I wanted to share with you today a skincare tip that I have been trying out with increasing success. There’s no point sharing a beauty tip unless you have tried it for yourself and know that it works, you know 🙂
It is a very cheap tip and importantly, it is very effective!
The tip is thus : Use a face cloth when cleansing your face. It cleans your skin, gently exfoliates and leaves your skin looking cleaner, clearer and brighter. No more need for any fancy face washing gadget, yo! 😀
I take no credit for this tip. It is in fact, a tip I learned from the blogger and skincare guru (I don’t throw words like ‘guru’ around lightly, mind you!) Caroline Hirons who is a very strong advocate of using what she calls a ‘flannel’ which is essentially a face cloth, or wash cloth.
I’ve been trying this out for almost a month, every day and it’s been so good, I couldn’t wait to share 😀
I mostly decided to try using a face cloth, because I’m now using cleansing balms in the evening.
I started out with the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter Cleanser and I like it so much, I’m thinking of trying another one soon. If you read my review on the Antipodes cleansing balm however, you may notice that I say it doesn’t clean off very well using a muslin cloth. I didn’t find it effective because a muslin cloth is quite light, and there just wasn’t enough “grip” for me to move it around my skin.
However, it all changed when I dug around my cupboard and found a square face towel and decided to try that. Changed my life! 😀
What is a face cloth or face flannel?
A face cloth is basically a face towel or also known as a wash cloth. It is usually a square piece of absorbent terry cloth material with varying thickness.
Where do I buy face cloths?
Good question! I found mine while digging around my cupboards. You can buy them from most linen departments or even Ikea where they aren’t very pricey at all. Sometimes, they are sold as part of a set of fancy towels. Or better yet, locally, look in the baby department 😀
Most people will buy a set of absorbent handkerchiefs for their babies and these will work as well. Get one of the thicker ones. I’m nicking a few from my nephew HAHA!
Are these face cloths expensive?
Nope! Well, ok mine were random non-matching pieces that I managed to scrounge up. I don’t know how I came to be in possession of them, but I somehow did. Sometimes you get them free as a GWP. I never knew what to do with these square face towels but now I do!
Otherwise, they aren’t very expensive to buy at all, just a few bucks each, or maybe a wee bit more for a better one. Some beauty stores like The Body Shop and Crabtree & Evelyn carry these too (I happen to own one from each – don’t ask how!) but I can’t imagine they are as cheap. For the record, I much prefer my generic white ones to the fancy ones 🙂
How often do you change them?
Daily. I have one for each day of the week so I have a minimum of 7 pieces. I plan to pick up a few more because I change them daily, as you should. Moist cloths can harbour bacteria and you don’t end up spreading bacteria over your face.
Daily, after using, I rinse them out and hang them up to dry. When they’re dry, I toss them into the laundry basket. At the end of the week, or mid-week, depending on when I do my laundry, I launder them with the rest of my laundry and they’re good to go for the coming week.
How often do you use them?
I use them once a day, in the evening. In the mornings, I use a lighter face wash but in the evenings, after the rigours of the day, I bring out the heavy artillery.
So, I choose to use a face cloth then as part of my first step of cleansing, to remove my cleansing balm. If you don’t use a cleansing balm, I read you can also use a face cloth to remove your cleansing oil or cleansing milk or foaming cleanser. But it is used in the the first step of your cleansing. You are double cleansing right? 😛
Can you use a face cloth twice a day?
Erm… overkill methinks! You run the risk of over exfoliation. You could I suppose, if you had a lot of time in the mornings but I don’t double cleanse in the morning and I just think it too much. So, it’s just an evening routine for me.
How do you use a face cloth to cleanse your face?
Here’s how I do it:-
- I massage a cleansing balm/any cleanser all over my face. This takes a while, for the texture to lighten up and I usually have a little facial massage.
- Then, I wet the face cloth with warm water from my shower. I’m careful not to use water that’s too hot, so it’s the same temperature for my bath.
- Squeeze out the water and gently, with firm pressure, wipe off the balm.
- Rinse and repeat on the other side of your face, or as many times as necessary to clean your skin.
Once it’s clean, I like to run the cloth over my face again, just to be sure it’s all clean. I do follow up with a face wash thereafter, as part of a double cleansing routine. In fact, I’m now operating on a triple cleanse haha! But it works!
