We all know the importance of using a facial cleanser to remove excess oil, dirt and, of course, make-up, but have you ever wondered what makes one cleanser better than another? In fact, there are certain properties that you need to look for in a skin cleanser and other properties that you need to completely avoid.
The most essential thing is that a cleanser should work with your skin instead of against it, and this means that it should not remove the natural oils of your skin or cause an imbalance in the acid mantle of the epidermis. If your skin feels tight and dry after you have used your cleanser, this is a sign that something is wrong. This feeling could mean that your cleanser has stripped away your skin’s natural oils, and this can potentially cause problems with your skin’s barrier function.
Your skin is essentially a barrier – it protects you from the elements such as the cold and rain in the winter and the sun in the summer.
If this barrier is compromised, it can lead to skin damage. The skin barrier also ensures that the right acidic balance of your skin is maintained and that any water loss is controlled. When these aspects of the skin barrier are compromised, sensitive skin and skin irritations will frequently develop.
So now that we have established why cleansing is important, how often should you cleanse your skin? We recommend that you use a facial cleanser such as our vimala gentle cleanser in the morning and evening. If you are removing makeup, a double cleanse is advisable as a great deal of cosmetic products can be that much trickier to remove, and you want your skin to feel perfectly clean after you cleanse. Our cleanser is gentle enough for daily use but effective enough to ensure that your face is entirely clean and ready to take in all the benefits of a facial serum with no pollution in the pores to compromise this balance.
And it is important to keep in mind that your cleanser will not perform any anti ageing miracles like serums. The purpose of a cleanser is to simply and effectively cleanse your face of dirt and impurities while maintaining your skin’s natural oils and pH levels, and also keeping the skin barrier healthy. Happy cleansing!
As always, we welcome any comments or questions on this topic, so please feel free to join the conversation!