As an affiliate and Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Damaging face washing mistakes can lead to premature aging of the skin. However, before opting for expensive medical procedures, taking care of your skin can prevent the majority of them. Just creating a minimal and basic skincare routine – like smart face washing ritual – will eliminate the unnecessary worries and early aging of your skin.
With the common sense actions that the majority never does, every woman has a huge potential to a beautiful, healthy skin. Here’s How to Slow Down Skin Aging in this day and age.
My guest today Dr. Manish Shah, a board-certified plastic surgeon, confirms the preventative measures of how to feel and look great at any age. When you avoid making these face washing mistakes, you will contribute to your own long-term skin health and attractive visual appearance of your face and decollete area.
Scrubbing Skin Too Hard Causes Micro-tears
Instead of rubbing and scrubbing your face to try to get it squeaky clean, your motions with your cleanser should be as gentle as possible. Your hands should not be doing all the work!
Scrubbing the skin too harshly or with materials that add exfoliation can cause micro-tears in the skin, as well as excessive elimination of essential oils which leave the skin dry.
Over Exfoliating Skin During Cleansing Can Be Dangerous
While gently exfoliating a few nights a week can do wonders for the skin, it’s easy to go overboard. What keeps your skin looking fresh, young, and hydrated is preserving the outer layers glow by lightly helping it shed old skin cells and moisturizing to help cell turnover.
However, “the danger is that many people don’t think to consider their loofah or washcloth as an exfoliation tool. Even if you are only using an exfoliant a few days a week, when you are scrubbing with a harsher material every day, you could be exfoliating more than you intend. Such “dedication” to skin exfoliation can cause dryness, red patches, dehydration, and hyperpigmentation,” warns Dr. Shah.
Discover and Learn About the Benefits of Dry Skin Brushing and how it can change your well-being.
Is It Good Using Soap for Face Washing?
Many people are guilty of this one. Women may think that soap is soap, and a clean face is just a clean face, but you could be damaging your skin and aging yourself by washing the face with any available hand soap.
Soaps with fragrances can be especially irritating to the skin. Fragrance is a synthetic aroma added to the product for its more successful marketing. I avoid such soaps overall and any other skin care product that has “fragrance” on the Ingredients list.
Overall, these soaps are not made for the face. While this may be a minimalist approach, it borders on detrimental. Such hand and facial soaps are dehydrating and lack many of the ingredients that support your skin functions.
Remember that your skin consists of many groups of protective layers, like lipids and sweat and hair follicles. As a result of washing skin with a harsh soap, you may be stripping your skin off the protections it needs to perform its ultimate tasks.
Take a look at a family of factors that age your skin, and thus develop a plan to Optimize Your Skin’s Health and Complexion.
Washing Face With Hot Water Dehydrates the Skin
Though it might feel good, using hot water to cleanse your face can actually dehydrate it. Hot water can be abrasive, stripping the skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and flaky.
Such face cleansing can also lead to acne flare, breakouts, and skin irritation. For best results, rinse your face with lukewarm or cool water – not cold either – to help constrict blood vessels.
Dr. Shah also points out that “hot water enlarges your pores, and this can affect the oil production of the skin as well as the texture of it.”
Is Washing More Than Twice A Day Good for Your Skin?
You may be thinking, the cleaner, the better, right? Think again. Over-washing your face can actually damage the skin’s natural protective system. By destroying and washing away the protective lipids can affect how easily the environment irritates your skin and how efficiently you retain moisture. This is why your skin can show early signs of aging such as fine lines and dry patches.
“As a general rule of thumb, you should not be washing your face more than twice a day. If you have an activity like working out or an outdoor sport in the middle of the day, try to use a bland soap or cleanser to wash away dirt and sweat without further irritating the skin,” advises Dr. Shah.
Practical tip on face washing after the workout at the gym
What I have learned through my personal experience is that washing off sweat after a workout is a must-do!
In the past, I used to leave the gym in my sweaty clothes and with a sweaty face, too. At home, I would do some quick chores before jumping into the shower. By the time when I begin washing off all the sweat that I worked out at the gym, it has become dry and merged with my skin. Not good.
The sweat residue has a lot of bacteria in it. During the workout, these bacteria are being sweated out of the pores where they accumulate. Letting it settle into the pores back after the workout is not good! Leaving such a combustible mixture on our faces, even for an hour after the workout, can result in breakouts, milia, rashes, and skin inflammation.
Is It Bad to Use a Washcloth on Your Face?
There’s nothing bad when you are using a washcloth during cleansing your face. But you need to take into account two things to prevent your skin from wear and tear, literally.
First, use a super soft cloth on your face during cleansing. You may opt for baby quality fabrics and baby cloths.
