Acne is a problem that hinders the style of almost every human being on the planet. Whiteheads can ruin a night and blackheads show up as often as morning wood.
Make no mistake about it, acne is here to stay.
In my years on earth I have had my fair share of pimples that make my head spin. I mean, I went through puberty for crying out loud.
If you’re currently living through the years of raging hormones and bacon grease as facial oil, then I’m going to be honest with you. No amount of acne wash or any kind of facial cleanser will help you. Your pimples are here to stay. Everyone else is suffering so you might as well deal with that.
Nobody has perfect skin. The only reason we think perfect skin exists can be attributed to the invention of the airbrush and its use in all popular media. I have yet to meet an actual human being who doesn’t have some sort of wrinkle, pimple, or blemish on their face.
Enough of the ranting, as the goal of this article is to introduce you to my new way of cleaning my face and how you can (hopefully) achieve similar results.
My story
i will not lie. i used to wash my face with loads of products to get rid of the mini red mounds on my face. Usually I see an ad and then go and buy the product.
I would love to tell you that my skin became the object of desire for everyone and girls literally jumped on me because my skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. But if I told you that I would be lying. The truth is, I kept wasting my money on useless facial products, filling tissues with pus, and dreading the day Whitehead Mountain would return in an attempt to ruin my life.
So here I am, a 22-year-old college kid with fairly fair skin. I won’t say perfect because that’s impossible. I am not immune to creating pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, blackheads, blemishes, or whatever the heck you want to call them. But my good friend told me the other day that my skin was unusually fair and that she was in a jealous rage because her skin was not like mine.
Mind you, this was after spending two months in Japan, where I will say, my personal hygiene was not at the top of my priority list.
What did I do?
I stopped using all soaps, creams, masks and wipes. And to be honest, I stopped caring about my face. I started doing the absolute minimum amount of work one could do to take care of one’s face. All I did was apply a little common sense to my nighttime routine and BAM clear skin.
Every day I do the same. I wake up and splash cold water on my face. Before I go to bed, I use a washcloth with cold water and scrub my face for a few minutes and then splash some more cold water on my face. That is.
Oh, and by the way, my face is clearer than ever in my life. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a crater-sized pimple. They used to come with creepy regularity.
Why does this system work and what are you doing wrong?
Cold water closes the pores. When the pores are closed, dirt, oil, and other crud can’t get in and inflame the skin. Which then causes your body to send out white blood cells to heal the area (yes, the whiteheads are simply your body trying to heal itself).
A washcloth, used correctly, is the perfect acne fighter. It is abrasive enough that it acts as an exfoliator for the skin. Which means that it not only removes dirt and oil, but also removes dead skin cells. However, it is soft enough not to tear the skin off the bone.
Once again, finishing the wash with cold water tightens the pores and leaves the skin feeling refreshed.
Note: Do not Hulk-Out when using a wipe. The skin on your face is very delicate. Be gentle.
What are you doing wrong…
Using hot water. Hot water brings blood to the surface of the skin. Blood is red. Why would you want to bring a red substance to the surface of your skin to make it visible? I guess if you were going to a twilight themed party I would understand.
Honestly, hot water can bring so much blood to the surface of the face that the blood vessels rupture. Leaving you with red spots on your face.
Using soaps, creams and other chemical cleaners. All of the products mentioned above contain chemicals. Most of which neither you nor I can pronounce. I don’t care what the ads say, putting any kind of man-made chemical on your body (especially the sensitive skin found on your face) is not a good thing.
final thoughts
If you want to try to achieve the unachievable coverage of Cosmo, or just want the peace of mind that you’re doing more than just washing your face with water and a washcloth, then I recommend using all-natural products that don’t contain any ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Even better if you like skins and other girly things of that nature, try making things on your own. It will be so much more fun and so much better for your skin.