Well, looks like you did it again. That is, you came home after a late night out, flopped into the center of the bed and didn’t wash your face before falling straight to sleep. No worries, right? A few nights here and there sans face wash won’t cause your skin to fall completely into ruin.
While it’s true that a few nights won’t cause your face to age dramatically, avoiding the facial cleanser means your pores are more likely to get clogged by stray makeup, oils and toxins that haven’t been removed, all of which can cause acne. Getting rid of acne via an acne treatment is much harder than preventing it from happening in the first place. Not only that, but it’s harder to keep your skin looking young if you’re not using face wash (because obviously, if you’re not cleansing, you’re not applying moisturizer either).
If you shower at night, even washing your face with a shower gel is better than not washing at all. Here are three times when you absolutely should not forego washing your face.
After being around smoke.
There are some bars, restaurants and clubs in which smoking is still allowed. Whether or not you light up, being around secondhand smoke still puts toxins and chemicals into the air, and when you’re in the vicinity, those toxins cling to your hair, skin and clothing. Using facial cleanser allows you to clear away those toxins and smoke on your skin so they don’t affect how your skin ages.
When the air is polluted.
When you can step outside and see a thick haze in the air, it’s a pretty good bet that the air is polluted. Whether you live in a city like this or are just visiting, free radicals in the atmosphere can damage your skin cells, causing your skin to age more quickly than it otherwise would. Give your skin a fighting chance by using your face wash after coming inside from a hazy, polluted day.
After sweating a lot.
Whether you went to the gym after work, went out dancing with your friends or just suffered a miserably hot day, you may find yourself coming home completely drenched in sweat. Sweat can clog pores, and if you don’t have time to shower or wash your face, you may find yourself in need of a good acne treatment. You should foam up that facial cleanser as soon as possible after sweating, or even better, hop in the shower and suds up with some shower gel to prevent body acne. If you take care to get your skin clean, you won’t have to worry about getting rid of acne.
Sameer Patel
