The best ways to cleanse your skin

Of the many skin care inventions we should be thankful for, cleansers are high on the list - and for some unexpected as well as expected reasons. The expected - but nonetheless important reasons, are to rid the skin of its daily quota of grime and grease, clean it to make way for fresh make-up, allowing it to breathe and refresh itself. The unexpected reason is that the ritual of cleansing offers pure moments of unwinding and relaxation as the invigorating properties of the cleanser and its aromatic qualities calm the mind and revive your spirits. There's almost a philosophical aspect to seeing your real face emerge from under the make-up that helped you wear a different face all day. Cleansing the day's grime off a tired face brings about nearly the same sense of rejuvenation that a relaxing yoga session might for a tired brain. This week, we tackle a few aspects of the all-important facial cleansing ritual that are commonly misunderstood. The two basic tools This all-important daily skincare step has two essential mediums: Cleansing milk/make-up removers and face washes. "In a foaming cleanser or face wash, just like in any other product that has a cleansing property, it's the surfactants that are responsible for this function," says beauty expert Marie Julie W Ona, VMV Hypoallergenics Manager for Global Markets. "Chemical surfactants are what make the cleansers foam up and bubbly." On the other hand since the classic cleansing milk/make-up remover is only meant to remove make-up, it doesn't need too many surfactants that can dissolve grease. Instead, it has humectants (moisturising ingredients) such as glycerine and oils to lift off the make-up without drying the skin. Make-up removers contain only mild surfactants. Thorough cleansing does not mean over-cleansing Many women make this mistake and pay a heavy price for it, says Ona. "Over-cleansing can denature the skin - that is, it can over-dry it thereby increasing the risk of irritation and also of acne. The skin has natural sebum that it needs to maintain for softness, elasticity and hydration. At times we unconsciously over-cleanse, whether with soap or with cleansing milk and gels, and that can lead to the skin's barrier getting breached [from too much dryness] and altering its natural texture. Secondly, many products that contain scrub granules are too harsh for daily cleansing. They can irritate the skin and weaken its defences leading to infection, which can lead to acne." Even if a product is of very high quality, cleansing too frequently with it is not advisable, she says. It is not the product that is the issue here. The issue is your skin does not benefit from over-cleansing. For women with normal skin, a face wash should ideally be used once or twice a day and a cleansing milk/cream twice a day or as when needed to remove make-up. The ideal routine Cleansing needs to be a two-step process: The first step is to apply cleansing milk/or make-up remover with clean fingertips all over the face and then wipe it off gently with wet cotton wool. The second step is to clean the face with an anti-acne face wash for a thorough removal of oil and grime. Unlike soapy face washes that strip the skin of moisture every time you use them, cleansing milk/make-up removers are kinder to the skin. But since they only remove make-up and not oil and grime, a face wash is also necessary. It is also not a good idea to let a face wash alone rid your face of make-up. At all times, use a make-up remover first and then follow through with a face wash for truly clean skin. How to shop for a cleanser The hype of active ingredients in cleansers promising you miraculous skin benefits is enough to drown out the voice of reason. But it isn't actually very important to look for active ingredients in cleansing products according to Dr Horst Wenck, Corporate VP for Research at Nivea. The reason? "Unlike moisturisers, night creams and anti-ageing serums that stay on the skin for many hours, facial cleansers are not meant to stay on the skin for more than a minute or so and have to be wiped/rinsed off the face. Therefore the active ingredients won't have much time to act on the skin," he explains. The rule with buying cleansers is the same as with any other products. Choose a cleanser that best suits your skin type. But ensure that the product does not leave your skin feeling tight and stretched. If that happens, discontinue use immediately. For dry, dehydrated or mature skin the ideal choice is a rich, velvet-textured make-up removing cream/cleansing milk that hydrates. Follow this with a gentle face wash formulated for dry skin. Use the milk as and when required to remove make-up but do not wash your skin more than once or twice a day. Which means that if you are applying and removing make-up three times a day for instance, you need to simply dab the excess milk off your face, splash your face with water and pat dry rather than wash your face with soap after every make-up removal. On days when you find your face drier than usual, go easy on the face wash. Add a mild scrub to your regular cleansing milk instead and massage well onto the face for a couple of minutes concentrating on the T-zone. Cleansing milk will take off make-up, and mild surface exfoliation will dislodge greasy traces of the cleansing milk from the face. For acne-prone and oily skin, a greasy cleansing cream is not a good idea. Look for a gel version or go for a ‘non-greasy' watery cleansing milk. Follow this with an anti-acne face-wash. You can sometimes add a non-greasy scrub to your face wash as well. "Remember that the bubblier and foamier the cleanser, the more surfactants it has and excess surfactants are bad for everybody's skin, not just those with sensitive skin," cautions Ona. How do you remove very heavy make-up? "Make-up that is designed to stay on for long periods on the face is difficult to remove with simple surfactants that are in a make-up remover," says Ona. "For such make-up, you often need very harsh surfactants, and lots of it, for thorough cleansing. So when you wear very heavy make-up, use extra virgin olive/coconut oil to wipe it off for the first step. VMV, for instance, has a product called Know-It-Oil which is a special USDA-certified [US Department of Agriculture] organic virgin coconut oil that can effectively remove thick make-up [even stage make-up] while providing intensive hydration."