How Often Should You Really Wash Your Face?

Would you be surprised if I said as little as once day?

As a skincare lover it was hard for me to transition from my10-step morning andnight1,000-dollarskincareroutine intoa 2step $15 dollarone,BUTgoing fromwashing my face twice a day to only once- that was just complete insanity. I'm not talking about the hardcorecaveman regimen where you don't even let water touchyour face, no. Although I've always thoughtthat ideawas alittle crazy,nowI am down towashingmy faceonly once a day and seeing real results-so,perhapsit isn't completely out there.

Ididn't start out with any specific goal inmind; the idea actually came from a place offrustration. I had tried countless creams,diets,supplements,exercise, you nameit, andof course they all worked temporarily or I was at least optimistic enough to think I was seeingresults. But, in the end my acne would almost alwaysreturn leaving me to buy the next product, and temporarily put my hopes into the next cream to work its magic on my skin.After this past breakout, I broke the acne cycle.

I stopped putting junk on my spots, I quit maskingevery day, I stopped washing my face twice aday, I quit worrying about my overrestrictive acne-freediet,and I just generally quit touching or worrying about my face. I was at the point where I said "screw it", this is who Iam, if I get a spot I get a spot. I'm beyondover it.Plus,it's my face so really- who cares? I was donestressing about something that felt so out of my control.And It worked.

Iwon't say thatI'm cured because as of right now in 2017, there technically isn't a curebut it really has helped. I will get maybe one spot around that time of the month but besides that, my skin has remained calm and clear.I feel a huge part of that was from puttinglesson my skin. Hey, they do say less ismore, right? Guess what else? I started poking around on acne message boards and found that manyotheracne sufferers have experienced the same thing after they stopped washing their face.

Now, finally,I am here to tell you I am only washing my face(at the maximum)once a day at night.for good. Here'sa few reasonswhy.

Might seem like a no brainer butit's pretty counterintuitive to wash your face once before you go to bed and thenagainrightafter you wake up. Washing at nightis sensible because as the day progresses you are collecting dirt, oil, pollution, and other irritants on your skin that could potentially clog your pores and cause acne. But washing your face as soon as you wake up after you've just washed it 6-8 hours ago? Doesn't seem as logical. Unless your pillowcases, sheets, or blanketsaren't clean you're not getting dirty while you sleep so it doesn't make sense to wash your face first thing in the morning.

Over-washing your skin (even twice a day can be considered over washing) can lead to skin irritation and more breakouts. If you ever get that squeaky-clean tight feeling OR if your skin feels super tight when you get out of the shower, it could be due toover washing. Stripping the skin of its natural oils can compromise your skin barrier, leaving it moresusceptible to bacterial infections,sunburns, acne,you name it. Our skin barrier works to lock moisture in and keep all of the bad stuff out, giving us a natural balance of oils that are essential for our skin to function properly. Once the barrier iscompromised you can expect to experience extremely dry skin,rashes, acne, and inflammation.