Are you cleansing your skin properly?

One of the most important steps in a good skincare routine is cleansing, yet it is one that many people tend to forget to do regularly. Cleansing promotes proper hygiene by removing dead skin, oil, grime, pollution and makeup from the pores allowing for better absorption of any products applied after. Overtime a build of these things can clog the skin causing congestion and breakouts. We wash our hands several times a day, yet we forget that our face needs a proper clean too.

How Often should I cleanse?
The optimum amount is morning and night, If you wear makeup it’s really important to cleanse twice in the evening to prevent breakouts and clogging. The first cleanse removes the makeup and the second cleans deep into the pores.
Very dry skin and very sensitive skin can get away with just a nightly cleanse. A splash of water followed by a toner is enough. Water is a different pH to the skin and can dry it out, so a toner will help to hydrate and balance.

Sleeping in your makeup can age the skin, makeup has an occlusive effect meaning it forms a barrier over the surface of the skin, so irritants are locked in and moisturisers are locked out! Our skin regenerates and repairs while we sleep and it can’t do that with a barrier of makeup on top, even if you think your makeup has worn off throughout the day and put your creams on top at night they actually aren’t going to work like they should.

Is rinsing with water enough?
The optimum way to effectively clean the skin without drying it out is to use a washcloth or flannel, you can even get disposable cleansing cloths from a beauty salon. To put it simply, you wouldn’t just splash water on a table to clean it, you need a cloth to wipe everything away properly. Offcourse if you cleanse in the shower that can be difficult but using a wash cloth is still most effective.