Over-Cleansing Your Face – Fact or Myth?
Washing your face is one of the most important steps in your daily skincare routine. It is essential to start with a cleansed face before applying any additional products, as cleansing removes impurities and oil built up throughout the day. Properly cleansing your face helps your skincare work effectively but it can also reduce inflammation, prevent breakouts, and improve the overall skin health.
As we are being introduced to more and more products and techniques, the usually simple cleansing ritual can become confusing and overwhelming. Double-cleansing and now even triple-cleansing have become trends that involve several different types of cleansers, one followed by the other, to ensure clean skin but if it is not performed correctly, it can lead to irritation. It is vital to know not only the right way but also how often to wash your face and what type of face wash to use to avoid one of the most common issues, over-cleansing.
What is over-cleansing?
Your skin acts as a natural barrier that keeps out environmental pollutants, bacteria, and dirt to protect you from irritations and infections while keeping in the needed moisture. One of the biggest misconceptions in skincare is that your skin should feel squeaky clean. If your skin feels dry, tight, and uncomfortable after cleansing, it may be a sign you are using a harsh cleanser or you are over-cleansing the skin. This means the skin is stripped of its natural oils which can be damaging to the skin’s lipid barrier. Over-cleansing the skin is an issue that oily and combination skin types are most commonly affected by. It is often misunderstood that washing the face more frequently with stripping cleansers will help get rid of the excess sebum and make the skin breakout-free. This just compromises the skin barrier and leads to even more oil production, irritation, and acne breakouts.
Signs of over-cleansing
- Skin feels tight
- Redness and rashes can be noticed on the skin
- Dry and flaky skin
- Aggravated acne
- The skin produces more oil
How do I repair skin health after over-cleansing?
1 – Reduce the frequency of cleansing the face – Washing the face twice a day with a gentle cleanser is enough for maintaining healthy skin. If you want to cleanse the skin after a workout or a day at the beach, that is alright but try to avoid washing the skin too often. To choose your perfect cleanser click here.
2 – Choose a gentle cleanser – A good cleanser breaks down oil and impurities without stripping the skin. Science Skincare Gel Cleanser is suitable for all skin types, thanks to its antioxidant and anti-allergy effects. The gel cleanser aids barrier repair to help sensitive and reactive skin feel clean and hydrated, while soothing irritation and inflammation. If you need something to remove environmental pollutants, heavy make-up or ski8n with breakouts, the the Carbon Cleanser is the one for you. For an anti-aging cleanser that packs a punch with all of the actives to keep those wrinkles at bay, our Cream Cleanser is your go to.
3 – Gently massage your cleanser of choice onto the skin to remove impurities without scrubbing or rubbing too much. Too much scrubbing can make you red and break the blood vessels under your skin (this is one of the reasons our exfoliants are serums not scrubs). One cleanse is enough, if you need a little bit more then we recommend you use a baby soft microfibre cloth at the same time.
4 – Moisturise the skin – Every skin type needs hydration to keep the skin balanced and healthy. We’ve kept that step as simple as possible: Hydra Cream for dry or normal skin, Hydra Lotion for oily or combination skin and our “First Aid Kit in a Bottle”, Nurture and Repair lotion if skin is red, inflamed or sad.
Over-cleansing is a mistake many of us can make during our skincare journey. Thankfully, it can be detected and eliminated. It is crucial to understand the signs of over-cleansing and find the right steps towards achieving healthier and radiant skin.