Second, never scrub your facial skin! During such scrubbing, tiny irritations can easily become post-inflammatory pigmentation. Basically, when skin heals, it will create a darker pigmentation spot on your face.
I use these wash cloths for an Oil Cleansing or Double Cleansing skin routine daily, with a few misses here and there. And during the first cleansing stage I use these amazing and affordable washcloths you can get in the quantities your skin care routine calls for.
Here are my favorite wash cloths for the double-oil cleansing:
– Organic and soft, all white, buy them HERE
– If you need in large quantities, get this pack, which I got for my entire family, shop HERE
– These are wash cloths of earthy colors I adore! Check them out and buy HERE
– And this is a 5-pack organic white washcloths that are wonderful as well, get them HERE.
However, here are some unique makeup wash clothes you can use to avoid harsh cleansing over your facial skin.
A MakeupEraser is one of the top in the market to offer you significant advantages during a makeup removal from the skin. The reason it works when soaked in water and then applied to skin is this. This makeup removal cloth has patented hair-like fibers. But these fibers are 10 to 50 times thinner. During the friction, when you clean your hair with a wet MakeupEraser washing cloth, the particles adhere to the tiny fibers and are carried away from the skin.
You can buy this “magical” makeup cloth HERE in a rainbow of colors!
What Excessive Skin Toner Usage Can Do
Facial toners are an essential part of any beauty routine. However, using too much toner can dry out the skin. Besides, it may even lead to more sebum production, as your glands attempt to overcompensate.
If you find your skin feeling tight or irritated after applying toner, you may be using too much, and this is especially true if you have sensitive or combination skin.
Some toners come in a spray bottle, which is great for applying a light layer over the skin after cleansing. If not, simply pour a few drops of toner on a cotton pad and gently glide it across the face.
Also, many toners have alcohol-based ingredients, such as denatured alcohol, in them. Avoid toners with these ingredients at all costs – as they will dry the skin completely and remove natural oils needed to keep the skin moist and healthy.
Using Harsh Products Without Knowledge
Using strong or harsh skin care products contribute to the damaging face washing mistakes, as they are used during and after the face cleansing.
As consumers become more sophisticated, they inquire about ingredients such as retinol. They know it is super hydrating and great for the skin, but they don’t understand that skincare needs to be sustainable. During their trip to the dermatologist, women ask for the strongest, most active form of prescription retinoid.
“This is a mistake,” says Dr. Shah, “any credible doctor will first assess the condition of your skin alongside the products and treatments you are already using in order to determine if you need prescription retinol or if a less active form sold over-the-counter is better for you.”
Dr. Shah explains that “retinol in less active forms will have similar effects without irritating the skin as much. More important, such less aggressive product will be as much helpful to you as a strong form of the retinoid when you continue using a product on your skin over time.”
Here’s a detailed post on the Anti-Aging Retinoid Therapy. You will learn the difference among Retinol and Retin-A skin care products.
Forgetting to Follow Up with Moisturizer Can Further Damage Skin
Moisturizing your facial skin is the last step in a simple skin care routine. Skipping it could be one of the biggest mistakes a woman does. Keeping your skin plump comes with good hydration and a wise use of skin care products.
A good moisturizer will protect a moisture barrier in the skin and also deliver the actives: vitamins, peptides, protection from the sun during the day, and food for the skin during the night.
A moisturizer for the day is usually less greasy and focuses on the moisture level while providing food for the skin as well. And night time moisturizer usually comes in a richer formula to support skin’s restorative process during the night.
“The best time to apply moisturizer is after the shower or after applying toner. This will help prevent excessive dryness, and it will help to skin retain moisture,” says Dr. Shah.
Moisturizers also come with a combination of vitamins and lipids that help the skin heal irritations, strengthen its protective functions, and look smoother and healthier.
If you really want to boost your skin’s potential to keep moisture in, then check out a detailed guide and explanation in easy terms to the Hyaluronic Acid Benefits for Women.
Hyaluronic acid is one of my top ingredients I try to get in many of my daily skin care products. Check out the post above I linked to also see examples of the products I use in my personal skin care regimen.
Now you know that practicing these damaging face washing mistakes will age your skin. The sooner you realize the importance of a doable, yet effective, skin care habits, the longer you shall enjoy your skin, your looks, your joys in life.
80 thoughts on “Do You Make These Damaging Face Washing Mistakes That AGE Your Skin?”
That’s a very informative post. I scrub my face a lot I need to stop doing that.
Brilliant review article! So much useful information and who knew that there was so much precision required for the skin care routine x
Your article on face washing mistakes is an eye-opener! It’s informative and highlights common blunders that can harm our skin. Your tips are practical and valuable for maintaining youthful skin. Thanks for sharing this important advice!
