Cold Water and a Washcloth: The Keys to Healthy Skin

Acne is a problem that cramps the style of almost every human being on the planet. White heads can ruin an evening and blackheads appear as often as morning wood.

Make no mistake about it, acne is here to stay.

In my years on earth I have had my fair share of head turning pimples. I mean I went through puberty for gods sake.

If you currently are living in the years of raging hormones and bacon grease like facial oil, then I am going to be honest with you. No amount of acne wash or any sort of facial cleanser will help you. Your pimples are here to stay. Everybody else is suffering so you might as well deal with it.

Nobody has perfect skin. The only reason that we even think that perfect skin exists can be attributed to the invention of the air brush and its use in all popular media. I have yet to meet a real live human being who does not have some kind of wrinkle, zit or flaw in their face.

Enough ranting as the goal of this article is to introduce to you my new way of cleaning my face and how you can (hopefully) achieve similar results.

My Story

I won’t lie. I used to wash my face with countless products in order to rid myself of the red mini mountains on my face. I would usually see an add and then go and buy the product.

I would love to tell you that my skin became the object of everyone’s desire and that girls literally threw themselves at me because my skin was as smooth as a babies rump. But if I told you that I would be lying. The truth is that I continued to spend my money on useless facial products, fill tissues with puss and dreaded the day Whitehead Mountain returned in a vein attempt at ruining my life.

So here I am, a 22 year old college kid with some pretty clear skin. I wont say perfect because that is impossible. I am not immune to the creation of zits, pimples, whiteheads, blackheads, blotches or what ever the hell you want to call them. But my good friend did tell me the other day that my skin was unusually clear and that she was in a jealous fit of rage because her skin was not like mine.

Mind you this was after spending two months in Japan, where shall I say, my personal hygiene was not at the top of my priority list.

What did I do?

I stopped using all soaps, creams, masks and wipes. And to be honest I stopped fretting over my face. I started doing the absolute minimum amount of work that one could do in taking care of their face. All I did was apply a little common sense to my nightly routine and BAM clear skin.

Everyday I do the same thing. I wake up and splash cold water on my face. Before I go to bed I use a wash cloth with cold water and scrub my face for a few minutes and then splash some more cold water on my face. That is it.

Oh and by the way, my face is the clearest it has ever been in my life. I honestly can not remember the last time that I had crater sized pimple. They used to come with eerie regularity.

Why does this system work and what are you doing wrong?

Cold water closes pores. When pores are closed dirt, oil and other crap cannot creep in and inflame your skin. Which then triggers your body to send white blood cells to heal the area (yes white heads are simply your body trying to heal itself).

A wash cloth, used properly, is the perfect acne fighter. It is abrasive enough that it acts like an exfoliator for your skin. Which means that it not only clears away dirt and oil, it also clears away dead skin cells. Yet it is gentle enough not to rip skin from bone.

Again, finishing the wash with cold water closes pores and leaves your skin feeling revitalized.

Note: Do not Hulk-Out when your using a washcloth. The skin on your face is very delicate. Be gentle.

What you are doing wrong….

Using hot water. Hot water brings blood to the surface of your skin. Blood is red. Why would you want to bring a red substance to the surface of your skin so that it is visible? I guess if you were going to a Twilight theme party I would understand.

Honestly, hot water may bring so much blood to the surface of your face that the blood vessels actually rupture. Leaving you with red blotches on your face.

Using soap, creams and other chemical cleaners. All the previously mentioned products contain chemicals. Most of which you nor I can even pronounce. I don’t care what the adds say, putting any kind of man made chemical on your body (especially the sensitive skin found on your face) is not a good thing.

Final Thoughts

If you want to attempt achieving the unattainable Cosmo cover skin, or simply want the peace of mind knowing that you are doing more than just washing your face with water and a washcloth, then I recommend using all natural products that do not contain any ingredients that you can’t pronounce.

Even better if you are into masks and other feminine things of that nature, try making the stuff on your own. It will be way more fun and much better for your skin.

Source by Ryan Banks