What are the benefits of using a face cloth?
Well I can tell you what are the benefits I’ve experienced.
Cleaner skin, because a face cloth will grab and wick off the dirt from your skin more effectively than your hands and running water.
Brighter skin, because it will gently exfoliate your skin when you rub it over your face, as the texture of the cloth will remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin.
Clearer and smoother skin, because this daily gentle exfoliation means you don’t get clogged pores, or flaky skin so easily.
As I said, I’ve been doing this for over a month, every evening and I love it! Remember when we talked about beauty gadgets that are collecting dust around our houses? Remember how some of you mentioned the Clarisonic is one of them? I said the same thing. Mine is no longer used because I can’t use it daily. It is just far too harsh.
Using a face cloth, I get similar or even better results than using the Clarisonic or any other face washing gadget, at a tiny little fraction of the cost. Best of all, anyone with any type of skin can use this tip and it barely costs you anything to try. You might even reap the benefits!
What should I be aware of when using a face cloth?
There are a few things you should be aware of:-
- Don’t use hot water. It is bad for your skin as it can dry it out and make it red and irritated.
- Don’t scrub your face too hard. You aren’t scrubbing the floor. Use firm but gentle pressure so you don’t irritate your skin.
- Don’t pull your skin. Well, not unless you want more lines!
- Use a new, clean face cloth every time. No laziness allowed. If you don’t, just think of how much bacteria you’re spreading on your face with a recycled cloth and you should drop it quite quickly.
There you have it. I love this so much I actually look forward to my evening routine. It seems like a lot of hassle but it isn’t. Nothing was ever achieved without a little hard work 😉
My skin looks and feels better, clearer and healthier and I get all the benefits of using a Clarisonic or any face washing tool, without using one. Just a piece of cloth. Perfect by me! 😀
Do you or have you used a face cloth/wash cloth as part of your cleansing routine? Do you have tips to share?
I remembered my grannies would use a face towel when washing their faces, and I should have twigged back then. It took me a while to get round to learning something that my grannies already knew, but hey! Better late than never I say! 😀 Would you try this? 😀
Paris B
I did try this out after reading about it in a magazine but even with my super soft bamboo face cloths (you should try them, super absorbent and softer than regular terrycloth) my sensitive skin turned red because it hates friction of any kind. I am happy with my prescribed glycolic and salicylic toner now because it removes all of the flakes I get from using a retinol. Even my face cloth couldn’t do it without some serious scrubbing.
Hi Firn, would you mind sharing where you got your bamboo face cloths from? It sounds awesome! 🙂
Augh, I normally get them at those concourse sales in Singapore shopping malls. I haven’t seen them reliably stocked elsewhere. Maybe Isetan Scotts? They do them in hand and bath towel sizes too…
Wow your skin must be really sensitive Firn! Don’t take a Clarisonic near it haha! Thanks for the tip about using bamboo face cloths. I will have to look for them here. Not sure where to start 😛
Yep, I haven’t taken the plunge with a Clarisonic because I know I’ll overdo it! My skin likes the Cure Aqua gel if I rub it in gently.
You know Firn, I was never sold on the Cure gel LOL! I felt it was far too gimmicky and that the “bits” were actually just the product getting balled up. But that’s me >.<
Haha nuuu it’s totally dry skin! I’ve used it on my lips before putting on dark lipstick and also on my cuticles. And after I use it on my face, I get baby-butt-softness…
Hahaha I know, I’m just so damn sceptical 😛 I did quite like a sample sachet I got once. It is also a lot of fun (although so scary to see that much skin being ‘scrubbed’ off >.<)
My mum taught me this way too. Cheap and effective way to clean oily face and prevent acne. She also suggest using wash cloth for body so we get like a body scrub but much cheaper than going to a spa!
That’s a good tip about doing the same for the body, Cat! Thanks for sharing! (I do still like going to the spa and letting someone else do the job though hehe… ;))
I like how you rolled up your face towels and stacked them up like a pro! I used to use a face towel too when I was younger, maybe I should start again. Will have to dig around my cupboard for face towels, I know I have plenty some where!
