Cleaning is the key step when talking about how to wash your face properly. But first, I get into the essentials of the correct way to cleanse your face, especially if you are prone to acne, I have a story to tell you that has always struck a chord with me.
I will never forget the time when I was caring for a patient in the hospital, a tactless old lady. While doing my assessment, listening to her lungs and taking the tour, she turned to me and said, “Honey, you shouldn’t wash your face because you just look at all those pimples.” The nursing assistant was in the room at the same time and I looked at her and shook my head. I couldn’t believe someone could be so rude and insensitive.
From that moment I knew that I had to find a way to lighten my skin. He could no longer allow complete strangers to make rude comments like that.
Let me share with you what I now know. Here’s how to properly wash your face: The common misconception when you have acne is that your skin doesn’t need to be clean enough, which is why you keep getting breakouts. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Washing and scrubbing excessively will only irritate and make your skin worse. So save the “spotless clean” for your dishes. A general rule of thumb would be to use a soap-free cleanser specifically formulated for your face and skin type.
There are ideal methods for everything, including basic skin care.
Cleaning
Not all cleaners are the same. Your cleanser is probably the most important product of choice, so using the proper cleanser for your needs affects everything that happens afterward. Cleansers not only remove makeup, dirt, and grime, they also prepare your skin for the next step in your skincare regimen.
At least once a week, the first step of cleansing should be a good 5 minutes of steam to soften and prepare the skin for cleansing. After steaming, you need to follow these steps:
1. Use lukewarm water and dampen skin and use fingertips to apply cleanser appropriate for acne-prone skin in gentle circular motions. Avoid wipes because they can be too harsh on the skin.
2. Rinse well with lukewarm water.
3. Use only clean cotton towels to dry the skin and avoid bacterial contamination.
It is a myth that splashing cold water on the skin after cleansing tightens the pores. The pores do not have hatches that open and close. So the temperature of the water will not affect the size of the pores.
If you have excessively oily skin and large pores, there are some gentle and effective cleansers available to help fight oil.
So just to make sure you’re clean, over-washing your face can cause irritation by removing the acid mantle, the skin’s natural lipid barrier. Cleaning twice a day with the right cleanser is enough.
For sensitive skin types, it is best to always do a patch test by placing a small amount on the inside of your arm to see if you have a reaction to the product.
