Yes, I’m looking at you. There are many steps to a good skin care regimen. I’m sure you’ve read a ton of blog posts and articles that state moisturizing is the most important step OR choosing the right anti-aging products is “King” for your skin care. But, the fact is, none of these “Most important” skin care routines or products will do you any good if you don’t wash your face properly every night. Especially if you don’t remove your makeup. When you cleanse you accomplish a variety of good deeds:
- Remove dirt, grime, sweat and icky environmental gook– leaving on your makeup or just an unwashed face enables the free radicals built up on your skin to breakdown your collagen faster. This results in premature aging.
- Unclogging your pores– dead skin cells, sebum and dirt will build up and over time creating a bottleneck effect in your pore. As the debris increases so does the acne bacteria.
- Allowing your skin to breath as oxygen repairs a multitude of sins– Removing your makeup or washing your face at night helps to recover from oxidative stress (imbalance of free radical production and the body’s ability to fight the affects). More premature aging.
- Allows your skin to absorb the good ingredients you use your hard earned cash to buy
Now that I have your attention.. Wash your face at night, every night whether you wear makeup or not.
- Your skin repairs itself the most while you sleep and you want to take advantage of skin cell renewal and collagen production powers of the night.
- You don’t want that crap on your pillowcase– The dirt and makeup buildup on your pillow creates an uphill battle.
- A combination of all the wrongs of an unwashed face leads you to a dull complexion and breakouts.
The Face Washing Challenge I challenge you to wash your face every night for 2 weeks and I guarantee you will see your complexion start to glow. If you can take it to 4 weeks you will really see some dramatic results as it takes the skin cells around 1-2 months to regenerate from the lower levels of skin compartments. This cell renewal process takes longer as we age. I know this is easier said than done. Good skin, like a healthy body, takes time and planning but it doesn’t need to be a drag. An extra 5 minute routine before you go to bed could make all the difference to your skin care results.]]>