What is facial foam? and how it can benefit you

If you have sensitive or damaged skin then using facial foam may be the way to go. This article looks at what facial foam is.

Facial foam is a type of cleanser. It is gentler than face washes and facial cleansers and can be used by people who have sensitive skin. The foam comes out like a whipped cream texture and dissolves the dirt, debris and excess sebum on your skin without drying your skin out. It also moisturizes as it cleanses.

With so many products on the market, it’s difficult to keep up with all the new additions companies are adding.

Cleansers, hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, eye serum, vitamin c serums, hair serum. The list just seems to go on and on.

One of the products that you might have heard about is facial foam. What is facial foam? What does it do? Can I use it every day? These are some of the questions I think about and maybe so do you.

Companies are always trying to create products that treat our skin issues. It starts with finding products that work on oily, normal, dry, or combination skin. Then those skin types have their own skin concerns that need to be dealt with.

What is facial foam?

Facial foam has the same job as a regular face wash or facial cleanser.

It cleanses your face of oils, dirt and debris, but facial foams offer a very gentle cleanse.

The foam is liquid in the container but as soon as you spray it the product comes out like whipped cream. This is usually thick but fluffy just like whipped cream

It easily dissolves any excess oils, dirt or debris on the face without over-drying or stripping the skin in any way.

In addition, it helps in keeping the skins natural oils (sebum) at a good manageable condition. The foam is also very beneficial to use if you have an over exfoliated your face. It is gentle enough to help with the healing process.

The product helps to nourish the skin as it is able to get deep down into the skin’s surface to hydrate and nourish the skin.

It’s amazing at enhancing the moisture levels of the skin. Because of its lightweight consistency is a perfect mix for people with dry or normal skin types.

This facial foam is gentle on the skin and can even be used on sensitive skin.

Can I use facial foam every day?

Yes, a facial foam can be used on a daily basis. It was designed to be used on your face if you can’t or would rather not use a face wash or a face cleanser.

It is gentle enough not to irritate or strip your skin but works well enough to remove all the environmental impurities from the skin.

You can use the product both in the morning and night

How to use facial foam:

  1. Make sure you wash your hands before touching your face to avoid spreading bacteria and oils from outside onto the face
  2. Wet your face using warm water, not hot water, as it can damage your skin. Warm water has a range of benefits
  3. Shake the product before use just as you with shaving cream
  4. Spray the foam into the palm of your hand. You will notice that the liquid will turn into a foam consistency. Do not spray too much, a little goes a long way
  5. Apply the foam onto your face and massage in circular motions Be sure to massage your neck as well
  6. Rinse the product off using warm water.

What’s the difference between a facial foam and a face wash?

Face wash: This product usually comes in the form of a gel and when it exits the container the texture does not change.

When you apply it on to the face and massage it in it begins to lather up creating a foam. Face washes can sometimes be harsh on the skin.

Face wash is a product that people with oily or combination skin can use. This skin type needs a heavy-duty product that is able to remove the excess oils on the skin.

Facial foam: This is a more lightweight product. When the product exits the container it has the texture of shaving cream or whipped cream. It does not change consistency when you massage it into your skin.

Facial foam is a gentler product compared to face wash. This product can be used on people who have dry or normal skin. It won’t strip the face of its natural oils (sebum).

If you use something too strong in this skin type then it can become dry and irritated.

What is the difference between a facial foam and a facial scrub?

Facial scrub: This is not a type of cleanser at all. Facial scrubs are products that you use after your cleaners.

The cleansers remove the dirt and impurities off of your face and the facial scrubs come in after and remove the dead skin cells off the face.

Face scrubs are exfoliating products.

The texture of facial scrubs are varied, you can use a sugar or salt scrub that contains actual grains of sugar or salt to buff away the dead skin cells.

You can also find scrubs that have ground-up fruit seeds or granules. These will buff the skin as you rub on the face. Note that you should never apply the scrub on a dry face.

Facial foam: This is a product you can use before you use the facial scrub. It will remove the dirt and debris from your face so the scrub can focus on removing the dead skin cells.

The texture is much lighter and much more delicate than the facial scrubs and there are no particles in the product.

What is facial foam

What are the side effects of face wash?

Face washes have their pros and they have their cons.

Yes they cleanse the skin quite well but there are a couple of unsavoury things that can happen as a result of using face wash:

Dryness: Face washes that foam up contain sulphates. Sulphates get rid of dirt and grime by breaking up the dirt and grime allowing it to wash away with the water as you rinse.

Unfortunately, the sulphates can also strip your skin of its natural sebum

Damaged moisture barrier: If you use the face wash too often and you don’t moisturise your skin afterwards your skin can become very dry, this can result in the moisture barrier of your skin becoming damaged.

This moisturiser moisturises well and contains ceramides which build your moisture barrier.

Irritation: Acne washes that are quite strong can irritate the skin by drying it out, this over-drying can make your skin feel itchy. If this is the case, opt for a hydrating face wash like this one or a facial foam like this one

Dull skin: If your face becomes dry you can develop dull-looking skin. Hydrated and moisturised skin glows and looks healthy, dry skin looks dull

Pimples: The very thing that your face wash is trying to prevent against can develop because of your face wash.

If your skin becomes dry it will be triggered to produce sebum in an effort to moisturise itself.

The skin will produce sebum to moisture itself, sometimes the skin produces sebum in excess and this can mix in with your dead skin cells and block your pores causing breakouts.

Is rosewater a cleanser?

No rosewater is not a cleanser.

