I wanted to talk about a little observation which I went through last two months. My skin was horrible. It was not behaving, was dull, pigmented and breaking out often. I would attribute the pigmentation to the lack of sunscreen usage but there was something else also wrong with my routine. I think my face wash is causing breakouts on my skin. So, lets see why I think that!
On a side note, forgive my sporadicity (if that is even an expression!). Last few months have been real crazy but then so has life been that way since I was married which is exactly 3 years back! Wow, time flies off and we are all set to enter a New Year!
How your face wash is causing breakouts?
Lesson 1 – Choose your face wash carefully
It definitely is the first step to clear skin and is a very under-rated skin care routine. It is often difficult to find the one product which works for you. For me, that was Garnier Pure Unclogging face wash but seems like it has been discontinued so I am also back to square one.
It is also important to note that some formulas work really well for your skin, irrespective of the brand. Like, myristic acid present in all face washes works well for me, salicylic acid again is a great idea! So, take note of such ingredients or formulas and search for them while hunting for products next time 🙂
On a sidenote, How did my skin problem start and what happened?
I had posted a review on Forest Essentials face wash I had been using in July or August. If you had read the review completely, I had mentioned a small but significant point which I am re-iterating.
. . . I have a feeling that it does not work well to remove oil or cleansing milk and sunscreen residue so I prefer to use a stronger face wash . . .  The face wash cleanses well as long as your skin is not too dirty or has a lot of makeup . . .
When I did my review, I was using different face washes for morning and evening. My skin was doing great then. But, in August and September, when I discontinued using my sunscreen, I started using this face wash twice a day. What I noted over a time was that my face was not getting or feeling cleansed. The skin felt clogged and dirty all the time. And, on cue, my skin started breaking out in the last week of August.
So, I searched for my favorite face wash. Since I could not find it on the aisles, I picked up Garnier Pure Exfoliating face wash which seems to be revamped version of pore unclogging because the formula is almost same. It also has salicylic acid. For a few days, my skin was fine. It started getting better but not quite there. I didn’t like the texture of the face wash but stuck with it since I did not want to waste it.
Then, I had to travel so I got Clean & Clear. Using it twice a day resulted in same sort of breakouts. So, I made a switch to berry brightening one from Clean & Clear. Same results.
Back in Hyderabad, Garnier was again helpful but not really so much. Then, I switched to Neutrogena Extra Gentle which was even worse. Then, a weekend trip and I got Lakme blush face wash. Same results.
Finally, in the end of October, I realized it might be my face wash is causing breakouts combined with absolutely no skin care. So, I started with sunscreen to get back into the skin care routine. I always use cleansing milk to remove the sunscreen so that was really helpful in doing deep cleansing.
Lesson 2 – Have Different Products for Day and Night
It might be a good idea to have different face washes for morning and evening.
Product build up is one of the reasons.
Another is to satisfy the different needs of skin at both times. In the morning, a light face wash or an alternative to face wash is enough to wash off the dirt. Where as your skin needs a heavy duty cleansing in the evening to remove sunscreen, makeup, pollution and other things it faced in the day.
So, did I get a new face wash again?
So, what do you think would have answered my dilemma? An expensive face wash? Or, a proper skin care routine? I decided to try both the options. So, I got Liquid Neutrogena face wash. And, started being consistent with sunscreen.
I would make a special mention here. I used Fair & Lovely pollution free face wash which has myristic acid formula which, as I have already mentioned, works really well for me!
Lesson 3 – Double Duty Cleansing for Evening
As I mentioned above, skin needs are different in the evening. Not only to remove sunscreen or makeup, deep cleansing is a good idea to just clear out your pores and make it ready for the amazing skin care products to follow.
Using makeup remover or cleansing milk or cleansing oil is a good idea. The massage which goes with these products helps detoxify your lymphatic system and improves blood circulation while breaking down your skin impurities at the same time giving your the perfect cleanse. Follow with a face wash.
Lesson 4 – Face Wash Technique
Once you have chosen your face wash, make sure you apply it correctly. It is not as simple as applying and rinsing off. You must massage the face wash on your face and neck and decolletage for a minute or two before rinsing off. It gives time to break down the skin impurities and cleanse out the pores.
It is quite possible that your face wash is causing breakouts on your skin. One of the reasons might be it is not good enough to cleanse your skin’s impurities or you might not be using the face wash correctly.
I totally agree with you Swati. Some face washes are too gentle to be used in the evening. I recently tried the much raved about Kama Ayurveda Rose Jasmine Face Cleanser and faced the same experience. As per all claims it didn’t strip my skin of natural oils and make it dry. But on the downside it didn’t cleanse the skin well thereby causing clogged pores and breakouts.
hey Archana. so true. in fact when I did the review for FE face wash or even Kama face wash, I didn’t face the problem coz I was using different face washes morning and evening. but, this is actually a huge issue and bloggers should know this before writing the review. I am sure everyone missed this! And, this point itself made me think if natural products are really as good coz ultimately they are not strong enough to break down the impurities in the skin. probably time to rethink about skin care!!
Yes, Swati. I too feel the same. I had read raving reviews of Kama Ayurveda face wash everywhere. But it didn’t work for me and I was highly disappointed given the high price. I agree that natural face washes are not that effective. But other natural products like scrubs, masks, moisturizer and sunscreen are very effective I feel. One natural face wash which I loved was Aroma Essentials face wash. But even with that, I follow up the face wash with besan flour for double cleansing. Coming to SLS free faces, I like TBS face washes, especially their new launch brightening range.
Absolutely on the spot about this post. I am also fed up of commercial face washes that I switched to natural products but even my Besan powder is breaking out else it worked so well as a face wash, face scrub and face pack all in one. Am back to searching for the next best natural face wash powder, switched to oats powder for now. Your article is packed with information, I loved reading your experience. When I travel I use biotique neem face wash, it’s not broken me out.
hey Coral. yeah, it was quite a revelation. in fact i am starting to suspect if natural products do anything for skin except emptying our pockets. btw, have you tried honey, it works fab in the morning. oats is also amazing but messy. I think you can roast it and then powder it and make a paste every time for use. that should work. I do not like biotique wet products coz they have this base QS which is quite dicey but yeah some of their products work so well. btw, does it have SLS?
You are right, I have no idea what QS means and when I’d written ti the brand, they didn’t answer any of my questions back then. What a great idea about roasting the oats. Thanks so much, Swati. I will definitely try that out and omg!!!!! Honey is awesome. I’m going and buying a bottle tomorrow. That is brilliant!!!!!
I will check about the SLS and get back to you.
yeah please do! waiting 🙂
haha. and, make sure it is organic only. and do tell me how the oats thing works!