For most of us, cleansing our face is the first and most prized step of our skin care routine. This daily ritual acts as a pick-me-up in the morning and a way to wind down at night, as we take a moment to remove our makeup and let our skin breathe.
However, despite never failing to cleanse, we can still find that our skin is falling victim to breakouts, redness and various sensitivities. Consequently, we go on a wild goose chase to find the perfect skin care routine or active ingredient that claims to be a magic solution, when in fact, we should focus on mastering step one instead.
The same holds true for baking a cake: you can buy the most finely milled flour and the most expensive biodynamic, organic eggs, but if you don’t spend the time sifting and mixing the ingredients together, your cake will turn out lumpy and gritty.
Similarly, when it comes to cleansing our faces, regardless of how much money you’ve spent on your cleanser and what it promises to achieve, if you do not properly massage it into your skin and remove all the dirt, oil and makeup, you will end up with bumps, clogged pores, and overall unhappy skin.
So if you suspect that you might not be cleansing your face as effectively as you could be, here are the telltale signs to look out for:
- Dull skin
It doesn’t matter how many brightening vitamin C serums you use, if you don’t wash and exfoliate your face, dead skin cells will build up and your skin will lose its glow.
- You’ve still got makeup on
Whether it’s transferring to your wash cloth the next morning, or it’s coming onto your cotton pad when you’re exfoliating, these are obvious signs that you’re not cleansing properly.
- Frequent breakouts and clogged pores
By keeping skin clean, it will limit the amount of bacteria sitting on the surface, therefore lessening the chance of triggering breakouts and clogging pores.
- Your makeup is flaking off
If you fail to clean your face properly, it can drastically change the texture of your skin, making it feel rough to the touch. Just as cleansers are used to prevent the excess production of oil, they also work to infuse dry skin with hydration and moisturising ingredients. And in turn, avoiding it from becoming dry, flaky and irritated.
- Redness or irritation
Without thorough cleansing, pollution and harsher products like sunscreen remain on the skin for too long. As a result, chemicals that have the potential to trigger irritation may fester and lead to inflammation and red patches.
- You’re finding makeup on your pillowcase
Waking up to find orange or black makeup marks on your pillowcase? Your pillowcase is a telltale sign for distinguishing whether you’re going to bed with a clean face.
Have you experienced any of these signs?
I have in the past had a touch of makeup on my pillow but mainly with mascara -I find I apply cleanser but still get the panda look in the morning
If I have’nt cleansed properly it will still be visible when I use toner.
Even after double cleansing I used to find makeup especially foundation or tinted moisturiser left on my skin, but since using a cleansing device for at least one cleanse this is a thing of the past. 🧖🏻♀️
I love using my FOREO Luna for a soothing facial massage!
That soundsnice
Same here Saffy.
I thankfully stopped sleeping with makeup on decades ago.
Same here. I stopped around twenty years ago and now the only makeup I wear is tinted sunscreen that gets removed with a double cleanse!
I used to sleep with my makeup on too when I was going out clubbing a lot. I regret doing that.
I do a thorough double cleanse to remove all my sunscreen.
Redness and breakouts are common without thorough cleansing in my experience!
I don’t wear make up every day and find that it gives my skin a break. When I do wear makeup I use a gentle cleanser like QV.
I make sure to thoroughly cleanse my face whether I’m wearing makeup or not
when i use alpha h liquid gold the pad is dirty, so double cleansing still not enough
I really enjoy going to bed with freshly well cleansed face, serum and moisturiser. It’s so worth it to do a good cleanse.
over cleansing yes, Not under cleansing xD
Yes I agree that Cleansing is so important to remove makeup and grime, from your Face and Neck every night also to exfoliate as well l do cleanse in the evening and exfoliate when I have my Shower in the Morning. 🤍💗
Clogged pores. I need a microdermabrasion.
I think I am cleansing well. Just continue and hope for the best?
I find using my Manicare sonic cleansing brush eliminates any chance of leaving makeup behind. So thankful to have this!
I have a battery run cleaning brush and my skin feels really great after i have used with a cleanser- I mus look at the sonic one
For me, the #1 sign is zits, but my Dermasonic+ Cleansing Device does a great job, so that’s a thing of the past.
I always double cleanse. I use a claensing oil first and then a cream cleanser and I never have issues with makeup on my pillow case.
Always remove my makeup before bed time and use cleanser too.
But you don’t want to over cleanse either, stripping your skin of its natural oils.
These are all good tips. My skin always got clogged if I didn’t remove makeup.
Interesting. I cleanse morning and night so I think i am cleansing enough
My double cleansing regime is non-negotiable 😀
No more sleeping in my makeup for me!
double cleansing has helped get the grime off after wearing a mask all day in any type of weather and SPF for me
I try not to wear make up but I still might be guilty of not cleansing my face well enough
I knew most of these things already
I feel like double cleansing tends to put these thoughts to rest.
I experienced not having all my facial scrub rinsed off a couple of days ago as they were invisible beads! Will need to come up with ways to prevent this from happening again.
I use a gentle cream cleanser and it thoroughly cleans my face.