Is your skin dry? Find out if you’re over washing it

Cleansing your skin can be the most redundant step in your skin routine.

The Ultimate Cleanser

Ideally, the job of a cleanser is to rid of impurities, dirt, oils, dead skin cells, and other pollutants from daily outdoor activity from the skin, freeing pores, and work as a preventative action against conditions such as acne, and leave your skin ready for the rest of your skincare regime. An adequate cleanser should work to remove all dirt, but at the same time leave your skin balanced. Cleansing delicately touches the fine line between good hygiene and overdoing it. Skin cleansing sets the platform for good skin care. Know that by using the wrong cleanser can cause more harm than good.

What is pH?

It’s more than likely you’ve seen this on various products and websites. Cleansers work to imitate the skin’s naturally acidic pH (5.5), but more gentle on the first layer. Most cleansers you find on the shelves tend to score high on the pH scale with ingredients such as soap and sulfate. This can leave the skin stripped of its natural moisture. If your skin feels tight, dry, or even inflamed, it’s a sign that your cleanser is too strong for your skin type.

Difference between oil and water

With the many cleansers on the market, they boil down to two different types; oil and water. The 101 on oil cleansers are that they work great to break down makeup, especially since now makeup can be waterproof. Oil cleansers can leave a slippery residue, this is where water-based cleansers come in. They work to cleanse deep and penetrate to remove excess oil leftover. Stay away from washing with both cleansers at once, as they can cause the skin to become irritated. Opt for an oil-based cleanser if you have dry skin, and water-based if you have oily skin.

Do you need to exfoliate?

Be careful of cleansers containing acid as an ingredient, since this step acts as a wash off step, you want to make sure for example glycolic acid the opportunity to cleanse deep within. Try not to exfoliate your skin more than two or three times a week. Our skin is created to exfoliate naturally every 30 days with cell turnover, so as long as you’re doing everything needs for your skin, it should be in optimal shape.