Are you using the wrong product to wash your face?

Beauty has a lot of rules. Don’t go to bed with your makeup on. Never leave the house without sunscreen. And while you’re pretty across them all, and mostly stick to each one (we’ll let the occasional night of going to bed without removing your makeup slide, but please don’t ever skip your sunscreen step), you’re probably still making a few mistakes along the way. Like using your fingertips or a cleansing brush to cleanse your face.

If you’re using just your fingers, you’re not getting a deep enough clean. But on the other hand, a cleansing device can be a breeding ground for bacteria since it’s so hard to clean.

So where does that leave you? Thankfully, the solution is super simple and you probably already own everything you need. Dr. Harold Lancer, who’s tended to some serious A-lister skin (think Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Victoria Beckham), shared this non-complicated, not-at-all expensive advice with USA Today.

“The best thing is to use a small cotton washcloth, some plain, low-astringent liquid cleanser, warm water, your hands, and just rub a dub scrub.”

What makes a washcloth so much better than a cleansing brush? “You just can’t clean [cleansing brushes] thoroughly enough, [but] a gentle cotton washcloth can be washed between uses. You also can’t clean your eye orbital area properly with some sort of device,” shares Lancer.

We’re big fans of cleansing brushes (that insanely satisfying feeling you get knowing it cleans your skin about six times better than if you just used your hands – so good!) but we can see what Lancer means about the bristles being tricky to clean. And we can honestly say we’ve never cleaned ours… oops!

Dirty bristles mean every time you’re washing your face, there’s a good chance you’re re-depositing old dirt and dead skin cells back onto your skin. Completely counterintuitive.

Due to a washcloth’s rough surface, it also exfoliates while it wipes away dirt and makeup, so that’s a nice bonus. Make sure you pick one that’s made of cotton or muslin because they’re gentle on skin and wash it after every use (otherwise you’ve got the exact same issue you had with your cleansing brush). Try KORA Organics Certified Organic Cotton Cleansing Cloths and Eve Lom Muslin Cloths. 

For a low-astringent liquid cleanser as per Lancer’s advice, try Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser - it comes with his tick of approval.

Want to up your cleansing game even further? Follow these six steps to improve your cleansing routine. 

What do you use to cleanse your face? Have you tried using a washcloth?

Main image credit: Getty