fresher.
So how do you wash your face?
- Use warm water. Don’t use hot water on your face. Warm water is preferable because so the oil on your skin and sweat stains can easily wash off
- Use a pH balanced cleanser. Using a cleanser is better than using just soap and water to wash your face. Cleansers, especially non-astringent ones are able to deep-cleanse the skin pores.
- Use a soft, clean face towel or pad to clean your face.
- Apply gentle, small circular motions on your facial skin
- Rinse thoroughly with warm water.
- Wash your face a second time.
- Rinse again with cold water.
- Dab your face with a soft face towel.
- Moisturise your face with a night-time, facial lotion.
Additionally, ensure you always drink a glass of water before going to bed.
That’s it guys. The secret to a beautiful, youthful face.