Do you wash your face with cold water? When it comes to actually cleansing our skin to remove sunscreen, makeup, and the day’s grime, we should use only warm water. Don’t confuse a cold plunge-rinse-flush with an effective skin cleansing routine.
Should you wash your skin with cold water?
No. Only warm water can soften our skin, assist in cleansing away grime, and prepare our skin to absorb our skin care products.
Using cold water isn’t the only mistake we make when cleansing our faces. Other common mistakes are using:
- Hot water, which can break delicate facial capillaries and encourage dehydration.
- Conventional acne or anti-aging cleansers, which are much too dehydrating.
- Harsh cleansers in the morning. Never use a cleanser in the morning unless you went to bed wearing makeup and sunscreen from the night before. This is never ideal, as evening skincare routines are the most optimal time to cleanse, hydrate, nourish, and moisturize.
- Rough and irritating practices in an effort to scrub pores. This irritates our skin without ever actually cleaning it. Proper skin cleansing should support our skin in achieving a permanent state that is self-cleansing.
- Don’t use a cleanser at all or use one less often. Shower steam and warm water goes a long way.
- Try coconut oil or a gentle washcloth to help in a warm-water steam cleansing.
- Use only cleaners for normal or sensitive skin.
- Dry your face and hairline briskly with a dry towel. A yummy dry towel scrub after a shower is the best way to prepare our skin for hydration with a hydrating mist.
It is crucial to not over-cleanse and strip our natural oils. Our skin’s natural acid mantle barrier is essential to healthy skin, and removing oils will only dehydrate our skin, ironically causing congestion and excessive oil production, and create vulnerable pores where they are susceptible to being packed with makeup and grime. The invisible film of our acid mantle is protection from more impacted oil and grime.
Replace the obsession with cleansing pores with a holistic strategy that hydrates and supports our natural barrier.

About the author
I took many wrong turns when I started learning about skin at 19. The more I spent on skincare, equipment, and training, the further I felt from actually helping skin. I was frustrated with only being able to offer temporary and superficial solutions at best. What emerged from the disappointment and turmoil, I now call, The Regenerative Skin Process. Skin Harmonics is a dedicated medical fusion holistic skincare clinic that provides a root cause approach delivering lifetime skin health through medical grade skin care products, new learning, and Deep Pore Cleansing Facials.