So interesting! I definitely need to lower the water temp now…I didn’t know about a lot of these things. Thank you so much for sharing 😀
Such an insightful post! 🌟 Taking care of our skin through simple yet effective skincare routines is truly the key to maintaining a youthful, radiant appearance. It’s incredible how something as basic as face washing can have a significant impact on our skin’s health and aging process. Dr. Manish Shah’s expertise adds a valuable perspective to this topic, emphasizing the importance of prevention in achieving beautiful, healthy skin.
Wow, thank you for all of these tips. I tend to use hot water and a face cloth or miscellar water on my face.
Great information! I avoid using scrubs on my face, but I didn’t know about the hot water. Next time I wash my face I’ll avoid using hot water like I normally do.
I did not think much about micro tiers to your skin! Thank you for these tips.
Oof! I’m a scrubber and I use hot water when I wash my face. I definitely need to change what I’m doing!
These are such fantastic tips to help keep skin young and supple. I do agree with not washing the face with hot water as well as using a gentle scrub on the face to keep skin healthy and not dry
Barbara,
All depends on personal preferences towards learning new things and trying something different.
I must say your blog post was an eye-opener for me! Your tips for face-washing were insightful and informative, and I realized I’ve been making some of these mistakes. Your writing style is engaging, and I appreciate the research you put into your work. Keep up the fantastic work!
Sofia,
You are so much welcome. Glad that you’ve got something practical from my writing.
I love the tips! I am guilty of doing some of these mistakes like washing my face with hot water. Thank you so much for letting me know.
Karen,
That is why you are here: learning is your best step forward!
I am guilty of these mistakes especially not washing off sweat after gym immediately. But I am working on it though.
Alita,
The more you know, the better your care taking becomes!
I really appreciate these tips, thanks for sharing them!
I have never used soap on my face, I’ve always used some sort of face wash or cleanser so it’s good to know this is a good option. I can be bad with how quick after working out that I wash my face x
Monica,
It is great that you are using face cleanser to preserve your facial skin and its integrity.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information about the damaging face-washing mistakes that can age our skin. I never knew that certain cleansing techniques could actually harm our skin in the long run. Your article has given me some great insights and tips to improve my skincare routine and ensure that my skin stays youthful and radiant for as long as possible.
Lavanda,
That’s the way to go, GRL, gently caring to your skin’s needs!
So happy that this information has been helpful and insightful to some degree.
Hugs!
Love this post so much. It’s just what I needed to read.
Wanda,
Glad it’s been really helpful for you!
luckily, my skin has never been sensitive but my teens is because she has eczema. We always buy decent cleaners and moisturizers.
Elizabeth,
The skin sensitivities are hard to deal with. And when you find the right skin care that handles the situation, it’s a huge relief.
I wish I had heard about these tips years ago-I guess it’s never too late!
Debbie,
Despair NOT!
Once you begin caring with these face washing and skin caring techniques, your skin shall become more resilient and firmer.
In addition to this post, check out some skin care products that can support your beautiful skin care at home:
– A post on Peptides, very detailed ==> https://celebratewomantoday.com/types-of-peptides-in-skin-care/
– Why A Woman Needs Hyaluronic Acid In Her Skin Care Routine
https://celebratewomantoday.com/hyaluronic-acid-benefits-for-women/
– Anti-Aging Retinoid Therapy for Women for Healthy Plump Skin
https://celebratewomantoday.com/anti-aging-retinoid-therapy-healthy-plump-skin/
Good information to know. Thanks so much!
Very informative. These are some great tips. Thanks so much.
Oh no ,,, I’ve made mistakes. Will be a better washer going forward. Thanks for sharing.
It’s always good to reread info like this! Thank you.
Tiffany,
I agree with you. Repetition makes things stick in our memory better.
Very informative! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
some useful tips
Thank you for all of this information. Some of it I already knew, but I definitely learned some things as well.
So important! I make sure not to exfoliate too much!
Good list of tips! I think I might be scrubbing my face too hard when I clean, so i’ll be more careful about that in the future. I had already preferred cold water to hot water when washing my face because of the feel, and it’s nice to learn that there are additional reasons to do so.
I have been using a soft washcloth for years. I limit the amount of makeup that I wear because I have not yet found an effective makeup remover that takes off all of my makeup without leaving residue to be picked up by my facecloth. I give my face a little massage with my fingers in the morning just using a gentle moisturizer. In the evening, I use a soft cloth, gentle exfoliator and my favorite moisturizing cream. Thank you for continuing to post articles that makes taking care of ourselves so much easier!
