Cleansing. It’s the first step in your skincare routine, and arguably the most important. Why? It may seem obvious as it’s in the name, but cleansing removes impurities from your skin, so you can keep it feeling and looking healthy and fresh.

Throughout the day, the skin on your face comes into contact with bacteria, pollutants, dirt, oil, dead skin cells, and make-up (although that’s on purpose!). Daily cleansing removes these, helping to prevent blockages that can lead to acne, and creates a clean slate for you to apply a moisturising cream like Epiology’s Advanced Anti-Acne Cream.

Hopefully we’re preaching to the choir, and most of you already engage in regular face washing. But is your technique up to scratch? Are you cleansing regularly enough to prevent the spread of acne-causing bacteria?

How frequently should you wash your face?

We recommend following the Epiology 3 step system two to three times each day including after heavy sweating, or generally every morning and night.

Remember, consistency is key as skin conditions like acne are not solved overnight. Epiology is designed to be used long-term and is preventative, actively calming the skin and soothing redness.

How to wash your face: step-by-step

1. Clean hands: Keep bacteria and dirt off your face by ensuring your hands are clean before going anywhere near the cleanser. It’s also important to rinse off ALL the soap before moving on, so your face doesn’t react to the hand soap.
2. Make-up: If you are wearing a considerable amount of make-up (especially waterproof make-up), you may need to use a gentle make-up remover or balm before cleansing.
3. Warm water: Before applying product, wet your face with lukewarm water to open pores and loosen dirt.
4. Cleanser time: Apply 1-2 pumps of Epiology’s Anti-Acne Foaming Cleanser onto your hands and work into a lather. Then apply to your wet face and massage in small circular motions with your fingertips or palms. Remember, your face stops at your neck so ensure you cleanse all the way down. This is important, as acne often doesn’t stop at your jawline.
5. Rinse: Rinse the cleanser off by splashing lukewarm water on your face. Make sure you don’t rub too hard – your skin won’t appreciate it!
6. Dry: Pat your face dry with a clean facecloth; ideally you should change out your facecloth every few days as bacteria clings to them.
7. Moisturise!: Once you’ve cleansed, it’s important to give your skin a moisture boost. Follow up with our Advanced Anti-Acne Cream, followed by our Extra Strength Spot Gel on any problem areas. If you feel your skin needs a serious moisture hit, our Recovery Mask will give you a much-needed hydration boost of hyaluronic acid.

Seven steps may sound like a lot, but it’s important to think of your skin and the time you put into it as an investment. After all, you can’t get a new face (yet)!

Realistically, these steps should only take a minute or two, although be sure the product is on your skin for longer than ten seconds to give it time to be effective.