Dr. Brueck asks: "Are you washing your face the wrong way?"

Is there a right way to wash your face?

Hey, You’re washing your face wrong


As a board certfied plastic surgeon and member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, I recieve information about beauty from the association's Smart Beauty Guide. This message is based on an original article by C.A. Shenigo

Slapping on and rinsing off your face cleanser is NOT the correct way to wash your face. A lot of women are washing your faces wrong. According to a recent article in Allure Magazine, 70% of women still use soap and water. SOAP and WATER?! 

“How and what you wash your skin with sets the tone for the rest of your skin care.” Allure quotes one dermatologist as saying. “Many patients are either using the wrong cleanser or over washing, which leaves skin dried out, or under washing and going to bed with the day’s pollution on their skin.”

It’s safe to say that rule # 1 is wash twice a day — morning and afternoon. Since the skin’s repair process is heightened overnight, washing your face in the morning helps to eliminate the waste products that surface while you sleep. And washing your face prior to bedtime helps to eliminate the free radicals, pollution, and environmental aggressors that your skin has been collecting all day. Imagine all of those disgusting things marinating on your face all night long.

Can we agree that not all skin is created equal. Some faces are oily. Some are on the dry side. Some are prone to acne, some to rosacea, and some are so sensitive that one wrong move could result in stinging redness and itchiness. It all adds up to how and what you wash your face with is as big a deal as the rest of your skincare.

Dry skin requires moisture. The last thing you need is a cleansing product with harsh ingredients that can suck the oils out of your skin. Using a creamy or milky cleanser with ingredients like nicotinic acid and niacinamide, no more than twice a day, can help rebuild the lipid barrier that keeps the moisture in your skin.

Oily skin, on the other hand, warrants foamy face washes that produce large amounts of lather that allows the cleanser to reach maximum surface area. But don't overdo it with harsh formulas or lathering more than three times a day. You want to remove enough oil, without over drying — which will just produce more oil.

Skin that’s both very oily and dry requires a cleanser with a gentle foaming agent and glycerin to both cleanse the oily parts and the dry ones in a one-two punch. 

With acne prone skin, you can wash your face up to three times a day, which is nice in the warm summer season— but you can’t do it with foamy cleansers. Dermatologists recommend using cleansing formulas with salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or glycolic acid — mild exfoliators that remove the day's buildup of oil and dead skin cells, and clean clogged pores. If you’re really brave, you can even use a trendy oil cleanser, which clings to the oil blocking your pores, so you can rinse both down the drain.

Sensitive skin or skin prone to rosacea are different situation, with the water temperature nearly as important as the cleanserss you use. The serious flushing of rosacea and burning redness of sensitive skin requires a gentle touch that can not be achieved with water that is too warm. Use a cleanser that has been tested on a small area for three days. Use it morning and night, with cool to lukewarm water This will help deter your skin’s vasodilation process, which just makes skin redder. Do not use products that include fragrance if your skin is really sensitive.