Why Washing Your Face is so Important

What happens when you don't wash makeup off your face daily? Really bad things.

Anna Purgslove recently pushed the beauty boundaries by applying layers of new makeup on each day and not washing it off her face before sleeping. The results? She almost developed an eye infection when a mascara-coated eyelash got stuck in her eye and her skin looks like its aged 10 years.

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Purgslove, a 40-year-old mother of two, wrote in a Daily Mail article that she did the experiment because daily makeup removal "frequently falls off the bottom of the list."

"How much harm can a bit of war paint really do? Isn't this just another example of beauty companies scaremongering in a bid to flog us yet more skincare products we could possible do without," she wrote in the article.

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While this may be a bit of an extreme example, it turns out that not washing the makeup from your face at night can cause some degree of damage to your skin.

"Even the most sensitive, organic, mineral-based makeup is a bad idea as the basic idea of cell renewal is inhibited," Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank, Cosmetic Dermatologist and founder of 5th Avenue Dermatology Surgery and Laser Center, told refinery29.com. "Adding makeup on top of makeup doesn't allow the skin to breathe."

As for Purgslove, she's now fearful that her little beauty experiment may have done more permanent damage to her face than she previously thought it would.

"The experts estimated that my skin was biologically approximately a decade older than before I began my no-cleansing experiment," she wrote.

Yikes! That's some serious damage. While Purgslove may be willing to admit that she can't be bothered with washing her face before bed, she's definitely not alone. According to The Daily Mail, at least a third of the women questioned confessed to sleeping with their makeup on twice a week. This news may be quite appalling to dermatologists and other skincare experts, but the reality of the situation is that some people just don't have time to wash and then slather on thirty different facial products. If this sounds like you, no more excuses! Here are three easy products that will save time and help you skirt your way around the traditional soap and water method.

1. Simple Exfoliating Facial Wipes, $4.99, target.com Grab a wipe! Makeup remover wipes are probably one of the greatest inventions for the skin in that they take away all the grime from your face in just a few swipes. These from Simple don't contain any harsh or weird ingredients and work great for even the most sensitive skin types.

2. Maybelline Clean Express! Classic Eye Makeup Remover, $6.09, soap.com Because sometimes it can be a bit harder to remove the makeup from your eyes, this stuff will quickly do the trick. Just squirt onto a cotton ball and swipe. It works so fast that there's no need to roughly rub the eye.

3. DH Deep Cleansing Oil Facial Cleanser, $14, dhccare.com Cleansing oils are a great way to wipe away the day from your face. Just (gently) rub into the skin and then wipe off with a damp cloth.

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