Washing Your Face With Cold Water

What should your tap water temperature be?

If you’re skin care obsessed like us, you may already have your skin care routine down pat. But if you’re following a daily regimen and still not seeing the results you’re looking for, chances are you may be using the wrong water temperature.

When cleansing your face, the water temperature you use and how often you wash your face are essential factors you must take into consideration. Now, that doesn’t mean you need to use bottled water — your skin isn’t that picky. But the water you wash your skin with does have to be just the right temperature. 

Keep reading to learn about how water temperature can affect your complexion.

What Can Hot Water Do To Your Skin?

While a steaming hot shower or face washing session can feel quite relaxing in the moment, it’s not the best option for your skin. Piping hot water can cause a heightened level of skin sensitivity and dry out your skin, stripping it of necessary natural oils.  

This can be incredibly unpleasant if you already have dry skin or oily skin. Oily skin could respond to having its natural oils stripped by creating even more oil — leaving you looking excessively shiny, or worse, causing an unwanted breakout. 

Disadvantage Or Benefits of Washing Face With Cold Water

Splashing cold water on your face will not only wake you up in the morning but also it can also act like an astringent and bring down puffiness and leave your skin feeling refreshed. That being said, you should try to avoid cleansing your skin with too much cold water because it does not effectively clean out the skin. Cold water tightens up your pores, which can trap bacteria and dirt into the skin.  

Washing Face With Salt Water

While a frolic in the ocean can leave your skin feeling amazing, replicating the magic of the sea at home and washing your face with DIY ocean water may not have exactly the same effect. All the same, salt water can still benefit your skin. If you’re going to try it, go easy on the salt and use salt water sparingly to avoid drying out your skin. A dermatologist can offer guidance if you’d like more support with treating acne, or any other skin issue. 

What Water Temperature Is Best For Your Skin?

Turn up (or down) the temperature so that it’s somewhere in between hot and cold — lukewarm is ideal. Moderately warm water will make for the best face washing experience and overall skin health. Lukewarm water can help ensure that your facial cleanser gets the right amount of foaming action, removes enough dirt from the surface of your skin and balances your natural skin oils appropriately.

 

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