These Are The 8 Most Common Mistakes You're Making When Washing Your Face

Sure, you may already have your own skincare regime, but you may be doing more harm than good when it comes to washing your face. There's actually a lot more to it than you may think! 

Using good quality products created specifically for your skin, such as SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, will go a long way in keeping your skin staying smooth, radiant, and moisturised this festive season.

The iconic skincare brand aims to make beautiful skin a reality for every woman, and it starts with how you wash your face.

Even if they seem clean or you haven't really done anything much throughout the day, you never know what bacteria could be lingering on your hands. So, it's always best to give them a quick wash with soap before proceeding to wash your face.

As for face washcloths, experts recommend that you either wash it (as in properly, like you're doing laundry) every day or just use a new one every single time. This will reduce chances of transferring dirt, grime, bacteria, and maybe even mold to your face.

Exfoliating can feel really good and leave your skin feeling soft and supple but that doesn't mean that you should be doing it every day. You should only be deep scrubbing once or twice a week, using a gentle scrub with natural particles such as jojoba beads.

Otherwise, over-scrubbing can lead to dry skin, broken blood vessels, skin discoloration, as well as irritation and inflammation due to microscopic tears in the outer skin layer. Also make sure that you're not scrubbing too harshly when you exfoliate, be gentle so that you don't cause further damage to your skin.

The harder you scrub, the better right? Because you'll be giving your face a more thorough clean and helping to get rid of more impurities. Wrong! Overworking your skin like that actually leaves it more susceptible to fine lines and wrinkles. Just go for gentle circular motions instead.

The ideal number of times you should be washing your face is twice daily: once in the morning when you wake up, and once at night before you go to bed. Some may see either one of these as unnecessary but here's why they're both important.

Washing in the morning
Bacteria from your saliva, oils from your hair, as well as germs from your pillowcase and bedsheets are just some of the things that could transfer to your face while you're sleeping. So it's important to wash your face when you wake up to not only get rid of all these things but also to freshen your skin and make it easier for your skin to absorb any other skincare products you'll be applying later.

Washing at night
Even if you didn't wear makeup on a particular day, you should still wash your face before going to bed. Throughout the day, natural oils and sweat accumulate on our skin; the dirt and pollution that we're exposed to also builds up on our outer skin layer. If we don't remove all this gunk at the end of the day, it can cause acne breakouts as well as skin inflammation and irritation.

On the other hand, washing your face too often can lead to dry, irritated skin, or cause it to produce too much oil. So unless you're prone to skin infections, wore heavy makeup and/or sunscreen, or were excessively sweaty, stick to washing your face only twice a day.

The openings of your pores face downwards, so you should be applying facial products in an upwards direction to make sure that it properly absorbs into your skin and gets to where it's needed. Applying products using a circular motion is also effective.

Did you know that you're actually supposed to use two different temperatures of water when washing your face? TIL man!

Use warm water (make sure it's not too hot) to start off. This will help to open your pores and loosen up the impurities so that your cleanser will be able to penetrate deeply into your skin and do its job. Then, finish off your face wash with cold water to help tone and contract your skin cells.

The way you dry your face after washing could potentially undo all the good you did by washing it in the first place. You should be gently patting your face dry, not wiping it like you do for the rest of your body because tugging at your face like that induces wrinkles.

Also, make sure that you're using a separate clean only-for-your-face towel, not the same one that you use to dry yourself off after a shower. Different microorganisms live in different parts of the body so you don't want to be transferring bacteria from other parts of your body to your face.

If you find that a product that worked wonders for your friend isn't working for you, or that your skin isn't improving despite sticking to a good skincare regime, it could be because the product you're using doesn't suit your skin type.

Whether your skin is oily, dry, or something in-between, you should be using skincare products that cater to your specific skin type and concern.

Experts recommend the following:
- For sensitive skin: a gentle, hydrating cleanser
- For oily or acne-prone skin: foaming, gel, or salicylic acid-based cleanser to remove excess oil and dirt
- For dry skin: a cream cleanser to help your skin’s top layer retain more moisture

With their secret ingredient Pitera, SK-II aims to make beautiful skin a reality for every woman. Pitera is full of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, organic acids, and over 50 micro-nutrients that help the skin retain its natural functions, boost hydration and keep your skin smooth, radiant and moisturised.

It's signature bestseller SK-II Facial Treatment Essence has remained unchanged for over 35 years and is made up of over 90% Pitera.

The iconic SK-II Facial Treatment Essence went through a dramatic makeover and now features three unique Change Destiny mantras individually emblazoned across all-white bottles: “Be the Person You DECIDE To Be”, “CHANGE is in All of Us” and “DESTINY is a Matter of Choice”.

The bold and exciting new look gives off a festive feel, making the Change Destiny bottles the perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones or as a end-of-year treat for yourself.

With this new image, SK-II wants to celebrate women who have chosen to define their own destinies and live life on their own terms. So they collaborated with three pop culture giants who have done just that - Chinese singer-songwriter Dou Jing Tong, K-pop star Choi Soo Young from Girl’s Generation (SNSD), and top Japanese actress Haruka Ayase.

You too can declare your statement with the bottle that best represents your personality by engaging with #YourStatementYourBottle on social media