Can the temperature of the water you use on your face at night make a difference to your skin? This article looks into it.
Using cold water in the morning before you go out is much more beneficial than using it at night. Using cold water on your face won’t make your pores smaller but the water will shrink the capillaries in the skin, this helps with drainage and will help to reduce swelling on the skin.
You might cringe at the thought of washing your face with cold water. Especially at night when all you want is a nice hot bath.
This article looks at if washing your face with cold water before beds is worthwhile.
Washing the face on a daily basis is the standard for many of us. Well, not all of us and that can work too, read more here.
Washing your face helps get rid of any impurities that the skin might have picked up from the day.
These impurities can include pollution from the air, debris from the environment or bacteria from the air.
Washing face with cold water before bed?
Table of Contents
What are the effects of washing your face with cold water?
Not drying on the skin: Washing your face with hot water will make your face dry and can damage the skins natural moisture barrier (these are the symptoms).
Using hot water on your skin can also have more dangerous effects on your skin, read more here. Using cold or warm water when you wash won’t result in dry skin
Less sebum production: When you wash your face with hot water the high temperature of the water forces the pores on your face to release sebum.
The opposite happens when you wash your face with cold water. The less your skin overproduces this sebum the less likely you are to get acne breakouts.
No puffiness: Cold water is helpful in reducing swelling, which is what puffiness is. People leave their face masks and eye masks in the fridge for this reason.
The cold mask will have an additional depuffing effect when applied to the skin. As a bonus, cold water is also able to shrink the capillaries in the skin. It also helps to stimulate drainage in the skin.
What washing your face with cold water won’t do:
Contrary to popular belief, washing your face with cold water does not actually reduce the tightness of pores.
In addition, pores are not able to open or close.
The temperate of the water that you wash your face in won’t change how “open” or “closed” our pores are.
If you need to you can use steam to help you unclog your pores. This will help get rid of blackheads.
What happens when you wash your face every night?
A clean face: When you wash your face at night you remove the impurities from the day.
Even if you don’t wear makeup during the day you’ll most likely still need to clean your face at night.
External irritations collect on your skin during the day and these need to be removed.
Removing all that gunk from the day will help you keep your skin clean, clear and ready for the skin to do its magic at night
Makeup removal: At night is when you need to be removing all the makeup that you might have been wearing during the day.
This needs to be done during the night time because makeup as a variety of ingredients that can cause acne and breakouts, read more here.
In addition, if you don’t wash your make up off at night the makeup will disrupt the skin while it’s healing itself.
Your skin needs to be very well taken care of at night because this is when the skin works the hardest. This is when the skin repairs the damage incurred during the day.
It allows you to use products that make you sensitive: Products such as vitamin C, retinol and exfoliators should be used at night.
This is because after you use them your skin becomes more sensitive. It can incur damage from the sun if you go outside, this is especially true if you don’t use sunscreen. You can use these products at night with no worry.
The skin products work better: Your skin heals best at night. When you apply the products at night your skin will be more effective in using them.
The skin can absorb products better at night. In addition, certain treatments are meant to be used while the skin is healing itself to get the full effect of the product.
How should I wash my face before bed?
- Start off by washing your hands. This is an essential step you need to do before you touch your face. Our outside environment is filled with dirt, bacteria, pollutants and external irritants. All this can easily be transferred onto our hands and contaminate our face.
- Dampen your face and apply your cleanser or face wash on your skin
- Massage your face for 60 seconds, this will give the product enough time to work on your skin. Make sure you’re massaging your skin in gentle circular motions. When trying to clean harder to reach areas of your face such as around your nose and around your mouth make smaller circles
- After the 60 seconds rinse the product off completely
- If you plan on using an exfoliator this is the time to use it. After a cleanse the exfoliator has direct access to your dead skin cells because there is no barrier of dirt and grime to get past.
- Apply the exfoliator for as long as instructed on the packaging and remove as instructed when you’re done with it
- Pat your skin dry and apply your treatments. Treatments work best when used on freshly exfoliated skin. This is because they can access the fresh layers of your skin easily with no dead skin cells creating a barrier
- Apply your moisturiser. Moisturiser not only moisturises the skin but it also packs in whatever treatment you’ve just used. It prevents the treatment from evaporating
Tip: Don’t over-exfoliate your skin, this can lead to dryness and irritation. If you feel the need to exfoliate every day then you should use a gentle exfoliator that has been designed for everyday use.
This one can be used on a daily basis
Tip: Apply your moisturiser while your skin is still damp from your rinse, the toner, or your treatment. This will allow the moisturiser to absorb better.
Tip: Make sure you cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise your face neck and decollete, these areas age the fastest. What you do to your face you should do to the other areas as well.
Is cold water good for pimples?
No cold water is not particularly good for pimples. Coldwater can’t help remove the clog which created the pimple.
But cold water has other benefits to your skin, it temporarily acts as a natural astringent. If you have puffy skin then cold water can be used to help depuff.
In addition, if your face needs a quick refresh then you can use cold water to refresh your skin and your whole face.
You can use tea tree oil to treat simple, read this article to find out how
Does cold water dry out the skin?
No cold water is not a contributing factor to dry skin. Actually, the opposite is true, hot water can dry out the skin.
Using hot water on your skin can dry out the skin and even further aggravate your skin if it’s already dry.
If you’re using hot water on your skin the heat from the water can strip your skin of its natural sebum (the skins natural oil).
