Do You Really Need To Wash Your Face In The Morning?

Yes, an evening cleanse is important, especially for those who wear makeup – doing the job of lifting away dirt, pollution and oils that accumulate on the skin during the day. A morning cleanse is beneficial too and is the start of a great skincare routine, prepping the skin and leaving it squeaky clean.

With everyone discussing the importance of protecting and strengthening the skin barrier though, is an AM & PM cleanse really helping or hindering us from achieving our skin goals? Can we not just do a thorough cleanse before bed?

A Tik Tok video recently went viral where US-based aesthetician @nicolecarolineskin asked people to stop washing their face in the morning unless they have acne. This video received a lot of feedback and sparked various conversations. Nicole went on the explain that cleansing too often affects the natural balance of the skin microbiome and strips the skin of its natural barrier for protection, which can actually cause skin issues rather than prevent them. 

On the other hand, various skincare founders and professionals support the importance of cleansing in the morning and at night, explaining that often cleansing products specify when they should be used to avoid any confusion. The morning cleanser is often lighter and is used to hydrate and balance. A morning cleanse helps prep the skin for the day ahead so it’s able to shield against environmental factors such as dirt & pollution. Morning cleanses also remove remnants from pore-clogging overnight and remove any excess oil and debris that have accumulated while you were asleep. It allows for deeper penetration for serums and moisturisers applied afterwards.

The most important factor to consider at the end of the day is that a good cleanser should support the skin microbiome and strengthen the skin barrier, not hinder it.

Perhaps we should instead consider other factors that are affecting the skin barrier such as double cleansing, scrubbing away good bacteria, overdoing it with facial brushes and using cleansers that are too harsh for your skin type. All of these actions can lead to redness, dryness and sensitivity as the skins protective layer is destroyed. 

If in doubt, you can seek a light morning cleanser that has skin barrier boosting ingredients. A morning cleanser should be gentle on the skin, while an evening cleanser should be powerful enough to remove dirt, makeup and more.

At the end of the day, it’s about finding a cleanser that works for you and for your skin type. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach, so if you have a routine that works, stick with it!

Disclaimer: This blog post is solely for informative purposes. For persistent skin conditions, talk to your GP or consider seeing a dermatologist.