The new ways to wash your face

As far as beauty regimens go, you probably couldn’t find anything easier than the process of cleansing your face. 

But these days, the whole wet-cleanse-rinse routine has progressed to the point where you actually have some choice about how you wash your face. Here are four different ways to cleanse your face – which one you choose to follow is completely up to you. 

The traditional method

This is the most obvious (and popular) way to cleanse your skin – wet your hands, squeeze some cleanser into your palm, and proceed to massage the formulation into your face in small circular motions. 

To get the most out of this process, make sure you pay enough attention to each zone of your face, including all the way to your hairline and ears, and down to your jaw and neck. You should be cleansing your skin anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute. 

When it comes to rinsing, use water that’s lukewarm to wash off all of the residue – including the edges of your face. If you miss those areas, the build-up of product can lead to breakouts around your hairline.

Cleansing brushes

Whether electric, like the Clarisonic Smart Profile, or manual, like the Manicare Cleansing Brush, cleansing brushes offer a deeper clean than your fingers can. 

The bristles may seem like they could cause irritations or leave red marks, but they’re generally very soft and gentle on skin, and are the reason you get a clean that goes deep into your pores. 

To get the most out of your cleansing brush, wet your skin, smooth your cleanser over your face (without actually working it in), and then use your brush in small circular motions to gently massage the formula in. 

Most electric cleansing brushes work on a timer schedule, so you’ll know when to move from massaging your forehead to your cheeks. Most will go for a minute in total. 

It’s a bit of a different story with manual brushes, as they require you to do the hard work (i.e creating small circular motions), and it’s up to you to make sure each area of your face gets enough time. 

With both, it’s important to keep a light hold and not press the bristles into your skin too hard or rub too vigorously.

Facial cloths

Different to your run-of-the-mill hand towels or even face towels, facial cloths (we like Dermalogica The Sponge Cloth) are much more gentle on the skin, and are a great tool to exfoliate while you cleanse. 

You can choose one of two methods with the facial cloth:

- Wash your skin as you usually would, then wet your washcloth with lukewarm water and use it to wipe the cleanser off your face. Rinse the cloth and repeat until your cleanser is completely removed

- Wet your cloth and apply a small amount of cleanser directly onto it, then gently massage the fabric over your skin. Rinse the cloth thoroughly and then use it to wash the residue off your face. 

If you’re going to go this route with washing your face, make sure you only use your washcloth once before washing – the material can accumulate bacteria and dirt, and you don’t want to be letting that near your skin.

Facial sponges

Kind of the same thing as the facial cloths, facial sponges can help gently exfoliate your skin and work that extra bit harder than your fingers to cleanse and draw out impurities. 

While you could use those flat circular sponges, there are some sponges that have been designed specifically for facial cleansing, like the Konjac Sponge Puff. 

To use, cleanse your skin then soak your sponge and squeeze out the excess water before using it to wipe off any cleanser. Like with a cloth, make sure not to rub too enthusiastically, as this can irritate your skin.