When I’m not holed up in Hearst Tower doing editor things, I spend a lot of time outside—and if I’m hiking, camping, running, gardening, or chasing after my family, my face-washing calculus changes. Does my skin feel oily after a day slathered in sunscreen? Did my daughter touch my face with a goo-filled hand after eating? Did I sweat considerably during my latest long run?
I wash my sensitive skin gently and minimally, up to two times per day. I’ll use Dove soap and warm water, or a little bit of Cerave Daily Facial Cleanser if I’m feeling really grimy, and then if I have time, I’ll moisturize with some Weleda Skin Food or layer on some La Roche Posay Tinted Sunscreen. I also take care to wash my hands frequently, since I know I’m guilty of touching my face (according to a review done in 2020, the average person touches their face more than 50 times per hour)!
Meet the expert: Teresa Song, M.D., Board Certified Dermatologist at Marmur Medical.
I often wonder if this routine is enough, or if I should be doing something different. Instead of continuing to guess, I humbly asked a board-certified dermatologist to share her best tips for our audience. Here’s what she revealed.
How many times per day should you wash your face?
“Typically, the recommended face wash frequency is twice a day. This can help prevent bacteria and other environmental debris from building up on the skin at a stable level to avoid irritation and breakouts,” shares Teresa Song, M.D., Board Certified Dermatologist at Marmur Medical. Above frequency, however, Dr. Song says you’ll want to pay the most attention to the ingredients in the products you are using to wash your face.
Dr. Song explains that a wash with active ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide (which may be more drying and irritating to skin than salicylic acid), AHA, or BHA blends are more irritating on the skin, and that your skin can tolerate a gentle, hydrating wash for longer. She cautions against making one common skincare mistake: When curating your routine, you’ll want to space out any products that contain active ingredients to prevent irritation. For example, if you’re using a retinol (which promotes rapid skin cell turnover) at night and want to incorporate a wash with any active ingredients, you’ll likely want to save that for the morning.“Good ingredients to look for in a gentle non-foaming wash include hyaluronic acid, glycerin, panthenol, and ceramides,” she continues.
Is the advice different for oily skin, dry skin, or combination skin?
“Generally, oily and acne-prone skin should be washed twice a day consistently, and dry skin can pass with being washed once a day to avoid overdrying the skin barrier. Combination skin should also be washed twice per day. These recommendations are based on acne studies, where twice a day washing showed superiority compared to once a day washing in reducing inflammatory acne lesion counts.”
What about using bar soap?
Like I mentioned earlier, I personally use Dove soap for a quick cleanse—and Dr. Song had thoughts on that too. “Generally, face wash is preferred over soap bars because they tend to be formulated based on pH and the specific lipid barrier of the facial skin. Some soap bars are okay to be used on the face, such as the Dove Sensitive Skin Bar (phew!) or the Neutrogena Acne Soap Bar.
How long should I wash my face for?
“The duration recommended for face wash is generally 20 to 60 seconds without disrupting the skin barrier. Studies suggest that increased duration of face washing does not offer superior benefits for skin barriers or cleanliness. You do not need to wash your face more frequently in the summer or with increased sweat. Limited evidence exists for face wash frequency, but washing it more frequently may not offer additional benefits, as some clinical trials showed that washing your face four times daily did not improve acne outcomes as compared to washing your face two times daily. Sweat itself also has protective antimicrobial activity, and the skin barrier tends to recover on its own after exercise-induced sweating. Excessive face washing can also increase the risk of affecting normal barrier function.”
How do I know if I’m over-washing my skin?
Signs of over-washing can present as dryness and irritation. “You may experience tightness, itchiness, and redness of the skin. Chronically irritated skin barriers can present with flakiness, scaliness, and even more breakouts on the skin,” says Dr. Song. “Surprisingly, the skin is pretty resilient. Not washing your face occasionally for two days probably won’t cause major havoc on the skin. It is more about what is left on the skin for two days, as compared to not washing a clean face for two days,” says Dr. Song.
Should my face-washing routine change as I get older?
Dr. Song suggests that those with mature skin should incorporate a gentle face wash with hydrating and moisture-retaining ingredients, like hyaluronic acid or ceramides. “Oil glands decrease over time, and the skin barrier becomes weaker, making more mature skin more susceptible to dry and combination skincare concerns.”
Prevention’s digital director has more than a decade of experience editing and strategizing for news and lifestyle publications such as Good Housekeeping, Time Out New York, Time Out New York Kids, Haute Living, and Forbes (previously writing for PureWow, Paste, xoJane, Men’s Fitness, House Beautiful, and Life by Daily Burn among others). She’s happiest when she’s elevating a great story with perfect packaging, digging into longform storytelling, or remixing the way we experience reported journalism.
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