This common skin care mistake might be damaging your face

Most people have a skin care routine that they stick to. But what if their skin care habits are wrong? For instance, how do you dry your freshly-cleansed face? Is it by using the same towel to dry both body and face? Well, it’s something probably everyone has done at some point, if not every day. But according to skin specialist Dr Amitabh Kumar, your face towel matters more than you think.

He says you should use a separate towel for your face than the one you use to dry your body after a bath. “Your facial skin is delicate and sensitive, and none of the products you put on your body, such as, moisturisers, fragrances, and hair products should be transferred onto your face,” says Dr Kumar.

He is not the only one advising against this practice. “The bacteria left on your skin — arms, legs, shoulders — have some specificity to those areas of the body, and if you use a towel on your body and then your face, you can transfer those bacteria, viruses and fungi onto your face,” says a general physician Dr Sanjay Aggarwal. “These can clog pores, increase breakouts and some could even cause irritation or rashes,” he adds.

Dr Kumar says that it’s important to not only have a separate towel for drying your face, but to make sure that it stays clean, meaning you should wash it or replace it with a fresh one every couple of days. If you’re prone to acne and pimples, you might want to get a fresh face towel even more frequently. “Aside from regularly changing them, keep your towels bacteria-free by making sure they dry completely between uses,” says Dr Kumar.

ACCORDING TO SKIN SPECIALIST DR AMITABH KUMAR, YOUR FACE TOWEL MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK. HE SAYS, ‘OUR FACIAL SKIN IS DELICATE AND SENSITIVE, AND NONE OF THE PRODUCTS YOU PUT ON YOUR BODY, SUCH AS, MOISTURISERS, FRAGRANCES, AND HAIR PRODUCTS SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED ONTO YOUR FACE.’

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Ideally, one should use separate towels for face and body