Keep it clean

Cleansing every night before bed, regularly exfoliating and always using a toner - we know we should, but why?

Do I really have to wash my face tonight? Is it really necessary to exfoliate? And why do I need toner? There are some things that you can cut corners on; others are just common sense and, once in a while, it is good to be reminded which is which. Let's break up the cleansing process step by step, and look at why it needs to be done, as well as the easiest way to go about doing it.

Removing eye make-up

  Picture perfect If you don't wear a great deal of eye make-up, you don't necessarily need a special remover; some facial cleansers will take off light eye make-up, anyway. If you find you need to scrub at your eyes to remove every last trace, if you use a multi-layered mascara, or if you wear heavier eye make-up, you will need a special product. The same applies if you are constantly waking with panda eyes, or if your eyes are sensitive. There's no need to spend a lot. If a cheap eye make-up remover does the job, use it. Only upgrade to a more expensive product if you need to. Can you ever go to bed without removing your eye make-up? Well, as long as it is not a regular occurrence. If this is the case, make sure you do an especially good job the next day.

Removing other make-up
If occasionally you fall into bed without removing your make-up, the world is not going to stop revolving on its axis. But try to get into the habit of taking the day off. Think of how filthy your hands are when you get in from a day at work. To go to bed with all of that still sitting there on your face – not to mention the day's make-up – yuck! Water cannot travel through the surface of the skin, but oils can and pollution is oily. If there is a layer of make-up, oil and pollution sitting on the surface, it will travel into the skin during the night. That can mean bumpy skin, and even worse: breakout. It will also prevent the skin from breathing properly, leaving it dull, tired and grey.

Use whatever method is easiest. Lotion, cream, bar, gel, wipes, oil, foams - whatever suits your skin and your lifestyle best. It really only does take a few moments from start to finish. Maybe try to do it very first thing when you walk in the door, then you can reward yourself with some chocolate and be a lazy slob for the rest of the night!

Using a toner
The job of a toner is to rebalance the pH level of the skin. Using water with your cleanser doesn't mean you can skip the toner: your skin has a natural acidic pH of about 5.5, while water, depending on where you live, could be as high as an alkaline 9.5. If your skin is left out of balance, the only thing it can do to recreate balance is to produce oil. So if you have oily skin, the skin will produce it as quickly as it can. But if you only get shiny in the centre, those pores will start to enlarge to allow the oil to balance the entire face, and once the pores are enlarged, they stay like that. If your skin is drier, there is no way for it to get rebalanced, so the skin has to work very hard and expend energy. In the meantime, you will have applied a moisturiser, but before the moisturiser can start to do its job, it needs to redress the pH balance, so it will never work as well as it should, either.

A few cleansers do not need a toner because they have that rebalancing ingredient built in already, but they are few and far between. Particularly for those who use wash-off cleansers, try splashing the toner on like a men's aftershave. Or put it into a spray bottle and mist your face. Some toners can do a double duty, helping with breakout, stabilising oil production, helping the skin to retain more moisture, de-sensitise, exfoliate, clarify, etc. So look into this step, as it can be a very useful part of the skincare routine.

Exfoliating
Skin is constantly renewing itself, but sometimes some of the dead skin gets stuck on the surface, especially when skin is oily. The dead cells will cling to the oil and block the pore openings. With drier skin the cell cycle may be slower, so exfoliation will help to speed the cycle up and send the message to the skin that it needs to replace the cells with fresh and plump ones. Exfoliating instantly makes the skin look healthy and radiant, improves circulation, evens-out colour and, more importantly, allows the moisture you are about to apply to get to the living skin instead of being sucked up by dead, dry cells.

As with the rest of your skincare regime, choose a method of exfoliation that suits you, whether it's a scrub, enzyme peel, mask, muslin cloth or flannel, and use as often as you feel necessary. Personally, I love to scrub my skin. It makes me feel clean and I look forward to it. I have found that if I use a scrub I can use it every day. Find a way that will work for you…