The most crucial step in skincare, cleansing. How do you wash your face? Think about it. Is it over the sink? In the shower? How often? At all? First let me rule out two things that do not properly cleanse your face is a "cleansing wipe" or a cleanser with a foam consistency. I will go over this later. There are so many different needs of skin as well as many cleansers on the market that promise to deliver a multitude of goals. Which one do you use? Well if you're dry/dehydrated/sensitive/oily believe it or not a nice fragrance free milk/creamy and oil cleanser will do the trick. There are about a dozen or so gel like cleansers that I like for true oily or acne skin types but thats a whole other topic.
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Your skin's altar. |
First things first, please do this over a sink, the shower just kills this process and your skin doesn't even get a chance to really get the true efficacy of the cleanser, if anything and you're really pressed for time get the very first step going before you jump in and the second with your back towards the shower head you will understand as you read on. Heres a method that will change your life. Dry cleanse method. So pump your cleanser or oil, dry hands dry face. Massage over face, get along that hairline, ears, crease of nose, around the eyes, soft circles, over the lips, that over neglected jawline, neck, sweep over that collarbone and décolleté. Go upwards, think of the skin as shingles on a roof of house they point downwards, so time to go against gravity and really get in there and unclog the skin from everyday and unavoidable dirt and pollution.This is why you need your cleanser in its pure form, no water think of it as a concentrate, when we wash with cleanser all lathered up its diluted and unfortunately not getting its full effect. Let that cleanser get in there and CLEAN. Think of that scrubbing bubbles advertisement the little scrubbers getting in there and cleaning. You then moisten hands to a little more than damp but not soaking wet and massage over the face again, you are now loosening up and cleansing away all that dirt that was hijacking our pores. Then of course rinse, not the commercial way with splashing water all over the place but a nice couple swipes of water until you feel the cleanser off, believe me you'll know. I love to do this in the AM and PM, Ive heard of a pass of cleansing wipe only in the AM but I do not feel thats enough. We burn 300 calories in our sleep alone, we sweat we sleep on a pillow that our hair sleeps on as well which means oil, so I feel that an AM cleanse is crucial as compared to a wipe. Foaming cleanser, my thoughts are thats all smoke and mirrors. Its diluted cleanser being pumped out also very dehydrating, ever wash your hands with those "antibacterial" cleansers? Totally transforms the skin to compromising dry state. Im not into that. Your cleanser should not change the pH of your skin that opens up a can of worms. The purpose is to cleanse, do it lovingly with a professional cleanser.
Remember, dry hands, dry face, upwards against gravity, massage with damp hands, then rinse, you will notice a difference in a day let alone a week.