The Importance of Face Cleansing: 5 Reasons Why You Should Cleanse your Face 2X a Day.
Remember complaining to mom when she made you wash your face every day? It turns out that mom was right (surprise...surprise): regular face cleansing is critical to maintaining healthy looking and feeling skin.
Many of us use a plethora of skincare products on our face, but tend to leave out or do a rush job of the most basic and essential step of our beauty routine: cleansing. A quick swipe of a face wipe or splashing your face with water in the shower won’t cut it.
Taking the time to remove your makeup and thoroughly wash your face will ensure that you see visible improvements day after day, cleanse after cleanse.
Read on to discover why cleansers are the cornerstone of every great skin care regimen, no matter what your skin type is.
Facial Cleansers....
1) Remove Build Up
Consider what your skin is exposed to throughout the day. From makeup and sweat to particles in the environment, your skin inevitably faces many external aggressors. Daily facial cleansing removes every last trace of dirt, excess oil, pollution and unwanted skin cells off of your face.
Cleansing is the first step of all skincare routines and is beneficial in a number of ways. If not cleansed properly, dirt and pollution accumulate at the surface of your skin and could potentially contribute to breakouts, dehydration and aging.
2) Boost Hydration
Regular facial cleansing also helps the skin to maintain a proper level of moisture. Dehydrated skin looks and feels rough, wrinkled and aged. Cleansing helps manage pH levels of the skin; enabling sufficient water and product retention, for proper skin hydration.
3) Maintain Clear Skin
To help protect itself from environmental damage, tiny glands under the skin produce oil called sebum. While sebum is beneficial to your skin, if not cleansed regularly, it can mix with any build-up leftover on your skin. This may cause enlarged pores and create a blockage of skin follicles, trapping sebum and allowing bacteria to penetrate the skin. Bacterial penetration ultimately leads to inflammation, acne, and a blotchy and lackluster complexion.
4) Slow The Process of Aging
Pollution and environmental toxins can accelerate the aging process but just simply cleansing your skin with an appropriate cleanser can slow the aging process by ridding your skin of unwanted pollutants.
Consider also that some cleansers contain active ingredients that actually work to slow down the process of aging. Many are packed with antioxidants that reduce free radical formation.
5) Increase Skincare Products Effectiveness
Improper cleansing will ultimately leave your skin covered with thick layers of dirt and grime which makes it difficult for active ingredients in topical treatments to penetrate the skin properly. Clearing out your pores will prepare your skin for the absorption of other skincare products and will therefore make it more receptive to treatments to follow such as exfoliators, masks, serums and moisturizers.
Lang & Ivy recommends that you cleanse your face twice daily
In the evening
Washing your face every evening is so much more than just a way to remove post-work makeup. Even if you don’t wear makeup, it’s very important to wash your face with a cleanser. An evening cleanse is not only incredibly important to allow the skin to repair itself from the ravages of the day but also to improve your overall skin health.
Key physiological changes (such as skin regeneration) occur overnight with oxygen being a vital component. Too much surface impurities will impede skin regeneration by blocking oxygen from penetrating the skin.
Also consider that skin temperature rises overnight which causes the skin to lose a significant portion of water. If you don’t cleanse your skin, any moisturizers applied that are meant to hydrate your skin while you sleep, won't be able to be absorbed properly for reasons discussed earlier. A proper evening cleanse would allow skincare products to penetrate and work their magic whilst you sleep.
In the morning
Cleansing your face when you wake helps to remove toxins, dead skin cells and excess oils the skin may secrete overnight. Balancing the skin and providing a fresh surface for the start of the day allows for better penetration of skincare products and provides the skin with the full benefits.
Cleansing your face also allows you to achieve a smoother skin that is essential for makeup application.
How to choose the right cleanser for your skin
Although it may be tempting to get that squeaky-clean feel with your fave bar soap, this type of soap can disturb the barrier function of the skin, disrupting the acid mantle, stripping away your skin’s good oils and triggering the skin to increase oil production.
Lang & Ivy facial cleansers all have a balanced pH to help maintain your skin’s natural balance. Discover the cleansing range here so you can easily choose a cleanser that’s a good match for your skin type and start to build a healthy skincare regime for clearer, brighter and more youthful looking skin.
Useful Tips:
Always check the directions on your cleanser
Add the recommended dosage, typically a pea-sized amount, of your cleanser into your hands. Apply on forehead, cheeks and chin. Then massage the cleanser into your skin in circular motions with your clean fingers. Try leaving your cleanser on for a couple of minutes before removing it to gain all the benefits from its active ingredients and give your skin a deeper clean. Rinse thoroughly with tepid or cold water. Gently pat your face dry using a clean, soft cotton towel. Follow up with your required treatment products which meet your specific skin needs.
Don’t switch from hot to cold
The temperature of the water matters too. Hot water doesn’t open pores and cold water won’t close them either. In fact, hot water can strip your skin of essential oils and switching water temperatures will only put skin into shock, so it’s best to rinse with water that is lukewarm or even cold to respect your skin and the integrity of the active ingredients of the skincare products used. Plus, colder water has a soothing and firming effect!
Double cleanse
A quick “wash and go” might seem like the only option at the end of a long day, but if you wear a full face of heavy make-up or are exposed to city air daily, double cleansing is the best way to ensure your skin is free from foundation and pollution particles.
The first cleanse will remove makeup and debris that act as a barrier. Your second round of cleansing will work down deep to really reach into pores to remove any surface grime that the first round may have left behind. By cleansing twice, you’re ensuring that both the first layer of sebum, makeup, skincare, sunscreen and deeper layers of pore bacteria, which can all aggravate acne, are removed.
But don’t over wash…
Beware of over-cleansing, as doing so can strip the skin of its natural oils and protective barrier. This then leads to dryness, sensitivity and irritation, which makes skin problems like acne much worse. It’s therefore important not to rub the skin too harshly and not to overdo it!
While your skin needs to be cleansed twice a day – morning and evening – a double cleanse isn’t always necessary – especially when you wake up in the morning. Your need to double cleanse really does depend on your lifestyle. You may want to only double cleanse at night for instance.
Lang & Ivy: Know Who You’re Buying From
At Lang & Ivy, we’re a small, close-knit team that makes natural skin care that's good for you, good for your wallet, and good for the planet.
Our clean skin care products are packed with carefully selected botanical ingredients that are time-tested and proven to work gently. Our collection is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and are free of nasties like parabens, sulfates, phthalates, silicones, and artificial fragrances.
We’re also a sustainable skin care brand. Our products are crafted with sustainably sourced ingredients and our packaging is up to 90% recyclable!
If we sound like your kind of clean skin care brand, check out our product lineup! Also, stay tuned for our blog for tips on easy, affordable, good-for-you skin care choices and ways to get your glow on!