When I was in middle school the science teacher told us that you should shower with hot water to open your skin’s pores and when you’re done showering a quick rinse with cold water will close the pores. Unfortunately this myth is 100% NOT TRUE. The skin’s pores do not have muscles that open and close them.
Steaming your face with very hot water in the shower or with an facial steamer at home can actually cause more damage than good. It’s also not beneficial for oily/acne-prone skin. First of all, steam or hot water can cause the skin to become flushed, red and warm to the touch. The redness is the blood coming closer to the surface of the skin which can cause capillary damage because the capillaries are becoming engorged with blood. The skin’s natural response to heat is to cool down which is why we produce sweat. Heat will also cause the skin to activate oil glands and in return, produce more oil. As we all know, excess oil can lead to acne!
Another issue with steaming is too much steam is can actually dehydrate your skin! Isn’t that weird? Who knew that hot water droplets can cause dry, dehydrated skin! It totally defeats the purpose of steaming in the first place.
My recommendation is to use tepid/room temperature water to wash your face. It’s not too hot and not too cold. Lets not forget that you’re washing your face to CLEAN your skin’s pore from oil, make up, debris, daily environmental pollution and dead skin cells. Use a cleanser that gets your skin squeaky clean like our Green Facial Shampoo! You can grab one here: http://www.secure-booker.com/correctiveskincare/ShopOnline/Products.aspx Take your time to clean your skin (with your fingers) and get into every nook and cranny of your face to make sure you’ve covered everything! Fun fact- the average adult female has 20,000 pores on her face! Which means there’s 20,000 chances of an acne flare up!
I hope this post was helpful. Leave your comments or questions below. We want to hear from you!
www.CorrectiveSkincareLA.com