Wash your face and hair, you may not be washing them correctly!

Author: Zhu Xuejun, Chief Physician, Peking University First Hospital

Former President of the Dermatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association

Reviewer: Yang Dingquan, Chief Physician of China-Japan Friendship Hospital

Washing our face and hair are small things we do every day, but these small things actually contain a lot of knowledge.

Do you know how to wash more scientifically?

1. What are the requirements for washing your face?

First of all, we advocate washing your face with warm water, which is the best cleaning material.

From a dirt perspective, there are two kinds of dirt:

One is dust-like, which is granular and can be washed away easily.

There is also an oily type. For mildly oily skin, the oil can be dissolved in warm water and can also be washed off.

However, if the skin is oily, or if you have applied oily skin care products, it will form a film. Or if there are some environmental pollutants, its chemicals can combine with the molecules on the skin. Simply cleaning with warm water will not be very effective. At this time, you need to use facial cleanser to wash.

If it is a special case, including applying very oily sunscreen in the summer, or wearing makeup, you need to wipe it with paper first, then wipe it off with makeup remover cotton, and then wash it with facial cleanser, so that it can be washed clean.

Generally speaking, it is best to wash with warm water.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Many people have a misunderstanding, especially girls, who use facial cleansers too frequently, in the morning and at night, twice a day.

The purpose of washing our face is mainly to remove dirt, but for normal skin, sweat and oil will form a film on the skin to protect the skin, so the skin will look more shiny, especially for young people. Facial cleansers will also wash away this protective film.

Some people have done such research, and found that it takes 36 hours for the skin to return to its normal state after using facial cleanser once. So if you use facial cleanser every morning and night, the skin will not have time to repair itself, and the oil that is produced with great difficulty will be washed away again. So after washing your face, you must apply a layer of moisturizing lotion, which is very important.

Therefore, we advocate that it is enough to use facial cleanser three times a week, once every two days, not too much. Unless you are traveling, or there is a sandstorm today, or the environment you are in is particularly dirty, it is okay to use facial cleanser twice more.

2. What are the precautions for washing your hair?

First, the frequency of shampooing should be determined based on how oily your hair is.

Young people, especially boys, have oily hair because the production of oil is mainly affected by androgens. When the level of androgen is high, more oil is produced.

Women's ovaries and adrenal cortex also produce androgen, so women also produce oil, but men's androgen levels are obviously higher than women's, so men produce much more oil than women.

Therefore, men who are both around 20 years old may wash their hair more frequently than women. For people of the same gender, the frequency of washing hair may also vary depending on the degree of oiliness.

Second, people with too much oily hair may need to use some bactericidal shampoo in addition to washing their hair frequently.

Oil is actually a fatty acid, which is a nutrient. If the hair of young people is dense, if there is too much oil, Malassezia furfur will easily multiply, causing itching of the scalp and even inflammation.

So in this case, you need to wash your hair frequently to wash away the oil. If necessary, use a shampoo that has a bactericidal effect on Malassezia furfur, such as ketoconazole lotion, selenium disulfide lotion, etc.

Third, use conditioner after washing your hair and then rinse the conditioner off.

Generally, if you wash your hair without using conditioner, your hair will have no luster and appear dry. Combing your hair will generate static electricity and the hair will stand up. Conditioner can solve this problem very well.

When using conditioner, be sure to smooth the hair in one direction along the direction of the hair to smooth out the hair that was originally curled up, instead of smoothing it back and forth.

Moreover, the conditioner can neutralize the charge on the hair, so there is no static electricity, and the hair will be smoother and more shiny when combed. So this is the use of conditioner.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Therefore, using the right shampoo and conditioner can protect your hair. If not, such as washing with alkaline soap, your hair will be dull, have static electricity, and even break easily, and these problems will appear.

Fourth, try not to scratch hard with your nails to avoid damaging your scalp and hair.

Generally speaking, you should wash your hair more frequently and just gently massage your scalp with your fingertips.

But if you wash it twice a week, you may need to scratch it to clean it; if the conditions are worse, and you work outdoors, you only wash it once a week or two, then you will definitely have to wash it vigorously.

So this also depends on individual circumstances, there is no particularly unified standard.