Have you ever heard it isn’t important what activeingredients are in a cleanser because they just get washed away? I believe thatto be somewhat true. Sometimes your skin needs to be exposed to theskin-healing ingredients in a cleanser for longer than a few seconds.
Murad
AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser$36.00
Once, at a small spa in thesuburbs, I had one of the best facials of my life because I was introduced to agreat cleanser: Murad AHA/BHA exfoliating cleanser. I was still a teenagerwhen this cleanser was used on me, but the package claims it “reverses the visiblesigns of aging.” Whenthe facialist used this cleanser on me, I noticed she left it on for a fewminutes before rinsing off, so I started doing the same thing.
When I do this,I notice more exfoliation than if I rinsed immediately, and I’m convinced it’sbecause I’m giving my skin longer to interact with the active ingredients.
This is easy for me to do because I love taking baths, and so I do it in the bath at least once a week after I remove mymakeup. I’ll use a scrub and leave it on for a little while, and I swear it’salmost as effective as using actual masks, which I have been too lazy to dolately. It might be a winter thing, but I just want to be in hot water. All thetime.
There are three cleansers in my current arsenal that workawesomely when left to sit on the skin for a few minutes before rinsing off. MuradAHA/BHA exfoliating cleanser, Proactiv Renewing Cleanser (step 1) and Mario Badescu’s Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Face Scrub.
Proactiv
3-Step System$19.95
I only use Proactiv once in a while. My subscriptionis set to once every twenty weeks; I’m pretty sure that’s the least often youcan get Proactiv and I still have extra all the time. My skin can’t handle all three steps ofProactiv for consecutive days, but when I’m really oily and broken out, a goodwash with Proactiv just makes everything feel better.
In the wintertime, my skin would probablycrack if I used Proactiv all the time. But the Proactiv Renewing Cleanser is a great cleanser-mask on skin that is just about tobreak out. Just scrub a quarter size amount around, and then let it sit for 30seconds or so. It will help soak up excess oil and make your life better.
Mario Badescu
Almond and Honey Face Scrub$15.00
Mario Badescu’s Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Face Scrub is nice toleave on for the entire duration of a bath, if you can keep yourself fromeating the stuff because it smells so good and has real almonds and corn mealin it.
It also has zinc oxide, which I am a huge fan of. I like to leave it on for a few minutes whenever I want to calm my skin down.The honey is super-moisturizing and anti-inflammatory, and the mask… see I’meven calling it a mask now… just makes your skin feel soft and look glowy afterward.
You don’t need to wait and let it harden or anything, which is nice when you’remostly submerged in water.
This is how my skin looked after doing all three:
Do you ever keep a cleanser on as a mask? Which ones?