As you go about your day, your face gets all sorts of gunk, including dirt, sweat, dead skin, bacteria, and oil.It is important to cleanse your face at least twice a day. The facial cleansers are here to help you clean off the entire gunk without drying out your skin. They keep your skin fresh and they target and prevent specific skin issues. However, they can cause harm to your skin if you do not use the right facial cleanser for your skin type. While choosing these cleansing products, put into consideration, your skin type and the ingredient content of the product. Here are some tips to help you choose and get the best out of the facial cleansers.
1. Know your skin type
The skin varies from one person to another and from one region to another. It is important to identify your facial skin type in order to be in a position to find the best facial cleanser for it. Some skin types are easy to manage while others might be perpetually frustrating. The various skin types are sensitive skin, normal skin, oily skin, dry skin, and combination skin. Thus, you cannot use a similar facial cleanser in all skin types.2. Know the type of facial cleansers
Most of the cleansers are designed for specific skin types. Common types of skin cleansers are skin problem-specific, skin type-specific, post and pre-cleansers, and mild cleansers designed for everyday use.For normal skin: You can use a wide variety of skin products without worrying much. Normal skin is radiant and healthy, it has minimally enlarged pores, and it is not easily affected by weather. The recommended cleansers for them are those that contain antioxidants, botanical anti-inflammatory agents, retinol, and hydroxyl acids.
For dry skin: You should use cleanser whose ingredients are rich in moisturizing properties. They create a barrier that prevents your skin from drying by holding in moisture and phospholipids. The product should contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and barrier-repair moisturizing ingredients. Those with alpha hydroxyl acids exfoliate dry skin and allow efficient absorption of moisture. You can use oil-based products that contain natural oils. Products with surfactants dissolve oily molecules leading to further skin dryness.
For oily skin: Oily skin is due to overproduction of sebum from the sebaceous glands. The excess oil can clog your pores leading to skin disorders such as acne. When cleansing an oily skin, avoid products that contain oil be it synthetic or natural, fragrances or additives. Gel-based and foaming cleansers are the best facial cleanser for an oily skin. They contain ingredients such as antioxidants, botanical anti-inflammatory agents, retinol, and hydroxyl acids with an addition of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, turmeric or honey. Mild cleansers are highly recommended for oily skin, since they cleanse your pores without drying them up. They may also opt for exfoliating and astringent cleansers.
For sensitive skin: Sensitive skin tends to get irritated easily by products that contain harsh ingredients. They should use cleansers with mild ingredients such as anti-inflammatory agents, aloe, antioxidants in lower concentrations, and cucumber natural extracts. They should avoid alcohol-based products. You are recommended to seek out cleansers that are fragrance-free and are hypoallergic.
For combination skin: You are recommended to use a gel-based or mildly foaming cleanser. The gentle, water-soluble cleansers do not leave your face feeling tight or dry.
3. Use your cleansers appropriately
It is important to follow directions given to the latter to avoid breakouts or itchiness. Avoid scrubbing your face hard. Clean your hands first before touching your face. Try double cleansing; first cleansing removes surface dirt and makeup while the second one drives out sebum, sweat, and particles that are in your skin pores. Take your time and massage your skin in circular motions.Advantages of facial cleansers
- They clean out the pores preventing them from clogging.
- They leave your skin moist preparing it to absorb other health products to be applied effectively.
- They clear other products on your skin such as dirt, makeups, sweat etc.
- The cleansers remove the excess surface oils and dead skin cells.