How to Wash Your Face

The beauty market is teeming with an extensive variety of cleanser products, and it can be overwhelming to figure out the right regimen for your skin. Here are some tips on what to look for in a cleanser and how to not “overwash” your face.

Find the pH sweet spot. pH is a form of measurement that determines a solution’s acidity versus its alkalinity. Zero is considered the most acidic pH level and 14 is the most alkaline. The skin’s level is around a five; it’s slightly acidic while keeping in moisture. Cleansers that give the face that squeaky clean feeling are probably not as great at protecting your skin as you think. If your cleanser makes your face feel tight, dry, or inflamed, it’s likely that it has a highly alkalinity, and your skin will spend the rest of the day recovering and returning to its original pH level. Avoid cleansers that contain soap and sulfate-based formulas as they are usually high on the pH scale.

Don’t over-cleanse. According to Tiffany Masterson, founder of Drunk Elephant, maintaining healthy and glowing skin means limiting your face washing to once a day. Washing your face in the morning and at night can erase the skin’s lipids and ruin the skin barrier function, which increases the risk for breakouts, irritation, and lowered resistance to UVA and UVB rays. Masterson recommends washing the face at night to “get the grime and makeup off. Then add your serums and moisturizers, and while you’re sleeping, you’re nourishing your acid mantle. You don’t want to wash that off in the morning,” she said.