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.