Showering after a long, tiring day while working up a luscious lather seems like the most relaxing thing. When you wash your body and hair, you would naturally reach for the face cleanser to clean your face too. But did you know that such a small, seemingly innocent habit could be doing more harm to your skin than any good? Beauty, of course, is always personal. Which-ever products you use for the purpose you see, it depends on you only.
But in this article, we merely would try to display before you the opinions and views of different educators, writers, dermatologists, etc., regarding the topic at hand. We understand that reaching for your face cleanser in the shower is very convenient, but the questions remain- should you be doing so, and if not, what is the reason?
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Debate Surrounding Washing Your Face In The Shower
Washing your face in the shower is very convenient as it is. But there have been studies by experts who say that hot water could strip our skin of all its natural oils. These natural oils are essential for our skin to glow in appearance and be hydrated. If you love long hot showers, you could be exposing your skin to more damage.
More sizzling water for an extended period could damage your skin in various ways. That extra heat could irritate the delicate skin of your face. If your skin type is sensitive, the heat could damage your skin more. With worsening skin conditions, studies suggest that you could even get acne.
Busting Myths
Though the statements mentioned earlier could be valid reasons, some myths need to be busted too. Some people think that bathroom bacteria are an excellent reason you shouldn’t wash your face in the shower. They suggest that you could expose your skin to any nasty stuff or bacteria that could exist in the air of your bathroom.
According to experts, such myths are common. One expert even said that she washes her face every day while showering. What experts urge people to do is to be cautious while washing their face in a shower. You need to have precisely the correct temperature of the water so that it reaps benefits and doesn’t cause any damage to your skin.
What Do Experts Say?
Ivy Lee is a certified dermatologist based in California. According to her, most risks revolve around dehydration caused by hot water or that hot water might dilate and cause bursts in the blood vessels in your skin, which are pretty sensitive. She is also aware of the alleged claims that airborne bacteria present in bathrooms could result in infections in the skin. She opines that though these could be true, there is no scientific evidence to support such claims.
One facialist based in London named Abigail James says that you could get some benefits from washing your face while showering. She opines that the steam from your shower could potentially help in the process of facial cleansing. In most parts of the globe, people use steam to cleanse the skin as a step in their facial routine. The steam softens the constitution of the pores in your skin, thus making any cleansing more effective. She maintains that people should do a routine cleaning of their face, whether in the shower or otherwise. You should choose a cleansing process that works well for your skin.
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Wash Your Face In The Shower
Though the reasons below are circumstantial evidence and still under speculation, you must understand that scientists still don’t have any proof that these are true. They say prevention is better than a cure. You at least have the right to know all problems that may arise if you wash your face in a hot shower.
- Ivy Lee, the dermatologist that we spoke about earlier, says that though there is no actual proof that washing your face while showering would cause acne, she believes it may trigger rosacea. She mentions that being in the shower for a prolonged time could exacerbate rosacea as all the heat in the shower may dilate the delicate blood vessels in your face.
- Abigail James agrees that washing your face in the shower won’t necessarily cause or worsen acne or breakouts. She says this as there are many more complex acne causes, stress, hormonal imbalances, etc.
Conclusion
You probably know very well by now that washing your face in the shower won’t cause or worsen your acne. Still, you must be careful not to set the water temperature too high. You could wash your face in hot showers once or twice in an entire week, as that is ideal.
The most important thing is to clean your face regularly, whether you do it in the shower or use creamy face cleansers. Cleansing is essential to keep your face healthy, glowing, and free of dirt. The best times to cleanse are first thing in the morning or before you go to bed to wash your face of all the dirt your face accumulated during the day.