LOL!! only for photos my dear 😛 In reality, they are folded flat else they take up too much space haha! Do give it a go again and let me know how you like it. I was seriously impressed at how much better my skin looks 😀
Great post! I just started using a microfibre mitt last week and am really impressed by the results. I’m thinking of switching over to an actual face cloth because the mitt absorbs too much product! 😀
Microfibre mitt! Interesting! Do you put product on it? I tried using a microfibre face cloth a while ago but it wouldn’t glide properly across my skin so I went back to using it in the kitchen (cleans up spills and water so well!) but just regular face towels really do the job spectacularly
Actually, I recall that when I was a kid, I noticed that my aunts used similar towels to wash their faces. Are we going back full circle?
It would seem we are! LOL!
This is what I use and have been for a long time! I never use my Clarisonic as like you it was to harsh. Best way to wash your face hands down!
Ah Tracy, why didn’t you say so? But yes, this face towel thing is seriously impressive, and so easy I can carry it everywhere and any hotel will have face towels! Damn I should have thought of this earlier
Must try this method soon. Pity I only read this after purchasing the Olay Pro-X. LOL. I guess I can try the face cloth method daily and the beauty tool weekly 🙂
Sorry, forgot to ask before typing send. Do you think this will also work for double masking routine? Which means I remove my clay mask with the cloth and then follow up with a hydrating mask which I remove normally with water.
That’s what I do. Always remove clay mask with cloth because it’s easier to get it all off that way. Then hydrating mask which is easy to remove so no cloth.
Yep, it should. Plus, it’s a heck lot easier removing a mud/clay mask with a cloth than just water – I speak from experience 😛
Haha oops! 😛 But give it a go anyway. Who knows, maybe the Olay will work well for you too. As you said, maybe for a weekly face treat
Awww I tried this off and on and I really loved it. But I’ve been too lazy to continue. But continue I must. 🙂
By the way, the purple lavender wash cloth is from Crabtree & Evelyn, no? I have the exact same one! It was part of a gift set I received years ago! 😀
Well spotted, GT! It was a gift too and I can’t recall from whom. I find it a bit small, but I like how there are 2 sides, the rougher side and the softer one 🙂 Give it a go again. It’s now a habit for me so it’s no more bother 🙂
Oh mine is actually hand towel sized, so quite ample in size, if you ask me! 😀
Ahh then that would be a good size!
My sensitive face seems to like face cloth too. I use Body Shop ones, wet them and rub gently in circular motion- after makeup removal on clean face. Hehe .. i also compile them and handwash once a week, soak them with a drop of tea tree oil in water as final rinse to zap those accumulated-bacteria. I think they are better than Clarisonic too. Somehow Clarisonic makes my skin oilier, eventhough i use it 1-2 times a week. It’s too drying on my skin?
Thanks for sharing the tea tree oil tip, MJ! I think I might try that, plus they’ll smell so good too after that haha. It could well be that the Clarisonic is drying on your skin which results in it producing more oil. Just conjecture on my part, because for me, I break out like no tomorrow 😛
you are welcome…. i took forever to finish the tea tree oil which i think has a shelf life of 1 year. i also used it in a full cup of water as final rinse for face brushes.
gosh, what am i to do with the Clarisonic? maybe use it as a weekly scrub?
Well, if you don’t break out from it like I do then a weekly deep cleanse with the Clarisonic might prevent it from being an expensive white elephant LOL! I’m trying to decide what to do with mine too 😛
I’ve used this method before years back when i was having a breakout teamed with my jojoba cleansing oil. It works well. And i thought it’s just me or a coincidence. Think i’m coming back to this soon. The oil also cleanse thoroughly and makes my skin supple and less drying. For me, i just used those cheap cotton face towel i bought from the market. It works just as well. Btw, i’ve watched this program from years back and this japanese actor was sharing that his secret to good skin is using a cotton towel to cleanse his skin (body and face).
Good to know this worked for you before Lisa 🙂 I guess people may have heard/tried it at some point in their lives but it just seems so basic doesn’t it? I prefer using a slightly thicker face towel because it feels a little more luxurious 😉 But anything that works goes! I may go look for those better quality cotton types. I’ve not heard about the cotton towel thing, but I know some people swear by using silk!
