Morning or evening: when is the best time to use a face wash?

Morning or evening, that is the question. But what if the answer was “both”? Depending on your skin type and your lifestyle, the frequency of this crucial grooming step can vary.

What’s the point of cleansing?

To understand why it’s important to cleanse our skin, we have to understand how our skin works. Our skin is covered by a protective layer of water and oil known as the hydrolipidic layer. This layer helps keep skin hydrated and soft and forms a protective shield against unfriendly bacteria. It’s like the defense of your favourite team.

This protective layer sometimes needs a little help when it comes to dealing with tougher, more aggressive attacks from things like pollution, tobacco, and stress. The challenge in keeping our skin clean is cleansing it without stripping it bare, to preserve and help this precious layer do its work. Aggressive cleansers can leave skin red, tight, dry, and thus more vulnerable to outside aggression. So the best bet? A gentle cleanser that’s kind to your skin but still tough on impurities.

Morning AND evening for normal, dry, mixed and combination skin.

Whatever your skin type, cleansing in the evening is important as it helps clear away impurities that build up during the day. It also gives you a few minutes to reflect on the day’s successes. In addition to clearing the skin, it also gives you a healthy base for the rest of your routine.

And since your cells renew at the highest rate while you sleep, cleansing in the morning is also a great way to clean up and feel fresh, clearing away any sweat and dead skin that’s accumulated overnight.

In our Purifying Face Cleanser, we use binchotan, Japanese activated charcoal, to sanitise skin and zinc PCA to help regulate the skin’s sebum levels and stop spots.

Toner in the morning and cleanser in the evening for sensitive skin

For very dry, sensitive skin that’s prone to reactions, it’s even more important to listen to your skin and make sure it gets what it needs to stay stable and healthy. That’s why our face wash also contains the anti-irritant aloe-vera, plant-derived glycerin to soften, and allantoin to soothe, making it suitable for even the most sensitive skin.

However well prepared, the mere idea of cleansing with water can put off those with the most sensitive, allergy-prone skin. But the issue isn’t the cleanser; it’s the running water used to rinse it off. Often hard and limestone-rich, tap water can weaken the epidermis. If you rinse with water, you could try using our tonic lotion right after, to neutralize the aggressive effects of limescale. Or just use the toner in the morning before your moisturiser, and cleanse in the evening before you sleep.

The sage floral water in our tonic lotion helps cleanse the skin and regulate sebum, thanks to its astringent and balancing properties. Arginine and anti-irritant lactic acid, plant-derived glycerin, and natural betaine are also included to help protect and soothe. It’s a cocktail that any skin type will enjoy first thing in the morning. Cheers!

So, whether it’s morning and evening for the majority of skin types, or just the evening for the more sensitive, cleansing is an essential part of your skin’s day. Better than a cereal bar to kick things off and healthier than a whiskey to wind things down.

Cleanse, tone, moisturise