According to most skincare professionals, keeping your complexion clear and glowing begins with a good cleaning regime.
Giving your face a good clean both in the morning, and again in the evening, before you go to bed, will remove pore-clogging dirt and grime, traces of make-up and excess oils, ensuring that all those expensive lotions and potions you buy actually will get to do their job.
The thing is; most of us are always a little time-trapped in the morning, no? Meaning that many (most?) of us, resort to giving our faces a quick wash while we are already in the shower, simply by tilting our face upwards beneath the refreshing running water.
It seems like the quickest and most effective way to get the job done, right?
Wrong. At least if you want to stay pretty. A leading Australian skincare expert recently told Daily Mail Australia how women are ruining their skin by washing their face in the shower, as the temperature and pressure there are far too harsh for your face.
"A lot of people still wash their faces under the shower, at the same temperature and pressure as what they wash their body with," explains Kaye Scott, founder and co-director of The Clinic in Sydney to the newspaper. "But this is not a good idea."
Scott explains that these hot conditions can lead to over-cleansing of the skin, and therefore ridding our faces of their natural, protective oils.
"A hot shower can cause and exacerbate fragile capillary networks in the cheeks, leading to unattractive, visible capillary networks and worsened impaired skin conditions."
Meaning, while standing under the hot water and letting it wash over your face might
feel lovely, chances are you are actually both irritating and drying out your skin, as well as helping dilate blood vessels - making your face look more red.
Another problem arises if you are also washing your hair at the same time, as shampoo and conditioner also wreak havoc on your facial skin, while the water from the shower mixed in with the shampoo will help to aggressively dehydrate your skin.
The solution, according to the expert? Cleanse at the sink, where you easier can control the water temperature, keeping it at a 'tepid' rather than 'hot' level.
"The best way to keep your skin looking its flawless best is to cleanse and rinse at the bathroom sink, always ensuring the tap water is tepid, no hotter,' Scott said. "When you wash your face at the sink you're cupping the water, which means you're using less and you are also making it cooler on your skin."
OK, we are convinced. Invest those extra three minutes in your morning routine, and your skin will no doubt look so much better for it.
