Wash Your Face!

Nobody is perfect.  I have been committing one extremely terrible beauty faux pas my entire life.  I never, ever wash my face at night.  Ever.

Ever.

This is one of the most crucial beauty/face care steps of the day, and I have gone 24 years without doing it.  But today is the day that all changes!

So much oil, dirt, and dead skin builds up throughout the course of the day on your face.  If you let it sit there, it just clogs up your pores like cray cray.  I do exfoliate, wash, and moisturize my face every morning in the shower.. but that can only do so much.  If you let all that grime and makeup sit on your skin overnight -- when it is actually supposed to be healing and replenishing itself -- you can't really take that back in the morning.

To be fair, I don't wear face makeup -- on a regular day I only do my eyes/eyebrows, generally.  I haven't worn a foundation in years.  Even still, not washing even this amount of makeup off is terrible for your skin.  It can (like I mentioned) clog your pores, but it also can lead to premature aging, increase chances of breaking out, and dull the look of your skin (aka you won't have as radiant of a glow).

I decided that I'm going to simply remove my makeup and wash my face at night with a gentle cleanser, and still exfoliate in the morning.  I like the feeling of a fresh face to start my day, but I don't want to OVER-wash my skin.  Doing two rounds of washing/exfoliating in one day can really dry out skin and do a lot of damage, so try to pick either the beginning or the end of the day to do this.  [Don't forget!:  I use my 100% Argan Oil in the morning to moisturize my face and neutralize my oil production!]

I stopped at Walgreens on my way home and picked up Olay Fresh Effects Everything Off Deluxe Makeup Remover Wet Cloths.

For only $5 (there are 25 wipes to a package), it was a pretty good deal.  

I like that it has honeysuckle and white tea -- it actually smells like a nice cup of tea!  And the fact that it claims to get "everything off" is a plus.  I use a lot of stubborn waterproof makeup, and if one wipe can remove all of my eye product, it saves a ton of money.  The cloths themselves are very soft and gentle on the skin, so you don't have to worry about an abrasive material tugging at the sensitive skin around the eye area.

When removing makeup -- especially around the eyes -- make sure to use a GENTLE circular motion.  Don't aggressively rub back and forth!!  Even if you think this will remove your makeup faster and more efficiently, you are doing much more harm than good.  The skin around your eyes is extremely delicate, and very prone to wrinkles and sagging, so try to prevent unnecessary pulling and touching as much as possible!  (This goes for everything, even when applying eyeliner and rubbing in moisturizers.)

This will also save a few minutes in the morning because your makeup will already be off from the night before!

If you are like me and have simply skipped this step in your beauty routine, I hope I have inspired you to start washing your face at night!

xojaybee