What You Need To Know About Proper Face Washing

If you're a beauty fanatic, you're more than familiar with the rule of all rules: skincare is just as important as makeup. The truth is, you can glam yourself up with MAC's finest and Nars' best, but you won't quite be able to overcome your skin's current state. There's a reason we all fear that dreaded pre-event breakout that seems to haunt everyone. Makeup can only sit as well as the base it's going onto. And without an ideal foundation, you can only do so much.

This is why the beauty community has become even more invested in their skincare than makeup in recent years. Now, it's all about your skincare routine; long gone are the days of your contour method being your most important step. The pre-makeup skincare routine has evolved into one just as extensive as the makeup itself. You want to pack on all the moisture and plumpness you can to end up with that perfect glowy, bouncy glass skin, per Glamour.

But the real magic is what goes down the night before. Your nightly skincare routine is where you bake all of the goodness onto your skin to wake up to what feels like a brand new layer of skin. Of course, all the hard effort of that 10-step Korean skincare routine is essentially moot if you're loading it onto the skin that isn't properly cleansed, per Soko Glam. So, let's start at the real beginning of the perfect base.   

Before you even begin to ask the questions of how often you should be washing your face or when to wash it, you have to make sure your washing routine details are optimal. The proper way to wash your face requires a lot of attention to detail. Let's start at the very first step to washing your face: turning your tap on. The direction in which you turn your faucet is the first step to ensuring you are washing your face the proper way, and the answer isn't what you'd suspect. 

"A lot of patients want to use hot water. They feel like they're almost giving themselves a little steam treatment, but it can be very irritating to skin," Dr. Rebecca Tung explained to Elle, noting that the actual optimal water temperatures for your face are lukewarm or cool. Cold water can work to reduce redness and even tighten your pores. Of course, the water isn't the only component at play, and selecting the right facial cleanser is just as important. 

You need to make sure you are using the correct face cleanser for your skin type, per Self. If you have dry skin, you need to seek out gentle creamy formulas that have words like "hydrating" and "calming" written across them. On the other hand, oily and combination skin types are better off sticking to gel and foaming formulas to help regulate their skin's oil production. However, every skin type can benefit the most from using multiple cleansers.

Every true skincare lover lives by the gospel of double cleansing at this point. The thought of going back to the days of a quick makeup wipe routine should send shivers down your spine. The best-proven way to keep your skin in check and ensure that every ounce of makeup and grime is completely removed is to implement a double cleansing routine. This may sound time-consuming, but think of all the time it can save you from scrolling through breakout solutions as a result of not thoroughly cleansing your face. 

Double cleansing is a simple enough concept. It's all about using a two-step process with two different types of facial cleansers to prep your skin for the skincare to follow. The idea is to begin with a makeup removal step. This can be in the form of an oil cleanser or a makeup removing balm or even a micellar water cotton pad, per Byrdie. Then comes the time to go in with your trusty face wash to wash your face after every trace of makeup is removed. On this, Dr. Anne Chiu explained to Byrdie, "The first step draws out oil-based impurities such as sebum, SPF, makeup, and pollutants while the second step cleanses water-based debris such as sweat and dirt."

As with most skincare trends, double cleansing was launched in South Korea, but once people began taking a micellar-soaked cotton pad to their face after their one-step face wash routine, they realized how desperately necessary a second cleanse really is.