By Tori 
Cleansing, one of the branches in the large tree of skincare. A crucial one. Cleansing is the step in facial skincare where we use soap products to wash our face eventually leading to clean skin. Throughout the day and even night, our skin accumulates a lot of things like sweat, dirt, dust, makeup for those who use it, oils, products and so much more. Cleansing removes all of these, leaving our skin clean, and making it a clear base for applying skincare products.
Unfortunately, as much as cleansing is good practice and most people do it, it is not as effective if done incorrectly. Cleansing is not simply rubbing soap on your face and rinsing the soap out. Remember, the skin is an organ where live bacteria can live and it has pores where dirt can get trapped in. Therefore, careful and proper cleansing should be done in order to ensure clean skin.
The following are some tips on how to properly cleanse your face in order to get rid of dirt and purify your skin:
- Obtain a good quality cleanser. Try to get a proper cleanser with purifying and hydrating properties. Poor-quality cleansers may not really clean the skin well. Some cleansers are very harsh on the skin and may end up drying the skin or stripping the skin of its natural oil called sebum which keeps the skin supple and protects the skin. Obtain a gentle cleanser that will cleanse your skin and leave it well-hydrated.
- To add to the previous point, try and avoid bar soaps to wash your face and get liquid cleansers. A while back I used bar soaps often but after some research before starting my informed skincare journey, I got to know that some bar soaps are highly alkaline. This alters the natural low pH of our skin. The result of this is very dry, irritable, and sensitive skin.
- Activate the cleanser. Trust me on this, after some time, you may see a difference like I did. Activating the cleanser is as simple as putting some of the soap on your palm, with a few drops of water, and rubbing your palms together until the cleanser foams up. When doing this, the goal is to create a really fluffy foam that you will then use to clean your face. I am not sure about the science behind this but it is one of the few things I have personally tested and I can say it has worked for me.
- Take your time. You cannot cleanse for twenty seconds and expect much to happen as far as cleansing is concerned. You need to cleanse for at least a minute or two for the cleanser to work through your skin. Ensure a long contact period between the cleanser and your skin. This also allows for the cleanser to clean through the pores of the skin.
- Double cleanse. Double cleansing means cleansing your skin, rinsing, and cleansing your skin again. I would advise this mostly in the evenings because of all the accumulation that may have occurred on your skin throughout the day and after makeup. Be careful however when you do this by using a gentle cleanser. How this works is that the first cleanse removes the top layer of things on your skin like dirt, sweat, makeup, products, and more. The second cleanse dives deeper to cleanse your pores and purify your skin.
- Rinse properly. You have properly cleansed your face and now it’s time to rinse. Ensure you use clean water. Some people go to the lengths of using clean, filtered water but I think clean water is just fine. We don’t want to cleanse off all the dirt from our faces only to add some more dirt from dirty water. Moreover, make sure you rinse off all the cleanser from your face. Leave it really clean and hydrated.
- Use a clean towel to dry your face. If you use a dirty towel, it can ruin everything you do for skincare. Your towel can harbor bacteria, dirt, and gunk if not cleaned and changed often. You can literally wipe the dirt back on your face after taking keen steps to cleanse. In fact, having a dirty towel is a big cause of acne and skin issues. I am really insisting on this because I know the negative impact a dirty towel can have on your skin and how rarely people think to change their face towel. Yes, I said face towel. Please tell me you are not using the same towel you use on your body on your face… *Panics*. Anyway, that is a post for another day. For now, just ensure you use a clean towel to dry your face.
To conclude, your face is now clean and it’s time for skincare. For a simple skincare routine, you can check out this post: My skincare routine. However, I hope these tips help in the cleansing part of your skincare journey. If you have any questions, suggestions, or more tips on cleansing, you can comment them below. Remember to follow the blog’s Instagram and check out the Pinterest page. All the best!
-Tori