If you have acne-prone skin, you’ve probably tried everything to get rid of it. That list of (sometimes bizarre) methods likely includes washing your face numerous times a day. The thought is that if you can just wash the grease off your face, you won’t get as many zits. 

Unfortunately, your skin is a little more complicated. Over-washing can make your acne worse. Even if you don’t have acne-prone skin, washing too much or too little can irritate your skin and disturb your skin’s natural microbiome. 

Have you ever heard of the microbiome before? No worries, the team at Disco has you covered. We’ve got all the information you need to understand it and learn when to cleanse your skin. Read on. 

Micro-what?

Microbiome. The colony of healthy bacteria that lives on your skin and helps it to function properly. The skin’s microbiome plays a crucial role in your skin’s health, and protecting it is essential to avoid skin-related issues like acne and rashes. 

The products you use on your skin can be harsh, especially if they’re chocked full of chemicals. These ingredients can wreak havoc on the microbiome and leave your skin stripped of good, healthy bacteria. 

The result? 

Bumps, blemishes, rough, flaky skin, oily patches, and rashes. Thankfully, a good cleanser can protect the microbiome and help restore your skin.

Do I Need More Than Just Water?

Look, we’ve been cleansing our skin for years, and we’ll admit we started out with plain water, too. It worked as a kid, but as we got older, we realized our skin needed more. Dryness, oiliness, and irritation from shaving started making our skin feel uncomfortable. We also started noticing the early signs of aging. 

A great cleanser can address a multitude of skin issues and keep your skin happy and healthy. Here’s what you can expect when you switch from soap and water to a grown man cleanser. 

Moisture Balance

Dry and oily skin types have one thing in common: they both need moisture balance. Dry skin is chapped and flaky because it is dehydrated below the skin’s surface and on the epidermis. 

Even if you drink plenty of water, your skin can still become dehydrated as water is triaged to other areas of your body. 

Regular soap and water can be particularly drying to your skin and can strip it of natural moisture. Cleansers containing moisturizing ingredients can help ensure your skin isn’t left as dry as the desert after washing your face. 

Even oily skin can be a side effect of less moisture in the deep layers of your skin. When your skin is deeply dehydrated, your sebaceous glands go into overdrive. 

Sebaceous glands begin producing more sebum, your skin’s natural oil, to compensate for the lack of moisture. The result is oilier skin that is visibly greasy. 

A hydrating cleanser washes away excess oil without completely robbing your skin of hydration, reestablishing balance, so your skin feels comfortable.

Helps With Skin Conditions

Whether it’s acne or eczema, skin conditions can be brutal. You may think it's impossible to use anything more than water on your mug without developing a rough, scaly patch of skin or causing a new pimple to form. 

The good news is, cleansers can help. Not only do they keep your skin clean, but they can also contain ingredients that help keep your skin healthy. For instance, charcoal is a fantastic ingredient for acne-prone skin. It deep-dives into pores to help pull out gunk before pimples start. 

Need something for irritation? Coconut oil is a natural, plant-based oil that not only hydrates but has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. This oil is packed with fatty acid that helps clean, clarify, and condition the skin while helping soothe irritation. 

Keeps Skin Clean

Obviously, cleansing your face keeps it clean, but just how clean is really up to you. If you’re only using a splash of water in the shower, your cleansing isn’t super effective. Water might be able to rinse away some surface dirt and a little of your skin’s oil but isn’t powerful enough to bust through tough grime and gunk and remove excess oil. 

Keeping your skin clean is crucial for avoiding breakouts and for keeping your skin healthy. It also helps protect your skin’s microbiome. 

Ways You Might Be Cleansing Wrong

Once you create a habit, it can be hard to break. Most of us didn’t grow up with loads of instruction on how to take care of our skin; we were lucky to be taught how to shave properly. 

The same way you’ve been washing your face since childhood is probably the wrong way to be washing your face now. Here are some ways you might be cleansing wrong. 

Bad Products

Soap, harsh cleansers, or cleansers that contain ingredients that don’t work can all contribute to bad skin cleansing. More often than not, we find guys using the same bar soap they use to clean their ahem manly parts on their faces. 

Not only does this spread germs and bacteria, but it’s also just bad grooming. Soap and body washes aren’t designed to be used on the skin of your face, which has a completely different pH than your ass. It can dry the skin and cause it to become irritated.

Skin Problems

Skin problems can also cause you to cleanse incorrectly. Most commonly, skin issues like acne or oiliness cause guys to wash their face too much. Over-cleansing causes excessive oiliness that has the opposite of the expected result. 

If your skin is relatively normal, you might just wash it on occasion, which also isn’t ideal. You’re missing out on removing dead skin cells and encouraging new skin growth, which can keep your skin looking youthful and fresh. 

Lack of Skincare Knowledge

Dudes and skincare don’t go hand in hand, but at Disco we’re changing the narrative. Even the burliest guys still need products to take care of their skin, and we make them. We also educate you on how to use them. 

If there’s an element of skincare you don’t understand, the Disco Journal can help. 

Face Cleansing 101

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a novice, here’s what you need to know about how to cleanse your face and how often you should do it. 

How Often to Cleanse

Cleanse your skin no more than twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening is plenty for every skin type—cleansing more than twice a day can cause dehydration that leads to oiliness or excessive dryness. 

What if I work out? Midday sweat sessions always require a post-gym shower, but this is the one time when plain water can serve you properly. Unless your face is covered in actual dirt (from a sport or a particularly gnarly run), you don’t need to use a cleanser. 

Choose the Right Products

Your facial cleanser should be powerful enough to bust through dirt and grime but contain ingredients to keep your skin moisturized and healthy. Disco’s Face Cleanser Stick is formulated to work perfectly with the pH balance of a man’s skin. 

Here’s what’s inside.

• Charcoal. Natural and powerful, charcoal digs deep into pores to loosen dirt and oil and lift it away, leaving your pores clean and helping prevent future breakouts. 
  
  
• Coconut oil. The OG of natural, plant-based oils, coconut oil, cleanses, hydrates, and protects. Its antimicrobial and antibacterial properties help protect your skin’s microbiome while delivering superior hydration that works for every skin type. 
  
  
• Phytic Acid. Phytic acid is a natural acid derived from almonds. It is a naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy acid. This acid helps encourage cell turnover, which helps exfoliate your skin (remove dead skin cells) and encourage new skin growth. 

Our face cleansing stick is super easy to use and can take care of whatever dirt and grime you throw its way. 

How To Cleanse Your Face

Cleansing your face couldn’t be easier. With Disco’s Face Cleansing Stick, just swipe across your cheeks, forehead, chin, and the bridge of your nose. Use your hands and lukewarm water to create lather. 

Massage the cleanser onto your skin for about thirty seconds before rinsing with lukewarm water and toweling dry. Your skin will be cleansed but not stripped of moisture. It’s the best way to start (and finish) your day. 

Let’s Disco

You’ve got skincare questions, and we’ve got answers. You can trust Disco to deliver all the skincare information you never knew you needed, along with products to help keep your skin looking and feeling the best it possibly can. 

So stop washing your face so much (or start, if you haven’t been washing your face). You can take better care of your skin and enjoy healthier, sexier skin with great products (and solid advice) from Disco. 

Sources:

The skin microbiome | Nature 

Antibacterial and immunomodulatory activities of virgin coconut oil | NCBI