Washing Your Face: What You Didn't Know You Didn't Know

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I recently started working as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. So far, I have held four facials and a party. I have been absolutely amazed at what I have learned about skincare basics--there is so much I didn't know I didn't know--and at what I have been able to teach other women about very basic beauty and everyday skincare.

Here are a few pointers for washing your face in the most effective way possible. You may already know some of these tricks, but I'm pretty sure at least one or two of them will be new to you. The good news is, they are all fast, quick fixes to the routine you probably already have.

1) Use warm water, which helps to open your pores. If you are washing your face in the shower, save the task until the end, right before you get out. The longer you expose your skin to the warm water and steam, the more open your pores will become--and the more receptive they will be to your cleanser.

2) Wash your hands before you wash your face. This seems like a no-brainer, but washing your face with dirty hands only means that the dirt and grime from your hands can (and probably will) be transferred onto your face.

3) Use your fingertips to gently massage your cleanser into your skin with small, circular motions.

4) Be sure those small, circular motions mentioned in Tip #3 above move upward on your skin, not downward. There are two reasons for this advice. First, your pores are angled slightly downward--like mini-blinds that are just slightly closed, so to more effectively expose them to the cleanser, you want to push them open by pushing up (using an upward circular motion instead of downward). Second--and this sounds ridiculous and a little far-fetched until you think about the millions of times you will wash and rub your face during your lifetime, it helps defy gravity just a little, thus helping to slow the appearance of wrinkles.

5) If you have extremely dry or sensitive skin, you may want to try washing your face once a day as opposed to twice a day. If you opt for once-a-day washing, wash in the evening before you go to bed instead of in the morning. During the course of the day, dust, perspiration, makeup (if you wear it), grime, and pollutants can accumulate on your skin. Washing in the evening--just before bed--helps wash this all away. As you sleep at night, you are exposed to far less "dirt" for a much shorter time than as you go about your daily activities.

6) When you dry your face, do not rub or wipe--pat. Patting your face dry helps reduce tugging on the skin, which can cause wrinkles. In addition, patting your face dry helps remove any remaining dirt that might be clinging to your skin. Think of the towel as a magnet for the water droplets and any leftover grime--touch it gently to your face and lift the water and dirt away.

Fast Fitness Tip: In light of Tip #6 directly above, do the same when you are removing sweat from your face as you work out. Whether you are using a towel, paper towel, T-shirt sleeve (whatever)--pat, don't wipe or rub. When you sweat, your pores open and can not only release but also "accept" grime. Wiping or rubbing sweat from your face can move grime from one set of pores, to another, whereas patting simply lifts the sweat and dirt away.