“Best practice is to wash your face twice daily,” he explains. “However, if you're going to skip one time, I tell my patients to skip washing in the morning. It's important to wash your face at the end of the day to remove dirt, oil, sweat, makeup, and pollution that build up [over the course of the day].”
"Each time you cleanse your face, you will remove some of the natural oils that your skin produces. For this reason, individuals with dry or sensitive skin may benefit from skipping a wash in the morning."
If you work out first thing in the morning, washing is a must (after your workout of course, not before). If, however, you don't, then washing your face in the morning is completely a personal preference. Just be sure to at least rinse your face with water in the morning if you choose to forgo a full cleanse.
"Most dermatologists recommend face-washing twice daily, once in the morning and once before bed," says Zeichner. "In reality, this doesn't always happen. If you're going to skip [a wash], then it's better to skip the morning one than the evening one.
"Life happens sometimes, so going a day without washing your face will not totally ruin your skin—but making a bad habit of not doing so most days leads to a cascade of poor outcomes in your skin health," Dr. Adeline Kikam, DO, MSc, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Brown Skin Derm, says.
It's not necessary to wash your face with a cleanser every morning. Rinsing with lukewarm water will likely be sufficient. However, depending on your skin condition and your nighttime skincare routine, it can be beneficial to wash it with a suitable cleanser.
"Ideally, you'd cleanse your face twice per day. In the morning, this removes any excess oils your skin produced as well as remnants from your evening skincare routine," says Yadav.
Dermatologists often recommend washing your skin twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) to remove dirt that has accumulated on skin as well as makeup. What's right for your skin, however, depends on your skin type and skin conditions, so talk to your dermatologist.
Acne isn't caused by neglecting to wash your face. Other factors, like bacteria or changing hormones, cause this skin condition. Yet regular cleansing is a key step in your acne treatment routine.
Your skin uses the time that you are asleep to heal itself from the damage of the day. Getting a good night's rest gives your skin the chance to improve. This is often why you may notice your skin looking fresh in the morning, ready to take on the day!
That's not to say it's bad if you wash your face only once a day—more on that below—but if you're new to skincare and looking for a general rule of thumb, twice a day is a good place to start.
The American Academy of Dermatology suggests washing with a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water when you wake up, before you go to bed, and after you sweat, Washing—or even just splashing—your face with cold water can have a few potential benefits, like reducing puffiness and irritation.
While expert opinions are somewhat mixed on which parts of the routine are expendable, all generally agree that doing absolutely nothing to your skin in the morning is unwise.
"Some people may just not be genetically predisposed to breakouts or may produce less [oil],” says Batra. If that sounds like you, you may actually find your skin looks better when you ditch your cleanser.
Oily skin will wake up to a lot of sebum and grease on the face in the morning. Dry skin will wake up dehydrated unless moisturized well at night and so on. But, one thing is common in all skin types; Cleaning up the pores and removing the traces of your night time skincare routine in the morning.”
Old skin cells naturally turn over and are replaced by new ones in 28-day cycles. However, skincare products block our epidermis (the outermost layer of our skin structure) and stop it from naturally peeling off. Due to the blockage, our skin fails to turnover, and its natural renewal cycle is disturbed.
It's likely due to a combination of hormonal changes, stress and what we're eating. Dr. Whitney Bowe, a New York dermatologist, calls it an "epidemic." According to the American Academy of Dermatology, acne has the dubious distinction of being the most common skin condition in this country.
Stress pimples will usually pop up in the oiliest areas of the face, like the forehead, nose and chin. Your T-zone might look greasier and more congested too. Doctors say that if you're getting clusters of pimples all at once, stress can be a factor—hormonal pimples happen one at a time.
Don't Over Wash Your Face
It can actually cause your skin to produce even more oil because you're stripping your skin of essential moisture, causing your skin to overcompensate. Instead, wash your face twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
After your workout, you can use a gentle cleanser on the T-zone. As always, be mindful of the bacteria you may have picked up while touching all the gym equipment. While sweat itself may not be damaging your pores, the fungus you could be putting on your face definitely needs a wash-up, according to Barr.