15 Common Cleansing Mistakes That Could Be Damaging Your Skin

It’s one of the most basic questions in all of skin care, yet it’s surrounded by a surprising amount of debate. Should you wash your face once a day to protect its natural oils? Twice a day for ultimate purity? Is a morning cleanse even necessary if you washed your face before bed? Do I have to wash my face at night if I didn’t wear makeup? The conflicting advice can leave anyone feeling uncertain about the very first, most foundational step of their routine.

So, how often should you actually be washing your face? The answer might surprise you—and it’s one that can transform the way your skin looks and feels over time.

This guide will settle the debate for good. We’ll provide the clear, esthetician-approved answer that works for most skin types, explain the crucial “why” behind both the morning and evening cleanse, and help you understand when you might need to adjust this golden rule to better honor your own unique skin.

The Esthetician’s Verdict: Twice a Day is the Gold Standard

For the vast majority of skin types, the definitive answer is clear: washing your face twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening—is the ideal frequency for maintaining a healthy, balanced complexion. This isn’t just about following a routine; it’s about creating a rhythm that respects and supports your skin’s natural, 24-hour cycle of protection and regeneration.

The Non-Negotiable Evening Cleanse

Think of your evening cleanse as a mandatory reset for your skin. Throughout the day, your face accumulates a complex layer of buildup: makeup, sunscreen, environmental pollutants from the air, and your own natural sebum. Simply put, this layer must be thoroughly removed before you sleep. Leaving it on overnight not only clogs pores but also interferes with your skin’s crucial nighttime regeneration process. A proper evening cleanse gives your skin the clean slate it needs to breathe, repair, and renew itself. After such a thorough cleanse, it’s a beautiful practice to replenish the skin with comforting moisture. A rich, nourishing cream like our Restorative Facial Cream is a beautiful choice for an overnight treatment, cocooning the skin as it rests.

The Underrated Morning Cleanse

It’s tempting to think your skin is still clean from the night before, but your skin is hard at work while you sleep. Like we mentioned, overnight your skin in a state of regeneration, a process that produces a film of sweat, sheds dead skin cells, and secretes sebum. A gentle morning cleanse is essential for removing these byproducts, ensuring you don’t seal them in under your daytime products. This simple step creates a perfectly clean, balanced canvas, allowing for better absorption of your serums and, most importantly, providing a smooth base for an even application of your sunscreen. To create a vibrant, glowing base for the day, you can follow your cleanse with a facial oil. A formula like our Rejuvenating Facial Oil is wonderful for restoring a look of harmony and radiance before you face the day.

The Risks: Understanding Under-Cleansing vs. Over-Cleansing

Finding that twice-a-day sweet spot is all about avoiding the two extremes, both of which can disrupt your skin’s delicate balance and lead to a frustrating cycle of skin concerns. Here’s what happens when the rhythm is thrown off.

What Happens When You Under-Cleanse? (Once a Day or Less)

When cleansing is infrequent or rushed, impurities are not properly removed. Over time, this persistent layer of buildup—made of sebum, dead skin cells, and environmental grime—can lead to the appearance of clogged, congested pores and a dull, lackluster complexion. Furthermore, this film hinders the proper absorption of your other skin care products. This means you’re not getting the full, beautiful benefits of your serums and moisturizers because they’re being applied to a canvas that isn’t truly clean.

What Happens When You Over-Cleanse? (Three or More Times a Day)

In skin care, more is not always better. Cleansing too frequently or with harsh cleansers can strip the skin of its essential, natural oils that form its protective barrier. When this barrier is compromised, your skin can become dehydrated and irritated. It can even trigger a “rebound effect,” where the skin produces even more oil to compensate for what was lost. This is why it’s so crucial to understand that a balanced approach is key, and why even oily complexions can benefit from using the right facial oils for oily skin that help to signal balance instead of stripping it away.

It’s Not Just “How Often,” but “How Long”

The frequency of your cleanse—how many times a day—is only half of the story. To make your twice-a-day ritual truly effective, the duration of your cleanse is what makes all the difference. A rushed, 10-second wash is simply not enough, which is why we believe in the transformative power of the 60-second rule.

Massaging your cleanser into your skin for a full minute is a game-changer. This specific timeframe allows your cleanser’s ingredients enough time to properly soften, emulsify, and dissolve the day’s impurities. More than that, it turns the simple act of washing into a mindful facial massage, boosting circulation and creating a visible glow. If you enjoy this daily ritual, you can elevate it even further by incorporating a facial tool, like our Nephrite Gua Sha can turn this step into a truly luxurious moment of self-care.

Adjusting Your Routine for Your Life & Skin by Decade

While the twice-a-day rule is a foundational principle, the focus of your routine will naturally evolve alongside your skin. Honoring these subtle shifts is the key to lifelong skin health.

Skin Care for Your 30s: Establishing the Rhythm

This is the decade to solidify the twice-a-day cleansing rhythm as a non-negotiable, foundational habit. Creating this consistency is one of the most powerful things you can do for your long-term skin health. This simple, gentle cleansing protects the skin’s barrier and is a core principle of an effective approach to skin care in your 30s, setting the stage for decades of resilience and radiance.

Skin Care for Your 40s: Honoring a Changing Barrier

As your skin’s natural oil production begins to decline in your 40s, the focus shifts to barrier support. Sealing in hydration and nourishment after cleansing becomes a crucial step, and is a key pillar of your skin careroutine. Following your cleanse with a targeted serum and facial oil rich in age-supportive botanicals can make a beautiful difference in how your skin feels throughout the day. Our Wild Fruit Serum and Anti-Aging Facial Oil is specifically formulated with these changing needs in mind to deeply nourish the skin and promote a vibrant, healthy-looking glow.

Skin Care for Your 50s and Beyond: Prioritizing Gentle Support

In your 50s and beyond, the skin barrier is often at its most delicate and requires maximum support and comfort. After a gentle, twice-daily cleanse, it’s a beautiful practice to immediately replenish the skin with nourishing lipids to keep it feeling soft and resilient. The right facial oil or facial cream can provide immense comfort and restore a healthy glow.

A Rhythm of Connection and Care

For most of us, the ideal rhythm is beautifully simple: a thorough, mindful, 60-second cleanse, twice a day. This rhythm does more than just keep your skin clean; it respects its natural processes, ensuring it is always balanced and perfectly receptive to the nourishment that follows.

We encourage you to embrace this twice-a-day ritual not as a strict rule, but as a cherished, twice-daily opportunity to connect with your skin. It’s a foundational act of honoring your own health and well-being, creating the perfect canvas for your most radiant skin yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay to just use water in the morning?

For most skin types, a gentle cleanse with a proper cleanser is recommended to remove the film of oils and dead skin cells that accumulate overnight. However, for extremely dry or sensitive skin, a simple splash of lukewarm water can sometimes be sufficient. The most important rule is always to listen to your skin.

Does the twice-a-day rule apply if I don’t wear makeup?

Yes, absolutely. The evening cleanse is still crucial for removing sunscreen, environmental pollutants from the air, and your skin’s own natural sebum—all of which do not simply rinse away with water alone.

What is the next step I should take right after cleansing?Immediately after you pat your skin dry, it is in the perfect state to receive your most potent, targeted treatments. We recommend a four step routine consisting of cleansing, toning mist, serum, and facial oil or cream. This leads to another common point of confusion, and you can explore our full guide on choosing between a facial oil and a serum to find the right next step for you.