miserable. After rinsing your face with tepid water, pat it dry with a clean towel. All this hardly takes
a second but makes a lot of difference to your skin.
Cleanse Twice a Day
No matter if you use layers of makeup or your cosmetic bag contains just an odd jar of lip balm,
make a habit of washing your face once in the morning and once in the evening. Wash or at least wipe
your face after any vigorous activity that makes you perspire, like exercise.
The morning cleansing should be gentle. Work the cleanser of your choice in circular motions,
starting with your forehead and moving down to your cheeks and nose. Work the nose area well.
Don’t forget to wash your chin, throat, and the jawline area, especially under your ears. If you are
using a medicated cleanser, for example, with salicylic or glycolic acid, leave it on for only a few
minutes before rinsing.
Green Tip
Exfoliating cleansers are useful when you have relatively clear skin, especially if you spend a lot of time in a room
with central air-conditioning or during the summer since dry air speeds up the cell-shedding rate.
You should double-cleanse your face in the evening. In general, the evening cleansing is more
important than washing your face in the morning (which doesn’t mean you can skip the morning
wash!). Make it a new habit to double-cleanse in the evening. It takes slightly longer than a basic rub-
rub-rub, splash-splash, but the results are nothing short of remarkable.
How to Double-Cleanse
Double-cleansing is making news, although this technique is nothing new. Some sources claim that
the double-cleansing method originated in European spas, while others argue that facial cleansing oil
has been a staple of Asian skin care rituals for a very long time. No matter where it comes from,
double-cleansing can make a whole world of difference, if correctly used and adjusted to your skin’s
needs and its current condition.
During the first step, use an oil-based cleanser to get rid of the surface dirt, which, as we already
know, consists of airborne particles, dust, makeup, sebum, dried sweat, dead bacteria, and residue
from moisturizers and sunscreens. The higher the content of oil, the better the cleansing power. All
you need is to massage the cleansing oil onto your dry face with dry fingertips to dissolve the makeup
gently. Some cleansing oils will stick to your face and be hard to wash off. To speed things up, use a
soft muslin cloth, available from many health stores. Eve Lom was the first cosmetic manufacturer to
sell her cleansing balm complete with muslin cloths.
Green Tip
Cleansing creams may feel oilier to the touch, because of the low emulsifier content, but they are much safer on
sensitive and acne-prone skin.
Contrary to popular belief, oily cleansers will not aggravate acne or cause new outbreaks because
they are much gentler to the skin than conventional cleansers with sulfate-based surfactants. When
stripped of the skin’s own sebum and further irritated by antibacterial agents and penetration
enhancers found in synthetic cleansers, some skin may experience dryness, and to compensate for this
dryness, your skin will secrete more sebum. Some people may experience whiteheads a few days
after they start using the cleansing oil. This happens when you use a second cleanser to complete the
double-cleansing ritual or when you do not remove the first cleanser properly.
As I mastered the art of double-cleansing, I found that many good cleansing oils and creams do not