Five Face-Washing Fails

It seems pretty simple: just use a gently cleanser on your face to wash each day. How could you possibly be doing something wrong? As it turns out, some pretty basic mistakes can leave your skin dry, red and irritated. Check out these five things NOT to do in your daily face-washing routine.

1. Forgetting the pre-bedtime wash

All day long you’ve been running around, exposing the skin of your face to environmental pollutants, sweat and makeup. If you don’t wash your face before bed you’re allowing all of that to continue harming the skin of your face throughout the night, which can be especially irritating the more your face contacts your pillow.

2. Neglecting the morning wash

In a hurry to get out the door in the morning? You shouldn’t leave without giving your face the TLC it needs to get through the day. A gentle cleanse is essential, especially before applying moisturiser or makeup.

3. Scalding Your Skin with Hot Water

Everyone loves soaking in hot water and it certainly helps get the grease off your dishes as well. But your facial skin is a little more delicate than stoneware. Washing with water that is too hot irritates your skin, leading to redness and puffiness that can leave you prone to other problems. Turn it down

4. Dirty washcloths

Once you wet a towel or washcloth, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. And if you reuse a washcloth it’s also full of all the pollutants that you washed off your face the last time. Why would you want to put them back on your face? Do a little extra laundry and use a fresh cloth each time.

5. Using shower towel

One towel to rule them all? Not so much. Whether you wash your face at the sink or in the shower, you need a different towel to dry it than the one you use for the rest of your body. Different colonies of bacteria live on different areas of your body and if you want things to remain balanced you should keep your face bugs where they belong. There you have it. You may not give a lot of thought to your face-washing routine, but a few simple changes could help you get the best results from the other things you do to care for your sensitive facial skin.