How Often Should You Wash Your Face?

So how often should you be washing your face each day? You may have noticed that there are a lot of different opinions on the matter! Some people recommend washing only once daily, in the evening before bed. Others would have you scrubbing your pores any time your face feels soiled or oily.

What works best for most people is to wash their face twice daily; and potentially a third time after rigorous physical exercise. Specifically though, it is best to cleanse in the morning after you wake up, and again in the evening before you go to bed.

 

Top of the Morning to You!

As you’re probably already aware, your skin goes through different natural processes at different times throughout a 24-hour cycle.

When you first wake up in the morning, your skin has just completed a long night of rebuilding collagen, repairing damage and renewing cells. At this time, many of the dead cells that your skin has shed during slumber will be there on the skin’s surface, as well as oil, sebum, dust, eye gunk. You might even find some saliva if you drool at night!

Drool aside, the bottom line is that overnight your skin has coated itself in some unnecessary, potentially pore-clogging debris. And it needs to be cleansed! Equally importantly, also, is that your skin needs to be protected and nourished for the day ahead. Time to get your skin care routine underway for the day!

 

Good Evening (For Cleansing)

Now, consider the state of your face at nighttime, before bed. Before hitting the sack, your skin needs to be fresh and clean in order to better rebuild, repair and renew itself. To achieve maximum results from your beauty sleep, this is the time to cleanse away any makeup, oil and debris that collect on your face throughout the day. Clean skin will allow your pores the air to breathe and complete these processes more effectively.

Your skin needs balance to function properly and at it’s best – just like your body. You wouldn’t drink a six pack of beer before running a marathon, would you? Similarly, you shouldn’t set off on your nightly skin marathon with a layer of toxins coating your face. Cleansing and exfoliating before bed will support your skin in renewing it’s outer layer as you sleep. This will prevent and aid the healing of skin care woes like acne, wrinkles and eczema.

Tip! As part of your skin care routine, its important to remember the need to provide proper nourishment to your skin after cleansing. You need to give your skin the nutrients it needs to complete it’s natural processes – just like eating a solid healthy breakfast before joining in on the Sun Run!

 

Over or Under Cleansing

If you’re cleansing in the morning and again before bed at night, you’re already on track for healthy, glowing skin. Go you!

But what about those times when your skin just feels all oily and dirty in the middle of the day in summer? Or if you’ve just had a hard-core Pilates session and you’re covered in sweat? Or if you’ve been in a Broadway play and had a bunch of crazy makeup caked all over your face?

There are naturally going to be situations when you might want to add in an extra cleanse. Generally, this will be perfectly fine! If your skin has been soiled for some reason, it’s okay to cleanse a third time.  Note: this is where carrying a mini-version of your skin care routine comes in handy!

Just bear in mind that you want to avoid cleansing all the time just because you have oily skin, rather than to cleanse away sweat or excess makeup. Over-cleansing oily skin exacerbates the issue. Your skin will simply produce more and more oil because you are continually stripping away it’s natural moisture and protection.

 

How is Just as Important as When

If you are using a harsh cleanser that is stripping your skin of it’s natural acid mantle, or a cleanser that contains comedogenic oils, then you may be cleansing at the right times but still not seeing the results you desire.

The way you cleanse and the products you use are just as important as following a set routine. The best results can be obtained by using a mild, colloidal cleanser, in conjunction with a gentle, non-abrasive exfoliant. Take a look at our article on two-step cleansing to learn more about why this is such an effective way to support healthy skin.

Here are a few more tips: never scrub vigorously or use abrasives on your face. Your facial skin is very fragile and the skin care issues we struggle with are almost always caused by upsetting it’s natural equilibrium. Follow cleansing with a non-alcoholic toner and nourishing moisturizer, to maintain your skin’s natural balance. And get ready to experience the healthy glow of naturally healthy skin!

Side note – If you’re looking for a skin care solution that ticks all of these boxes and more, take a look at Metrin Skincare. With 85 years of experience, and a stack of satisfied, long-term customers, you won’t regret it!