A beginners guide: How to wash your face
Washing your face seems like the easiest step in a skincare routine, right? Well, unfortunately, it’s the step that a lot of people get wrong. If you’re not cleansing correctly, it can leave your skin feeling stripped, dry and it can even cause you to break out. And don’t even get us started on what happens if you don’t cleanse at all…
To help you be a superstar cleanser at the sink, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about washing your face.
Washing your face helps remove impurities and unblock pores
As we go about our day-to-day, our face gets covered in impurities such as dirt, pollutants, bacteria and even our own dead skin cells (unfortunately they shed all time). Pretty gross, right? Couple that with makeup, sunscreen and sweat and all this build-up can result in clogged pores, excess oil and, you guessed it, acne. Washing your face every day removes all that gunk and gives your skin a fresh new surface.
It leaves the skin ready for your moisturiser and acne treatments
When your pores and skin surface are both clean, your skin is ready for the following products that you want to apply. This may include toners, moisturisers and acne treatments. Because the surface is clean, the products will be absorbed deeper and they will work much more effectively.
It should not leave your skin feeling stripped or dry
When you wash your face with Benzac’s Daily Facial Foam Cleanser, it removes the daily build-up of grime and leaves your face feeling smooth and soft to touch. The Benzac formula contains no nasty sulphates that strip moisture from the skin. Instead, the formulas use soothing aloe vera and calendula extract to keep skin clean and nourished.
How to wash your face
Ready to become a superstar at the sink? We thought so! Here’s your basic routine of washing your face, which applies to normal and acne-prone skin types.
1. Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap (after all, we don’t want to add more bacteria to the surface)
2. Splash water on your face and get it nice and damp
3. Apply 1 - 2 pumps of a gentle cleanser (like our Foam cleanser) and gently massage over your face and neck for 60 seconds.
4. Either splash off with water or use a damp gentle cloth and wipe until it’s clean and dry.
5. Splash with water and pat dry.
6. Now you’re ready for your morning or night-time routine (toners, moisturizers, acne-treatments)
So simple, right? Well, hold on, we’ve still got a few tips and tricks up our sleeve.
Wash morning and night. Every Day.
When it comes to your skincare routine, consistency is crucial. You should wash your face every morning and every night, every day. We can hear some of you thinking — but why do I need to wash my face in the morning if I haven’t even left the house? As we mentioned above, washing your face prepares the skin for any products you want to use. A gentle wash in the morning will remove the products you added the night before and prepare your skin for your daytime moisturiser and treatments.
Consider a double cleanse at night
If you wear makeup, sunscreen (which we hope you all do) or sweat a lot, you may want to consider washing your face twice at night. Sometimes makeup, sunscreen and excess dirt can dig their heels into your pores and one wash will not get those stubborn impurities out. A good test to see if you need to do a double cleanse is to take a clean white washcloth and wipe your freshly-washed face — if you see makeup, dirt or SPF grime, go in for the double cleanse. A friendly reminder: this is only for your night-time routine. One wash in the morning is more than enough.
Keep hot water away
Never wash your face with hot water. Don’t do it, okay? Now that you’ve sworn to us that you will never use hot water, here’s the reason why: hot water will strip skin of its natural oils and dry out the skin. As we all know, when your natural oils are stripped, it can cause your pores to produce excess oil, which leads to breakouts. Use warm water, always.
Keep your face out of the shower when washing
If you’re a multi-tasker and like to wash your face in the shower, be sure not to put your face directly under the shower stream. Your skin on your face and neck area is delicate and the pressure of the water can break capillaries under the skin’s surface and cause extra redness. Instead, keep your head out of the stream and use your (clean) hands to splash water on the area that you want to clean.
Don’t forget to moisturise
This might be the most important tip up our sleeve! Even with a gentle cleanser, your skin still needs a little extra nourishment. Without a moisturiser, your skin can get thirsty and will start to produce excess oil to counteract the dryness. When excess oil is produced, acne is produced — so be sure to moisturise.
For those with acne-prone skin, try the Benzac Excess Oil Control Moisturiser after washing during the day. This has an eight-hour mattifying effect. In the evening, switch over to the Daily Facial Moisturiser, which provides lightweight, non-greasy hydration while you sleep.
By putting the time in to properly wash your face with the above tips, you’ll be giving your skin the nourishment and care that it needs.
