Why You Shouldn’t Use A Towel To Wipe Your Face
Expertise: Beauty, Health, & Wellness
Experience: 2 years
Indrani is a writer and artist who likes to add a dash of humor to everything she does. She has two years of experience in writing articles across beauty, health, and lifestyle genres. After graduatin... more
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Imagine using the best herbal products for skincare, drinking ample water, and eating healthy food only to find several pimples pop up on your face. We feel your pain, and we even know the culprit! Your face towel is to blame. Wiping your face with a not-so-clean towel can lead to more skin problems than just pimples. If you have been dealing with skin problems for quite some time and using the same face towels, we have some reasons why you should give up on the habit once and for all. Read on to know them all!
1. It Might Cause Acne
It’s possible that using the same towel to dry your face and body is doing more harm than good to your skin. Towels are a primary breeding ground for germs because of the wet conditions in the washroom where they are typically kept. Rubbing the towel on your face spreads germs from the towel onto your face, increasing the risk of breakouts and congested pores. If you don’t regularly wash the towel you use to wash your face, it might harbor bacteria and lead to breakouts.
2. The Process Of Aging Might Increase
When used on the face, terrycloth bath towels can cause microscopic rips in the skin, leaving it open to bacteria. It may even cause fine lines and wrinkles. Towels lose softness and become more abrasive when they are washed, making them an overly aggressive exfoliator.
3. The Effectiveness Of Skin Products Is Decreased
It may seem like common sense to pat your face dry after bathing, but doing so might actually prevent your skin from absorbing the full advantages of the products you use. If you apply moisturizer before all the water on your skin has evaporated, it will be more effective. Instead of removing the moisture from your skin with a towel, let your skincare products do their job and seal in the moisture.
4. It May Cause Skin Irritation
Towels aren’t the ideal choice for drying your face when you’ve got sensitive skin. The majority of towel fibers are overly abrasive and should be avoided while cleaning the face.
5. It May Make Your Skin Greasier
Contrary to what most people think, a lack of moisture on the skin might actually increase oil production. Since rough towels can remove the beneficial oils your skin needs to function, your sebaceous glands will overcompensate by producing even more oil, leading to oily skin.
6. How To Dry Your Face Without A Towel
Let the air dry your face naturally instead of patting it with a towel. While air-drying may take longer than just brushing your face with a towel, your skin will be happier in the long run.
- Do your regular face washing
- Let your skin dry normally
- Put on some lotion or face cream
7. How Frequently Should You Replace Your Towel
The growth of bacteria begins after the first usage. The skin has a diverse microbial community known as the human microbiome. While we dry off with towels, we also leave behind dead skin, germs, oil, cosmetics, and perspiration. Towels have germs that can cause responses in certain people, especially those with acne-prone or extremely sensitive skin.
Towels should be washed in warm water using a hypoallergenic laundry soap designed for those with sensitive skin. Towels that dry off after a daily shower can be reused several times before being washed, provided they are dried well between uses. Yet, because they are used so frequently and occasionally dry hands which are not 100% clean, hand towels should really be cleaned and replaced every one or two days.
8. How Frequently Do You Need To Dry Your Towels?
To avoid mildew and bacteria growth, hang your towels to dry after each use. To avoid the dampness of bathrooms after showering, we advise putting your towel on a hook outside the bathroom. Towels that are kept moist all the time attract yeast, which makes them smelly and dirty. Towels should be dried in a dry atmosphere with fresh, flowing air, preferably away from the washroom. The idea is to dry rapidly and thoroughly between usage. Towels should not be folded while they are drying.
It is recommended to replace facial towels after every two days. Towels for the body can be used twice or more before they need to be washed, reducing the frequency with which they must be replaced. Towels should be changed if they start to smell or become visibly dirty. If you have any questions or concerns about your skin, including rashes, you should contact a board-certified dermatologist right away.
