Cleansing - cheat sheet

Most brands in the industry provide quick 'bullet point' references for use by counter staff/telephone customer services peeps to help them quickly highlight key points that are applicable to that customer or their needs.

I spend a lot of time on Twitter talking people out of BAD cleansing habits so figured it was as good a place to start for the Mouth Cheat Sheets.

So without further ado:

1. Cleanse your face every night. Without fail. Non-negotiable. I don't want to hear it.
2. Cleanse your face in the morning - a splash of water will not cut it. You can use a teeny amount of cleanser - but use it...
3. Apply your cleanser to DRY skin. Don't dampen the skin first. I don't care what it says on the pot. Add water afterwards to loosen if not using an oil-based cleanser. (When was the last time you went for a facial and the therapist wet your face before she cleansed? My point. Exactly.)
4. As a rule - stay clear of 'foaming' on the bottle (there is the odd exception, but they are few and far between) - to get foam you need to use a surfactant - and a surfactant turns your skin alkaline. Alkaline skin is like a petri dish for bacteria. The irony being that so many cleansers pushed on to acne/combination skins are foaming. Naughty, nasty companies should know better.
5. If you are wearing make-up with sunscreen in it or just good old sunscreen you need to double cleanse. If you aren't, one cleanse is sufficient.
6. Use a face flannel and water to remove. Unless you are ALLERGIC TO WATER (which I have heard from clients before - sigh) there is no need to cotton/tissue off. This is 2011 not a Doris Day film. Wash your face people. Imagine only ever using tissue or cotton on your bum. Yeah. I know.
7. Use fresh running water from the tap - do not fill the bowl and splash off. That's just nasty.
8. I have neither time nor patience for eye make-up remover pre-cleansing. Use a cleanser that removes eye makeup and apply the cleanser to the eyes first. You'll get most of the gunk off at the beginning and your second cleanse will clear the rest up.
9. Use hand-hot water and ring the flannel out - if its the right temperature for your fingertips it will be fine for your face.
10. Use a fresh flannel every day. Don't be cheap. Or gross. Primark. £2 for 4. Buy 2 packs and you're good for a week and a spare....You don't have to use muslins or a special cloth. Again. I don't care what they say. Trust me. I've done treatments with the lot and the thing we always went back to? Plain white facecloths. HOT plain white facecloths. Lovely.

That's it. *exhales*

If you want more info on facial massage you can read my first ever post here.