Looks like I can cancel that Clarisonic off my wish list now and invest in some good old face towels! 😀 Thanks for the awesome tips, Paris! 🙂
haha so long as you know you’ll never keep wanting it, Laura 😉 But try this face towel method and see how it works for you
I was hesitant to use this method because I was worried about the towel harbouring bateria and making my skin worse.. However, your idea of rotating 7 facial towels just might overcome this problem. But it does sound like alot of work and discipline.. 😛 Am just worried I might not be able to keep up.. haha 😛
Yep, definitely do not reuse the towels because it might just make skin worse. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to be honest. I just have the clean towels on standby, use them as I go during the week and then wash it all at the end of the week. It’ll become a habit once you get used to it, or if you use a cleansing balm haha!
Do you just keep a basket for all of the wet cloths, Paris? With just the two of us, we don’t accumulate too much laundry and I hate to do a load of just teeny tiny face cloths.
I actually don’t, Larie. I hang up the used one on a rail/hook and by the next day it’ll be dry. That’s when I toss it in with the rest of my laundry. I usually do my laundry once a week, so everything gets washed in one go 🙂 I don’t like the idea of lumping wet cloths for a week because that might make them mouldy!
That’s how I do it too, especially when I use BB Extra Balm Rinse. I use a warm face cloth and press on my face for about 10 seconds before removing the balm. So relaxing!
I think this is the best way to end the day 🙂
Great idea Paris! I remember that my granny and mum used to bathe my sister using a washcloth or those small square hanky. They will give her a squeaky clean scrub with the washcloth after body shampoo and helps lather up those soap free body shampoo as well. I guess it might just work wonders for the face as well and of course not to be overzealous 🙂 I love the one you have in the picture, the lavender embroidery makes it look so cute and girly 😀
Haha yes! Me too! I mean getting bathed with a wash cloth. All babies had them and still do you know! My little nephew gets his bath with a washcloth too (hence my stealing some of his hehe)
I’m happy that you loved to use the face cloth as part of the cleansing process. Welcome to the face cloth family~~ lol!! I’m also using face cloth but not as everyday routine process. Mostly 2-3 times per week. Great review!
Yay! Happy to join the face cloth family lol 😀 I still use them everyday because I use the cleansing balm. I love it! I don’t think I’d switch from this routine for a while 😀
Ive always used washcloths on my face – keeps my skin exfoliated and they are cheap and reusable….
Good point! Every saving helps 🙂
I like your tips about “you aren’t scrubbing the floor”. Gee… that’s like pointing directly at my direction! 😛 hahaha
Hmm… I haven’t used one for washing. But I use one for wiping skin dry before putting on serums and creams. You know those nappy cloth material? I got loads in handkerchief size for my children for wiping up mess. These get cleaned properly every time and folded in a neat pile near my creams and stuff. Maybe I shall steal theirs for face washing tonight. haha 😀
LOL!! Well, yeah don’t scrub the floor 😛 Oh yeah I know the nappy cloths – nephew loves playing with his nappy LOL I think it could work. Give it a try next time when you wash your face and see if you like it 😀
i have never used a wash cloth per se but i have used cotton cloth on the days when i apply mask so as to clean it off easily from the neck area. will try this out for a month and then see if it really helps me 🙂 but, won’t this be literally like ocm method?? that also uses a wash cloth to remove the oil and it is said one shouldn’t do it everyday!!!
Do give it a go, Swati and let me know how it goes for you! It’s different from the OCM because I don’t use an oil. The technique will be the same, but the products you use won’t be 🙂
actually i use oil to remove my sunscreen so its kinda ocm for me everyday 🙁
Ah I see! I’ve read of many who have benefited greatly from using the OCM method in their daily routine 🙂
I use a flannel (wash cloth/face cloth), to wash and dry my entire body. I may use a couple (one for nooks and crannies). Afterwards just rinse them through, wring them out and leave to dry.
Why bother machine washing them? You are only likely to put some nasty detergent in your washing machine and raise the level to 40 degrees C anyhow. So you are probably better hand washing them. And occasionally hot washing them. Just have a few and rotate.
I can be in and out the shower and dry within ten minutes. It would take me longer to stand at the sink and wash my face etc. So I find it easier to just shower whenever I feel the need. Quite often thrice daily.
Having a damp towel is probably far worse regarding bacteria. As I say just flannel yourselves dry first, and you’ll barely have need for a towel. You can flannel dry your hair also.