I hear it constantly, “But my skin is super sensitive,” “I’ve been using this ________ since I was 15 with acne,” “It’s the only thing that doesn’t make me break out,”or “But it’s a good brand.” I’m not entirely sure what makes a “good brand” a good brand or is that can be interpreted as to whether or not the cleanser is working for you. Let’s first discuss the five common “wrong” type of cleansers.

1 - THE SQUEAKY CLEAN GIRL After washing your face with the cleanser and rinsing your skin clean, is your skin left feeling squeaky clean? Picture how clean a freshly washed window can be after it's squeegeed away, removing all of the dirt and grime leaving only the sparkly glass devoid of any moisture. If your cleanser does the same thing to your face leaving you with that refreshing over-the-top, gloriously clean feeling where you skin may feel a bit tight, you are using the wrong cleanser. This product is effectively stripping your skin of not only the dirt and any gunk deposited from the air and environment but all of the skin’s natural oils leaving it dehydrated and BEGGING to be hydrated. This is usually when we become oilier because the skin is trying to compensate for all of the missing moisture, as well as being more prone to break outs, or find that your skin is showing fine lines from the dehydration.

2 - THE LOVE THE GRIT TEXTURE GIRL Does your favourite cleanser have that beautiful but rough texture to it? When applied to your skin does it make you feel as if you’re really “scrubbing” away all the dead skin leaving your complexion feeling as smooth as a baby bottom afterwards? If so, chances are that this cleanser will result in your skin showing those same results as The Squeaky Clean Girl (please refer to #1 above) or could lead to micro-tears in the skin. Avoid things like “St Ives Apricot Scrub” and any “daily exfoliators”. Physical exfoliators are a great tool but should not be used daily. When selecting

physical exfoliators, make sure to grab ingredients appropriate to your skin type and avoid most mass produced fruit scrubs.

3 - COCONUT OIL FOR THE GAWDS GIRL We all know that girl. She believes that coconut oil is the answer to all of our problems just like the father from My Big Fat Greek Wedding praised Windex. Coconut oil has amazing properties and can do a lot of things due to it wide range of uses. However, using it solely as a cleanser can lead to clogged pores and breakouts. Coconut oil does make a great, organic and natural makeup remover. Just make sure you use a cleanser after!

4 - THE NEED TO GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE GIRL This girl has been using the same Neutrogena cleanser since she was 14 and had breakouts. She is now 30 with fine lines and still believes she has “acne” prone skin. (Quick side note: I plan to go heavily into the misconceptions of acne due to marketing in later blogs). Comfort Zone Girl is afraid to use any other product because she is so afraid she will either A) get “acne” again or B) she believes that her skin is extremely sensitive and nothing else will work. I promise you, your skin has new and different concerns from when you were a teenager and with new concerns comes the need for NEW ingredients and products.

5 - THE MUST HAVE TREND GIRL We all have that friend. The one who is so determined to “try the next best thing” when it comes to healthy and beauty. She's the one you always have to ask “Didn't you just get a sample from Sephora last week?” If you’ve heard about it from a YouTuber, beauty blogger, recommendation from a friend, magazine article, etc — she's either tried it already, or it's on her list. She has every subscription box to try every single cleanser. She doesn’t care if her skin is as dry as the Sahara Desert — she is ALL about trying that charcoal peel-off mask for her lack of pores she desperately can not get rid of. Nothing ever changes with her skin and she can

not figure out why. WE GOT YOU GIRL – be consistent. Life is full of options but somethings just are not always meant for you.

PS; I know we did not talk about this girl but, please, don't ever be, the still uses a "bar of soap" girl.

Now please ask yourself the follow questions: A) How does my skin feel after I use my cleanser? B) What ingredients are important to me? C) What are my two major skin concerns? D) Am I asking the right person for help? (i.e. your elementary school teacher best friend who is loves to watch YouTube tutorials may not be the best to seek out for skincare advice.)

As always, please drop a comment below with any questions you may have. I would love to try and answer them to the best of my ability. Please understand that my sense of humor showcases quite a bit of sarcasm but it's all in good fun! Enjoy.