My skin needs help!! I really need to follow these tips and I likely over exfoliate or scrub too hard sometimes. My skin is aging a lot lately!
Definite great tips! I know that I am guilty of over exfoliating my skin.
My skin is super dry, so washing it seems to make it feel worse. Really need a good moisturizing cleanser
WOW!! I guess I can say I am at fault when it comes to washing my face . I often scrub to hard, even my sisters have told
me I need to be more gentle and I love your tips here. I think I can definitely benefit from these products here.
@tisonlyme143
Dorothy,
So glad this info helps and can support your skin care routine!
It really feels good when my work and research can be of value to my audience.
I love these tips. So many people abuse their skin.
Great tips you have provided, I agree with you that scrubbing too hard can damage the skin.
I’m also guilty of using soap to wash my face. Although I don’t use sponge just my hand, soap and cold water.
I never liked hot water on my face.
This are all good to know.
These are really great tips. I have a sensitive skin now I know how and when to use facewash.
I have to admit that I am horrible for scrubbing my face too hard.
Jackline,
Once you realize it, just be more aware of it when you wash your face. Patience, my friend.
These are all great tips. I’ve been looking for a good facial regime, this is one to consider. Thank you
Thank you M.,
These are some of the key points that have a direct relation to the skin damage, hence aging.
I am so guilty of most of these skincare mistakes. I do wash my face with soap and hot water most times because I prefer to wash in the shower as opposed to washing my face separate in the sink. I definitely need to take better care of my facial skin.
Kevin,
With this option, i.e., hot shower plus soap, you need to be aware that your skin is void of its moisturizing oils. Just use a good, rich moisturizer as the minimum when you’re out of shower. It will help to replenish the moisture in your skin.
However, if you do such washing every single day, what may happen is that pores will enlarge and the skin will become dryer as the years go by.
At least use the least hot temperature shower you can.
I am so much concerned with my skin now that I used to be, and this post really help me a lot to understand more about some routine.
Amy,
This is the whole point: to realize and understand what can be done to improve the quality of skin care routine.
First of all thank you for this great post that definitely a big help for us to maintain a great and amazing skin care regime. It is also a very informative, many things you’ve cited is really I don’t know.
Catherine,
Happy to support you in your journey to a happier, healthier you!
Great tips. I need to adjust my skincare routine.
I definitely related to a couple of these. Thanks for the tips
This is worth sharing. Thanks for this amazing and useful tips. I am sharing with my few friends
Sundeep,
Happy you could use some facts or/and suggestions from the post. I do a deep research and collaborations with dermatologists and medical beauty experts.
This time we are washing more than 10 times a day the hands, face etc, for protects us from COVID-19 without any other safety measure od SKIN Care, your post is very much supportive for readers.
Thank you, World In Eyes,
We need to disinfect, for sure, these days. But we need to add some love and care to the skin as well.
I do not really have skin care routine and I regret it. I only wash my face at night and that’s it. I probably should start using moisturizer.
Ruth,
One small step, but it’s gonna be an Action step that will begin making a difference.
These are really helpful tips!! Definitely worth sharing! Thank you!
Toni,
Glad you enjoyed the info.
I have super dry, wrinkly skin. These are great tips to help keep the aging at bay! I definitely need to remember to bring face wipes with me when I head to the gym and remember to wash my face immediately when I get home from kayaking.
Lisa,
Dry skin can be really demanding.
Keeping it clean and moisturized does make wonders.
You could also look into the night creams that deliver certain actives for the dry skin like Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramides, Rosehip oil, Hemp seed oil.
I am at that age that I need to start thinking how to slow down my skin aging! Thanks for sharing these tips!
My dermatologist recommends young girls to begin smart skin care.
When we are in the 20’s, it is the time to seriously figure out our daily and seasonal routine for the skin.
The skin goes through an accelerated process of aging when we do NOTHING.
Those are great tips. I def need to do better. I’ve been trying to find a better routine.
Katrina,
Just find ONE thing that you need to implement and do it.
Stick with it. Love it.
When it becomes a solid habit – move to the next small step.
Goodness I am guilty of so many of these! I will be making some changes that’s for sure. I think I finally found a great moisturizer so that’s a start.
Monica,
Realizing it is your first step, your Action Step.
Now, just take one thing and do it right.
Small steps will take you where you need to be.
I’m happy to know that I’m not doing any of these things! I guess I know a little about beauty!
Heather,
So happy for you, GRL!
I definitely feel it on my skin whenever I use overly hot water. I have dry skin as it is and the hot water takes a toll on my skin.
Lisa,
I have a sensitive skin. Our skin signals what is not to do for sure.