I Stopped Washing My Face for a Month – Here’s Why You Should Too

So here’s the thing –

I’ve been planning for a while to write a post on why “I Stopped Washing My Face in the Morning” for a long while. Why? Well, because over the last year, I stopped using cleansers in the morning – completely stopped – here’s the reason:

Truth is, after a night’s sleep (unless you were out in a sand storm battle field while getting your beauty z’s), your skin isn’t really all that dirty. In fact, you’ve probably noticed in the morning when cleansing your face, all you’re removing is last night’s products that you put on to keep your skin youthful and dewy (think serums, oils, moisturizers and eye creams). And to be quite frank, you wanted that on your skin for a reason.

What I realized is that, no amount of cleansing changed my skin’s behaviour (even using a super gentle moisturizing cleanser) because the truth was, my skin didn’t need to be cleansed.

So, during the course of the last year, I’ve used only a gentle Konjac Sponge instead. That’s it. Just plain good ol’ water, and a low-cost sponge – they’re only $10 USD.

This is awesome for two reasons:

1. Your (sometimes expensive) cleanser is going to last you twice as long.
2. Your skin is going to look fantastic, and maintain its natural moisture better.

Boom!

… So, this summer, while traveling Bali, I thought I’d take it a step further.

I decided to not wash my face for a month.

My vow was to avoid wearing makeup (who needs makeup in Bali?!) and instead, just use sunscreen when needed.

To my surprise, my skin was fine. No big breakouts, no “dirt” on my face, just clean, good skin. In fact, my skin behaved really, really well. The proof is in the pudding: here’s an unedited selfie below.

Now, I did use water to splash my face at the end of the days, and in the morning, but I avoided using cleansers, with the exception of some bamboo wipes when I had a really thick “sunscreen day.” Other than that, my skin was looking dewy and glowing.

Here’s why: when we cleanse our skin, a cleanser does it’s job and strips the skin of its natural oils. Further, it also throws off the natural bacteria balance.

When allowing the skin to just do it’s darn thing, we’re allowing it to heal, without getting in its way. It naturally balances its oils, and bacteria.

So the real question: Will I quit cleansing for good?

In short: No!

I like to use it to take off makeup at the end of the day (I don’t want to push and pull around the delicate eye area when removing mascara – gentle is best to protect the skin).

So, my routine is this: if I’ve worn makeup that day, I’ll cleanse with a gentle cleanser, such as Josh Rosebrook’s Complete Moisture Cleanse ($50 USD at the Detox Market).

Stick to natural cleansers that feel a little creamier— try to get over the need to feel “squeaky-clean” and “tight”, your skin will improve with this switch.

In the mornings, it’s only water and a konjac sponge.

That’s it. Easy, peasy.

Give it a try.

Just change out your morning cleanse for a water splash, and let me know how you experience it.

X

K