Blog #5: Cleansers

Cleansers: Сleansing you face is not only just a hygienic procedure. It is the preparation of the epidermis to the next steps of the skincare. And how we wash, how often and how well we clean our skin depends on its condition and the effectiveness of the following products.

The main purpose of the cleansing is to remove dust, oil, sweat, pollution and bacteria.

I always say that when you go out, even on the foulest day: we can wear everything, but only one place is most of the time not covered - our face. Even indoors, particles of dust, dirt, chemicals and bacteria settle on your skin. So even if you haven't put on makeup or been home during the whole day, there's bound to be cleansing in the evening.

The skin has a lot of functions and one of them is the excretory Function and Respiratory Function ( about 2%) – just to tell in advance - you need to wash your face in the morning and not only just with water.

You can't jump over the first phase and start to use a toner on your skin right away or just put serum or cream on an unprepared skin. You can spend money on expensive serums and/or creams, but they won't work if you don't have the correct cleansing routine. Well, they may give you the sensation of comfort.

Moreover, if we wash wrongly, there is a dull complexion due to the layer of dead cells, the appearance of blackheads and acne, excessive greasiness of the skin and much more.

There are also beneficial bacteria on the skin surface. So “overcleaning” is also not good. The use of brushes or scrubs every day and aggressive cleansers can traumatize the skin even more and harm so important skin barrier.

Correct cleansing

Correct cleansing must be gentle! Without the right cleanser, there will be no healthy skin - that's the key.

• 1. Wash twice a day in the morning and evening. Minimum twice, but also not too often.

• 2. Simple and frequent contact with water, even without the use of special products, can have a negative impact on the skin barrier and skin in general.

• 3. I advise you to avoid alkaline cleansers, which may be too aggressive and may disturb the pH of the skin, which in turn leads to dryness, redness, peeling, as well as increased greasiness in oily skin.

• 4. Use the right product for your skin type. If you want to find correct one,  I always recommend asking a specialist, not a salesperson or blogger or trusting someone’s feedback.

• 5. Wash your face with cool water - not hot (dries the skin) and not super cold (badly removes fat-soluble dirt and sebum).

• 6. Remember to distinguish between cleansing your face and removing your makeup. It's two different stages. First of all, we remove the makeup, and then we clean the face.

• 7. Don’t forget to clean your neck and decollete.

• 8. I always advise my clients to use upward massage movements when you wash your face. Do not stretch aggressively the skin and especially not to pull it downwards. As we age, our skin will start to sag, so why should we help?

I personally use  Biologique Recherche cleansing milk – as a cleanser  and Bioderma micellair water (pink one) – to remove makeup