Facing Facts About Facial Cleansing

The skin on your face can be more sensitive than the skin on other areas and it’s exposed to a whole lot more all day, every day, so it requires a special level of care. The following skin routine works for almost everyone. That said, almost everyone will go through a moment (okay, sometimes it lasts much longer than a moment!) of breakouts and skin frustrations. If this routine stops working for you, consult with a skincare professional or a doctor.

• Every morning, wash your face with a gentle soap or cleanser - make sure it’s got minimal additives, no colors, and no perfumes. Some people will opt to just rinse with some water, especially if they’ve got dry skin. After you rinse and pat dry, apply a moisturizer with sunscreen (huge side note here: if you want fewer wrinkles later on, start the sunscreen now! It makes a BIG difference!!).
• Every evening, wash with the same gentle soap or cleanser, rinse and pat dry. Then apply a moisturizer without SPF. By moisturizing the skin, you are telling the oil glands below that they can chill out and don’t need to produce so much oil - this is why moisturizing can actually make the skin less greasy.
• If you are using a toner, astringent, acne cream, or any other product recommended by a skincare specialist, put those on before the moisturizer. Allow a minute or two for absorption between each step.
• Exfoliation: Some people exfoliate 1, 2, or 3 times per week (depending upon their skin type) to remove any dead skin cells. You can use a gentle chemical product like an exfoliating cleanser for this, but never use something scratchy like a loofa since they can irritate or damage your skin.
• DON’T PICK! Popping zits makes them look better for a moment, but then the area will get red, inflamed, it can even bleed or become infected. You don’t want a temporary zit to become a permanent scar, so keep your hands off your face as much as possible.