We’ve been hearing something scary from more than one client. Its come to our attention that people are not performing a thorough cleanse as part of their skincare routine. Some are merely using a body soap while in the shower, while others are leaving their makeup on, then applying a night cream on dirty skin.
This defies the definition of good skincare and we cannot encourage you more strongly to incorporate a proper cleanse morning and night. To understand why, you need to know what happens to your skin when it isn’t cleaned properly.
Smoking, alcohol, stress, environmental pollution, a poor diet and lack of exercise are all guilty of the same crime; they prematurely age our skin. Now add one more offender to the list; Sleeping with makeup on. Hands up if you’ve done this before either when dozing off on the couch or after a night out indulging in one glass too many. We all have. Its therefore imperative that we improve our skincare routine, especially at night as this is when skin renews itself.
What could go wrong
- Sleeping with makeup and daily grime on our faces has a occlusive effect, meaning it forms a barrier over the skin. Oxygen is locked out, and in the absence of oxygen, bacteria breeds faster than proverbial rabbits. Irritants and pollutants, the two biggest driving forces behind free radical, are now also locked in. The skin’s renewing process is now sabotaged and clogged pores will cause inflammation, enlarged pores and acne. Dirt also clog pores causing them to either enlarge or become inflamed.
- Eye makeup can clog the tiny hair follicles and oil glands around the eye area causing small bumps called styes or hordeolums. Styes may lead to lashes falling out or restrict new hair growth and who
- Sleeping with makeup increases your exposure to free radicals and environmental stress which has been shown to cause premature aging of skin.
- Leftover makeup prevents product absorption into the skin. Applying moisturiser on unclean is pointless as it will either sit on the dirt or slide off. Either way, you’ll wake up with a dry, tight skin lacking elasticity, which causes the formation of wrinkles.
- If you have slept with makeup on, change your pillowcase. Bacteria left behind from the night before will simply get recycled back onto your skin causing infections and irritations.
How to make it right
A proper cleanse can eliminate all this skin damage in two easy steps taking less time than it does to boil an egg.
- Remove makeup with a prpoer makeup remover as it’s been designed to dilute the stubborn ingredients found in cosmetics.
- Wash with a cleanser properly suited to your skin type. Use gentle circular motions to stimulate product removal as opposed to rubbing and stretching the skin. We stock the Bio-Therapeutic facial cleansing brush which tops all others. The bt-sonic is fun to use and gives a professional quality cleanse in under two minutes, leaving a radiantly smooth palette for flawless product or makeup application.
- Now you’re ready to apply a serum or moisturiser safe in the knowledge that your products will work as keeping the aging process at bay.
Research has proven that by leaving your makeup on overnight for one month, you’ve singlehanded contributed to dry flaky skin, blemishes, wrinkles, enlarged pores blackheads, whiteheads and wrinkles. You skin would have aged by at least 10 years. And who wants that. Speak to our therapists about the right cleansing product for you as our range of products is as extensive as the skin types there are around.