Cleansers are able to cut through excess sebum on your skin as well as cut through any dirt and grime on your skin. Rosewater won’t be able to completely remove dirt and grime from your face.

That being said rosewater can offer a number of other benefits to the skin. It is an anti-inflammatory agent so it can calm and soothe any skin irritation you may have.

If you are red and patchy on your face it helps to even out your complexion. It is antibacterial, helping to treat and heal infections on your skin.

Rosewater also contains robust antioxidants which will help to protect your skin cells from any sun damage. This is a well-loved rosewater

Why we should not use soap on the face?

Dries out the skin: Yes, soaps clean your skin very well, maybe too well.  If you use soaps that haven’t been designed for your skin it can wind up drying your skin.

Soaps strip the natural sebum off of your skin leaving the skin bare and with no moisture on it. This can result in oilier skin.

If your skin becomes dry it will be triggered to produce sebum, the skin sometimes produces sebum in excess. If you have oily or combination skin this will make your face look very greasy.

Damaging to skin: Using such a strong product will leave you with skin that is not only dry but dull-looking and wrinkly.

Wrinkles are the result of dry skin, as we age our skin becomes dry and we develop wrinkles. Using soap can make you look much older sooner.

Throws off pH: Soap is very alkaline. Our skin naturally has a pH of between 4 and 6.6, soap has an acidic ph that is higher on the scale.

Using a soap that hasn’t been designed to be used on the skin will throw off the pH of your skin. It will make the skin irritated and you can develop redness, scaling and inflammation. The skin can also become dry and flaky.

Should you wash your face with hot or cold water?

You should not be using any extreme temperatures when washing your face, you shouldn’t be washing your face with hot or cold water.

Washing your face in extreme temperatures can rest in skin irritation and even breakouts on the skin.

Hot water can scald the skin and strip it of its natural oils, cold water is un uncomfortable temperature to wash your face in.

Is it good to wash your face every day?

You can wash your face every day if you feel that your skin needs it but your skin doesn’t really need it. We say that we should wash or faces every day but this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

During the day your skin produces sebum, external pollutants such as dirt, dust, bacteria and other external pollutants can attach themselves to the sebum.

If you have oily skin this happens more and you’ll need to wash your face more often. If you have dry or normal skin you don’t produce much sebum and gunk can’t really get attached to your skin that well.

You may want to wipe your face every second day or give your face a splash of water if you don’t wash it daily.

In addition, you should take note whether you’re over-washing your face. If your skin feels tight and dry then you’re probably over-washing your face.

If you’re using too strong of a cleanser and you wash your face too often you can develop symptoms of over-washing your face (read more here).

To rectify this you may need to change your skincare routine for a few days. If you need to take a break from washing your face for a day to let your skin get back to its equilibrium you should do that.

What is facial foam

Can I wash my face 3 times a day?

No, you should definitely not under any circumstances be washing your face 3 times a day.

You may be tempted to do this if you’ve been doing some sports activity but this will only result in over washing of the face, skin irritation and even excess oil production.

Rubbing your face this often with any facial cleanser will irritate your skin.

In addition, it can cause dry skin which will, in turn, results in overproduction of oil on your skin. This will result in a greasy looking complexion as well as dull skin.

If you feel the need to, you can gently cleanse your skin in the morning and night time.

If you are doing some sort of activity that makes you sweat you should opt for using a face wipe or rosewater and a cotton round to wipe your face off. This is a well-loved rosewater.

What can I use instead of face wash?

If you want to avoid having to deal with the drying effects of face wash then you may need to look at other options.

Here are some alternatives to face washes you can use

Cream cleansers:

These products do the same job as face washes but they don’t give you the dry skin effect you get from using a face wash.

They have a creamy base, don’t lather and are known to be quite moisturising while still being able to clean your face.

This cream cleanser cleanses and hydrates well

Oil cleansers:

You may be shuddering at the idea of using an oil to cleanse your face with but this is actually a great way to clean your face.

Oil cleaners work off the idea that “like dissolves like” any oils, dirt and external irritants on your face will be removed by the oil cleanser, oils break down other oils.

That being said the same oil won’t work on every skin type but there is an oil for every skin type. You can use regular oils or specialised facial oils that turn milky when they come into contact with water.

This oil cleanser cleanses well and is well-loved.

Face wipes:

These shouldn’t be the only product you use to clean your face but if you need to quickly clean your face you can grab your make up wipes and wipe your face down.

These are well-loved makeup wipes.

Micellar water:

The tiny oil droplets found in micellar water are called micelles. They are oil molecules suspended in soft water and this combination works well to clean your face. This is an effective micellar water

Just like oil, they are able to break down dirt, debris and external pollutants from your skin. They do this without stripping your skin of its natural sebum.

If you’re not ready to try the oil cleansing method then this is a good middle ground

Soap:

Soap has a reputation of drying out your skin the minute it touches it.

Fortunately for us, there have been breakthroughs in how soaps are made, some soaps can be great for the skin on your face, they are able to hydrate and cleanse well.

This soap is actually made for the face. You can make your own soap at home, here is an article on honey an oatmeal soap and here is one on coconut oil soap.

Water only:

You’d be surprised at how many people just use water on their face.

No soaps, face washes etc, depending on your skin type and your activity levels this is actually a viable option that can replace your face washes. Read more about water only washing here.

Note: If you’re wearing makeup you should always cleanse your face twice. First with an oil-based cleanser than with a regular facial cleanser or gel-based to make sure that every bit of makeup has disappeared.

I hope you enjoyed this article looking at what is facial foam. If you enjoyed the article please share it.

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