Recently, skin care fanatics have been rushing to cryotherapy salons to endure below freezing temperature for a period of minutes to rejuvenate their skin. An increasing number of women are incorporating a similar tactic into their face cleansing routine to keep their skin young and you’ll never guess what it is: washing your face with cold water. It sounds simple, and maybe even pointless, but there’s actually some science behind the madness.
For starters, cold water improves circulation by rushing blood to your organs. Additionally, when you wash your face with warm water your pores swell and open up, allowing your cleanser to rid your skin of build-up and dirt. In contrast, cold water does the exact opposite, by restricting blood vessels and causing skin to tighten, which makes sense considering how tight your skin feels in the flush of winter after a cold wind blows. In the same way that a cold compress reduces swelling after a workout, the same magical effect happens when you rinse with cold water, which also reduces dark circles under your eyes. If you’re mind blow right now, we were too, but it actually makes a lot of sense.
In addition to keeping your skin vibrant and youthful, ditching the hot water in your routine also helps your skin to maintain a healthy moisture balance, as hot water dries the skin and strips it of its natural oils. If you’re thinking you’ve been washing your face all wrong, don’t worry we had the same moment of revelation when we learned about the benefits of incorporating cold water into our daily skin care regimen, too.
Here’s to chillier mornings and softer, younger looking skin!