Cleansing Your Face

Does it really matter what you wash your face with or for that matter, even if you wash your face?
The answer is a big YES!
It always surprises me when someone tells me they don't wash their face.  Everyone should cleanse their face in the morning and at bedtime.  Oils, make up, and just yuck build up on your face throughout the day and night and need to be removed, otherwise, you will have dirty skin with get clogged pores, and dead surface cells.
How to choose a cleanser right for you.....
Rule #1 Don't use your deodorant body soap on your face. Bar soaps are basically detergent.
A lot of information about soap is not available to the average consumer.  Soaps don't list their pH, but a soap's pH is around 9 or 10, which is alkaline. Soaps strip your skin of a necessary oil barrier. Even if you have very oily skin you need the barrier and washing off the oil on the surface, cannot change oil production by washing with a strong soap.  The pH tells a lot about mildness and harshness. Healthy skin is naturally acidic, with a pH between 5.5 and 5.8. All this is really telling you is don't use Lever or Lava soap on your face, it is too harsh.
So what is right for you?
If you are dry or a normal skin type, you can choose a cleanser with Glycolic or Lactic (both AHA's).  Believe it or not, these acids help dry skin, plus, you get some anti-aging benefits.
If you have sensitive skin, find a milky, creamy cleanser like Cetaphil or CerAve found at the drugstore or cleansers found in a physician's office like Skin Medica's Sensitive Skin Cleanser or Obagi's Gentle Cleanser.
If you have oily or acne prone skin, look for cleansers with Salicylic Acid, resorcinol, benzoyl peroxide, or sulfur in the Active Ingredients.  My very favorite is cleanser is Obagi Clenziderm Cleanser. It is very refreshing!  I had problem skin as a young adult and now have Rosacea and so  like using an acne type cleanser, but some Rosacea patients may need something for sensitive skin. Rosacea will be another topic.
Washing with just finger tips is typically recommended by dermatologists. If you wash with a wash cloth, use a clean one and be gentle.  Another neat tool is the Clarisonic Cleansing brush. It is a gentle way to thoroughly wash and exfoliate.