First things first: you have been cleansing your face regularly, right? It’s definitely the most important part of any skincare routine. It doesn’t matter whether you have a simple 3-step or an extensive 7-step skincare sesh every morning and night. Cleansing is always the first step -- it’s a skincare rule that’s practically written in stone.
Why Cleanse?
Well, properly cleansing removes all the impurities, debris, and excess oil from your skin. And of course, you don’t want those sitting on your pores for a long time. If your skin remains unwashed, skin problems such as acne, dark spots, and wrinkles are more likely to occur. In short, cleansing keeps your skin healthy by preventing all these unwanted skin issues.
If you needed another reason to cleanse properly, know that doing so allows other skincare products to penetrate deeper into your skin. Without all the baddies blocking your pores, the ingredients in your moisturizers and essences are able to go all the way in. As such, you’re able to get your money’s worth in every product and see more visible results.
Getting Started
Cleansing involves more than slapping on a cleanser, rubbing away, and rinsing. It’s easy to jump right into it that we forget one crucial step: washing our hands. For sure, your hands have been everywhere throughout the day and there’s the risk of unintentionally allowing irritants to mix in not just with your cleanser but with your other products as well. So, before you go ahead with cleansing your face, make sure to wash your hands first with gentle hand soap.
Wash Cloths and Facial Pads
While exfoliating cleansing devices have flooded the skincare market in recent years, you should only use these tools once or twice a week. If you prefer using such devices in your cleansing routine, opt for disposable cotton rounds or organic muslin facial cloths as these are gentler for daily use. If you want to use a reusable facial cloth, remember to allow it completely dry between uses. Also, use a different cloth for washing your body.
Be Gentle, Stay Gentle
The desire to remove deep-seated dirt and makeup may tempt you to go hardcore in scrubbing your face. But this is not something you really want to do, as irritations and skin discomfort is likely to happen. Instead of rubbing your face hard, cleanse with a little bit of love by using delicate circular motions. Work your cleanser into your skin gently. If you feel a deeper cleanse is necessary, simply let the product rest on your face for about 2-3 minutes before rinsing.
Don’t cut corners
When washing our face, we tend to focus more on larger areas such as the cheeks and forehead. Sometimes, we forget to pay attention to the nooks and crannies that need cleansing too. Take our hairline for example. That’s one of the areas where excess oil and products are like to build up. I bet you get breakouts in the hairline too, and part of that is caused by not cleansing properly. So take a few moments to focus on your hairline and other parts like your neck, décolleté, and ears as well.
Pat Dry
Now that your face is fresh and squeaky clean, allow it to either air dry or pat dry using a disposable cotton square. Don’t rub your face with rough towels as they may be too harsh on your skin. And once your face is completely dry, you’re now ready for the next steps in your facial routine.
Going Natural
If you’ve been using drugstore chemical cleansers all your life, I highly recommend giving natural products a try. I love natural skincare because the products are infused with powerful ingredients from nature that are highly effective in treating various skincare problems and giving you the glow you deserve.