This can cause dry skin. Another cause of dry skin is using a soap a face wash that contains sulphates. These strip your skin of moisture and sebum.
The best water temperature for your skin is warm water, read more about the benefits here
Is rubbing ice on face good?
Yes, rubbing ice on your face is good, it offers a range of skin benefits.
Rubbing ice on your face helps improve circulation in your skin, gives you a healthy glow and it gives you a more refreshed looking face.
It can help calm and soothe breakouts as it reduces inflammation and pain from pimples and acne on your face.
If you have under-eye bags ice can help to treat this issue. The ice will drain the excess fluid under your eyes reducing any under-eye bags.
Can I wash my face with just water?
There is no clear cut answer to the question “can I wash my face with just water”.
For some people not washing their face with soaps, face washes or cleansers and rather washing with just water results in a better complexion and even skin, read more here.
The answer to this question is not straight forward and even dermatologists are torn on the subject.
Some dermatologist highlight that because of the expose of dirt, dust and bacteria from the environment using only water to wash your face won’t work to clean your face.
Other dermatologists highlight that you would only need to use cleansers and face washes if your skin has visible signs of dirt, if you’re heavily sweating or if you’re using cosmetics, if not then you can sip using cleansers and face washes.
In the end, you should do what works for you. Each to their own and the only way to know if you can wash your face with just water is if you try it and see what happens.
Can I sleep with milk on my face?
Yes, you can sleep with milk on your face. Milk is rich in various minerals which nourish your skin.
Leaving this dairy product on your face overnight will allow the milk to penetrate into the skin and work at improving it overnight.
Milk contains water, fat and proteins which hydrate and replenish your skin getting rid of any dryness and flaking thus giving you supple, soft skin.
If you have irritated skin you can leave some milk on your face overnight and it will help to minimise redness and irritation.
Raw milk is also a great product to use on your skin, read more about it here.
What should apply on face at night?
The skin replenishes itself during the night time. This is when the skin replaces old dead skin cells with new fresh skin cells.
If you want to create the optimum environment for this process to happen you need to cleanse your skin, exfoliate it and use a night cream
Cleansing your skin will remove all the dirt and debris from your face and allow the exfoliator to do its job to the best of its ability. This cleanser is well-loved and well used.
Exfoliating your skin removes all the dead skin cells from your face. This creates an environment that allows the treatments you use next to really penetrate your skin.
Exfoliation removes the barrier of old dead skin cells which would otherwise hinder the absorption of your treatments and night creams. This exfoliator is well-loved and well used.
You should then use a night cream. Night creams are heavy nutrient and moisture-rich creams that work to deeply nourish your skin creating the optimum environment for your skin to rejuvenate itself.
This night cream is well-loved and well used.
Does hot water age your skin?
Yes to some extent hot water does age your skin. Hot water may be enjoyable but it can damage your skin.
Because the temperature is so high the water winds up stripping your skin of sebum.
If you regularly take hot showers your skin can become very dry, excessively dry in some cases.
Dryness on the skin results in wrinkles thus ageing your skin as well as cracked skin and possible infections. In addition, it can cause your small blood vessels to weaken.
What is the best thing to wash your face with?
The best thing to wash your face with depends on your skin type and your skin needs, your skin would fall into one of two categories. Your skin can be dry to normal or oily to combination.
If you have dry to normal skin then your skin will benefit from using facial cleansers. Facial cleansers aren’t harsh on the skin, they gently clean making sure not to remove the little sebum you have. This cleanser is a favourite.
If you have oily to combination skin then you should consider using a face wash. Face washes pack a harder punch than cleansers as they can cut through the excess sebum on your skin and mattify your face. This face wash is a favourite.
What happens if you don’t wash off soap?
If you don’t wash off soap then your skin will become irritated and itchy. The soap will dry up on your skin leaving a white film.
Throughout the day this white film will peel off. This will not only look uncomfortable but it will also feel uncomfortable.
The skin can also begin to burn, itch and become irritated if you don’t wash off the soap.
In addition, all the dirt that you had tried to scrub away with the soap will also be left on the skin
Do ice rollers really work?
Ice rollers have been a trendy topic in the beauty industry and just as with applying ice on your face, ice rollers can be very beneficial.
The tool offers a cooling effect on the skin.
Whether your face is red and puffy from sleep, whether you’ve just gotten out the shower or whether you’ve just come back from an intense exercise the ice rollers can help cool your skin, calm any redness or puffiness on your skin.
They will also help to reduce the redness and pain in your pimples (but they won’t get them to completely disappear).
You can get pimples to disappear by using products that contain benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid or retinol. All these work quite well to get rid of pimples. This ice roller is a favourite.
When should I ice roll my face?
You can ice roll your face in the mornings. The morning time is when your face is the puffiest.
Using it on your face will help depuff the face. In addition, the cool or cold sensation that the roller offers will wake you up, give your skin an amazing glow and energise you making you ready for the day.
Final verdict:
Washing your face in cold water won’t give you the crazy amazing benefits like shrinking your pores but it can be beneficial to your face in other ways.
A good temperature to wash your face in is warm water. I go into more detail on why in this article.
What I do recommend is washing your face at night. This is especially true if you decide to only wash your face once a day.
If you wish, you can use a toner to wipe your face down if you feel that you need to do something in the morning. Rosewater can be used to wipe your face in the mornings, this is a favourite.
I hope you enjoyed this article looking at if washing your face with cold water a night is helpful. If you enjoyed this article please share it.
