Cleansing Your Skin:

When to clean your face:Skin must be cleansed frequently enough or infrequently enough, depending on its needs.It really does not matter when you clean it:most people opt for the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, simply because these times are convenient.Scientifically, going to bed in your make-up really will do your skin no harm, but it certainly won't do your bed linen any good.And since it is much easier to remove make-up from face than from linen, it would seem wiser to cleanse your face before going to bed.In the morning, cleansing the skin is very refreshing.Also, if you have to apply make-up, you would get a better "finish" on the just cleansed skin.

How often must you clean your face?Most people do this 2-3 times a day; this is adequate for normal skins.But, if your skin type is oily or if you are exposed to a lot of "grime and dirt" during the course of the day, a more frequent cleaning is very essential-even 4-5 times a day may be necessary, using either a soap or some kind of cleansing agent.

If, on the other hand, your skin type is dry, it is possible to harm it with too frequent a cleaning, specially if you use very hot water.With this skin type, it is best to avoid too frequent washing and you may even have to use a suitable oil-based cosmetic cleanser instead of soap, which has a drying effect.How you clean your face is equally important.If the end of the day cleansing involves removing make-up as well as grime and dirt that has accumulated during the day, then it should definitely be a thorough job.Provided you clean your face well at night, the morning session need not be too elaborate.

What should you use for cleansing?
A.Soaps:
You can choose from a wide variety of products available in the market.If using soap, you must always rinse the skin thoroughly with water after using soaps.Soap, if allowed to remain on the skin, attracts dirt, and can also cause irritation to the skin.In hard water areas, soap residue if left on the skin can combine with the calcium and magnesium salts in the water to form a scum, which is really very difficult to remove.One unfortunate effect of soaps is that they remove some natural oils from the skin-this has adrying effect.The dryness, however is easily encountered by using a moisturising cream after washing with soap.If your skin is dry, use soap and water for one cleansing and at other times use a suitable cosmetic cleanser.However, in hot weather even a dry skin may tolerate several washings with soap and water.If you have a normal skin, then 2-3 washes with soap will not do your skin any harm, while an oily skin will benefit from an even more frequent cleansing with soap and water.There are a wide number of soaps like medicated soaps( which have an antiseptic added and may some times cause allergies), pH soaps(these are marginally superior to ordinary soaps), Moisturising Soaps(these do not have any advantage over other soaps because the rinsing, after the washing, removes the moisturising ingredients), Superfatted soaps(these soaps can be used on a dry skin),Transparent soaps(they are not more effective or safer than ordinary soaps), liquid soaps(they offer no advantage over other soaps), perfumed soaps(These soaps contain natural or artificial perfumes and thus may cause allergic reactions).

B.Cleansing Creams
There are several alternatives to soap and water cleansing- creams, milks, lotions, foams, oils, gels and liquids.All these are rather closely related-much more than you can imagine.All are basically a mixture of an oil, wax and water but manufacturers modify the formula to suit different skin types-those for dry skins remove less oil from the skin, and may even add some, whilst cleansers for oily skins are designed to remove more oil and add none to the skin.
It is also possible to clean your face equally efficiently with baby oil, liquid oaraffin or vegetable oils.All of these remove make-up and dirt.But they are not pleasant smelling.A cotton pad dipped in fresh milk is a cheap but equally effective cleanser.If you do use any of these, and especially if you have an oily skin, it is necessary to wash the residue off with soap and water and to dab your face well with an astringent.

The right way to use a cleanser:
Gently is the right way.Do not stretch, drag or pull your skin.With the cleanser in your hand, let your fingers glide over your skin, or use light patting movements with the pads of your fingers.Upwards and outwards movements have frequently been suggested as the right way to apply all kinds of creams to the face-this is thought to prevent and delay the eventual loss of muscle tone and the resultant sagging of the skin.Leave the cleanser on for a minute or two so as to loosen the dirt and make-up.Then gently remove it either with cotton woll or with tissue paper, again using upward and outward movements.Wipe over the face again with a damp cotton wool ball, and if it does not come away clean, repeat the cleansing process.Finally rinse with water.

C.Mechanical Cleansing Of Your Skin:
A recent concept in skin cleansing is epidermabrasion-that is, literally, mechanical rubbing off the dead cells from the skin surface.Various substances are available-among the most familiar are a variety of granules(sand, sawdust, slilica and pumice) and slowly soluble abrasive materials(like sodium tetraborate decahydrate).These granules can also be incorporated into soaps and creams and form the basis of some of the peeling face-masks available in the market.Other materials for epidermabrasion are sandpaper, hemp cloth, cellulose of the luffa plant, sea-sponges and man-made sponges of the cellulose and polyurethane.Woven webs can also be used for epidermabrasion, the best known being the wash cloth, which provides a very delicate level of epidermabrasion.The most recent developemnt in epidermabrasion technology is the use of non-woven polyester webs.Most skins tolerate this treatment well, though it should definitely be avoided on the very dry skins.

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