We’ve all been there. Late night, come home, and all you want to do is fall straight asleep. Getting up and splashing water on your face is the last thing you want to do. After a long day at work or play, washing off your makeup is really not all that important, or… is it? A few scientists and beautician’s who have studied this topic may convince you just why it is worth it to get up off the couch before bed and make sure you hit they hay with a fresh face.
You May Break Out
While some of us are blessed with “perfect” skin, where few pimples make their way to our face, and an even complexion is the norm, the reality for most of us is that our faces are extremely sensitive. We have to be careful about what makeup we use, what face wash and moisturizers we apply, and even how much we touch our faces. A few wrong moves and it could leave us with some unwanted blemishes to try and ride later on. Sleeping with makeup on is sure to increase your risk of breaking out, because the dirt, bacteria and other microscopic grime that we may have accumulated throughout the day is allowed to stay unless we apply some cleanser and water to wipe it away. Stuffing your face into your pillow just furthers the problem, and if we are sleeping 6-8 hours like we should, then that is a long time to allow that bacteria to hang out with is.
Complexion Craziness
Ok, so maybe you slept with your make up on and survived the pimple risk. Congratulations! You may now go another day without having to pack on the concealer to nurture a blemish. You’re in the clear… or, are you? The truth is, even if you didn’t break out, per se, your complexion overall is still bound to be dull or uneven. Using brightening moisturizers such as those with vitamin C can be extremely helpful for us to brighten our skin, and even our complexion. Sleeping with our make up on our face is simply not one of the ways to do it. Inflammation in our face occurs when we do not wash away our dead skin cells, which is best done before bed. The outer epidermal layer, which determines the state of our complexion, as a result will be dull and unflattering. Washing off your face is maybe not something you want to do today, but your tomorrow face will thank you.
Long Term Effects
With anything in life, it is easy to get into the mode of thinking that “one time won’t hurt anything”. Yet, our habits are powerful things and end up influencing us more than we may think. As a rule, I never go to bed without washing off my makeup. Most nights, I like to give myself time for a full routine to ensure my face is taken care of: cleanse, apply moisturizer, and eye cream, etc. On days where the full regimen is not realistic because I am staying over somewhere, I am traveling, or I am just too darn tired, I at least make sure that I do a quick rinse and/or use a makeup pad to get the bulk of it. When we do not wash off our makeup, we are not only allowing our dead skin cells and dirt to accumulate, risking our next-day face, but we are also speeding up the aging process, our risk for premature wrinkles and discoloration in the skin. Wearing makeup is not natural, no matter how natural we may make it look, our faces were not designed to be covered in a paint like substance for the majority of our days. Whether you apply a thin layer and go for the minimalist look, or if you appreciate the art of mak up and layer it on, it is important to wash off your makeup because toxins and chemicals in the substance wear on your skin over time. When we apply makeup, we are introducing foreign ingredients to our fragile skin, and it is important that we do our best to only keep these ingredients on our face as little as possible. Even if we look okay for a while, there are long-term effects of wrinkles and aging, and discoloration that will result down the road.
Your Face Will Improve if You do
A lot of negative and risks for not washing your face have been discussed, and at this point, I hope are pretty evident. But what about the perks of washing your face? Making your nightly regimen a habit is not only important to deter bad things from happening to you, but to ensure your skin brightness and remains moisturized and health over time. Just as important as it is not to wear makeup at night, it is important to apply an eye cream and/or moisturizer. This healthy habit can prevent wrinkles and blemishes, and increase the brightness and overall health of your skin.
What do you think?