I had no idea.
Image credit here.
I had a facial a few days ago and my aesthetician asked me, “do you wash your face in the shower?”
Why yes, I always do. Every night.
But how did she know?!?
I always start my nighttime routine with a shower. It’s the best feeling getting into a relaxing hot shower after a long day and feeling squeaky clean for the rest of the night. With my face already wet, isn’t it the logical thing to wash your face AND body at the same time? Doesn’t the hot water cleanse my face better, similar to the hot steam used during a facial?
She told me she could tell that my cheeks were really dry just by looking at them and could see that I’ve been washing my face with hot water for too long. “Hot water, if used regularly, can cause broken capillaries and pigmentation, too,” says Christina Kasnoff, SF-based aesthetician and owner of The Skin Clinic. A gentle face steam can be good once a week to help the skin cells release toxins, but it’s not good for our faces to be in direct contact with hot water.
Here’s how to cleanse if you’re night shower-er like me:
Double cleanse first
The heat from the shower will open up your pores, so make sure to remove your makeup before you get in the shower. Christina recommends not using “very hot or very cold water directly on the skin as either can cause inflammation from the ‘initial shock.'” I’m a strong believer in double cleansing, so I use an oil cleanser first and then wash my face with a regular cleanser. “The first cleanse will remove the ‘day’ or layers of makeup, SPF creams, as well as dirt and debris buildup from the environment, while the second cleanse will actually deep pore cleanse.”
Stand away from the shower head
I love a hot shower, so I try my best to avoid getting my face wet with the hot water. Try standing away from the shower head and tilting your head back so the hot water doesn’t run down your face too much.
If needed, cleanse again.
I only do this when I feel like a lot of shampoo ran down my face or if I was wearing a lot of makeup. You don’t have to use a full-on cleanser – even a simple wipe down with cleansing water after getting out of the shower will do. Follow up with the rest of your nighttime skincare routine immediately to keep skin moisturized.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing this. I also double cleanse where I use a face towelette to take off my makeup and then use a cream cleanser to actually clean my face. I used to wash my face with the cream cleanser in the shower but stopped recently because I kept getting water in the jar which I thought would make bacteria grow. I never thought that the hot water from the shower could be harming my face.
Right? I always thought the hot water did a better job at cleansing vs. tepid water. A big lesson definitely learned for me and my skin is feeling less tight when I get out of the shower. Thanks for stopping by! <3