Once winter is over and the weather starts warming up, you may notice your skin getting a little greasier. High temperatures and humidity stimulate the skin’s sebaceous glands to produce more oil. This, coupled with the extra sweat people experience during the spring and summer months, means many people wash their faces several times daily.
This is especially common in those with acne-prone skin, and it’s easy to see why. Acne is caused by sebum, sweat, dirt, and dead skin cells that clog pores. If you wash your face regularly, you can better prevent breakouts on your skin.
In theory, this makes sense. In reality, however, things don’t work that way. On the contrary, washing your face regularly may make your condition worse.
So, how often should you wash your face during the warmer months?
Why is it important not to wash your face often?
Before discussing how often to wash your face, let’s quickly discuss why this is important.
Every time you wash your face, you remove more than sebum and dirt. Conversely, your cleanser can also interfere with your skin’s natural protective barrier. This barrier has several key functions. Not only does it protect your skin from environmental irritations and allergens, but it also retains moisture in your skin and prevents moisture from evaporating too quickly.
The more you wash your face, the weaker your skin barrier becomes. This will prevent it from working as it should. Your skin will lose water faster, making it prone to dehydration, which in turn will further increase sebum production. It also has to deal with more environmental stimuli. This leads to more skin inflammation, which means acne will grow faster.
While washing your face a few times a day may temporarily relieve your skin during the warmer months, it will not do your skin any good in the long run. At the same time, you don’t want to wash too much, so maintaining the perfect balance is crucial.
So, how often should you wash your face in spring and summer?
Experts generally recommend cleaning twice a day, no matter the time of year. This also applies to oily skin. While doing an extra midday clean may be tempting, resist the urge. Use the cleanser once in the morning and again at night.
How to wash your face in warmer months
While washing your face may seem self-evident, adopting the wrong approach can make your efforts ineffective. There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things – and knowing this can have a significant impact on your skin:
Temperature of water
Let’s start with the water temperature. Many people bathe under steam heads. It might make you feel relaxed, but hot water is nasty for your skin. Similarly, just like using an overly harsh cleanser, it can melt away too much of your skin’s protective barrier, leaving your skin vulnerable. Instead, warm water is the way to go. Choose a warm enough to feel comfortable but not so hot that you risk burning your skin.
Take off the makeup
If you wear makeup, you may also want to remove it with a cleanser. While many face washes handle makeup without any problems, you’re better off using a dedicated makeup remover first. After all, you want your cleanser to focus on removing dirt and sebum from your skin. If it is immediately faced with the obstacle of makeup, it cannot do this very well.
Use the right amount of product
If your face feels particularly greasy or dirty, using a lot of cleanser can sometimes be tempting. After all, does more cleanser mean better cleaning?
While it’s understandable for people to think that, it’s not. Instead, the recommended amount on the package is the amount you should use. As long as you buy a cleanser from a reputable brand, it will undergo many trials and tests to determine the most appropriate amount of product. Excessive application may irritate the skin.
Cleaning technique
Have you ever violently rubbed cleanser onto your skin? If so, it’s time to change your habits. Even with the mildest cleanser, too rough can break down the skin’s protective barrier. As you know, you need to keep this as much as possible. Instead of rubbing or scrubbing, you only need to gently massage your cleanser onto your skin instead of rubbing or scrubbing. The ingredients in the cleanser will take care of the rest!
