Why You Shouldn't Wash Your Face In The Morning
As you grow older, you discover the joy of a simpler lifestyle. There’s so much satisfaction in paring down and shedding much of the weight that we carry about us in everyday living, and that joy is multiplied when you discover that shedding the load of routine and habit does in fact produce a better result than what you were doing anyway!
I discovered this truth a few years ago when I stopped washing my face in the morning (there are other examples but I’ll stick to the topic in hand). In fact, I’ve stopped washing my face altogether, although I do keep it scrupulously clean.
When I say ‘washing my face’, I mean: no facial cleansers, no soap, no foaming cleansers at all the morning, and I don’t use these products at night either. I use Oleicia Oil every night to remove the grime and pollutants of the day, then some Aloe Vera, followed by a quick massage of more Oleicia Oil. In the morning, another massage of Oil mixed with some SPF cream, and that’s it.
At night your skin produces some of the oils that you need to keep it supple and healthy and balance the pH of the skin. If you wash them off in the morning your skin will be poorer for it. Cleaning and scrubbing until your face feels squeaky, means that you are likely stripping the natural oils that help keep the skin’s barrier intact. Washing them away not only makes skin drier, but can make oily skin oilier as the skin produces more oil to overcompensate for what’s being washed away.
It’s so freeing to not have to cart around cleansers, washes, exfoliators, serums, masks, and moisturisers – which I don’t use anyway (click here for more on the case for not using moisturisers) around with you, knowing that your skin can achieve peak condition without any of them. And that’s without even mentioning the money you’ll save.
But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t clean your face thoroughly every evening to remove makeup, bacteria, dirt, sweat, and pollutants. Healthy skin depends on a subtle alchemy of factors including genetics, diet, activity levels, environment and age. As we grow older our skin produces less oil, natural exfoliation slows down, plus our levels of the hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone decline, which have an effect on the thickness and dryness of the skin. Just as we have to modify our diets as we grow older, we should also adapt our beauty routine. Not washing or cleansing your face in the morning may benefit older skin a lot more than younger skin.
But before you say yaaay! One less thing to think about in the morning, there are some provisos to discarding this daily ritual:
You must clean skin thoroughly every night. If your skin is dirty in the morning, it means you didn't clean it well at night. If skin isn’t cleaned thoroughly it can clog pores and cause pimples and blemishes.
Your pillowcase must be completely clean and changed frequently (I use a silk one).
Wipe away sleep and drool. Splash with cold water if necessary.
In the morning just use Oleicia Facial oil – as it doesn’t disrupt our natural oil barrier, mixed with a little SPF cream – as oil alone doesn’t have the humectant qualities that help skin retain moisture. Massage into the face.
And don’t touch your face during the day. Your fingers carry bacteria which can spread onto your face.
Our culture has us believing that cleansing morning and evening is best for us, but it isn’t. There isn't a need to rewash your face in the morning as there isn't any makeup, sunscreen, pollutants, and dirt to remove. There may be a little sweat, sleep and drool (lol), and if so you can splash with cool water before putting on your oil and aloe.
The natural oil our bodies produce is good for our skin, providing a defensive barrier that keeps skin supple. Don’t wash it off.