The 60-second face cleansing rule can transform skin: beauty experts

Are you washing your face thoroughly? If not, you might as well be throwing your money down the drain with your skincare.

According to one beauty guru, washing your face for 45 to 60 seconds is the ideal lathering duration to allow the product’s active ingredients to do their magic.

Mattie Lacey-Davidson — a London-based social media influencer who boasts more than 70,000 followers on TikTok and another 14,000 on Instagram — revealed that it’s one of the “super common skincare mistakes” she’s sure her followers are making.

“Not washing your face for long enough,” she said in a clip posted to both platforms. “Especially if your cleanser contains active ingredients because you need to give them a chance to work before you wash them off.”

Of her 60-second rule, which could feel like a century, she said, “It’s longer than you think.”

Before amateur skincare enthusiasts scoff, the method is actually tried and true.

A 2019 Cosmopolitan article investigated the merit of the expert-acclaimed cleansing regimen, the reporter finding that her troublesome blemishes and texture disappeared weeks after introducing the 60-second washing rule.

“Makeup, dirt, and oil are a lot more difficult to remove from the skin most people realize,” esthetician Nayamka Roberts-Smith told Cosmo at the time.

“So not only do you want to give the cleanser a chance to break down and dissolve products and grime, but taking 60 seconds also makes you pay attention to your skin and what you’re doing — like remembering to cleanse around the edges of your nose, under your chin, and around your hairline.”

Taking the extra time to cleanse, while also incorporating skincare-savvy hacks like double cleansing, is the expert-recommended way to keep skin clear and glowing.

“Double cleansing is a gentle way to help ensure that you have thoroughly removed all makeup, dirt and impurities from your skin, without stripping or irritating the skin barrier,” Dr. Dendy Engelman, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist, told Everyday Health, advising 30 seconds to two minutes of sudsing is ideal.

However, certain cleansers can be too harsh and strip the skin’s natural protective barrier, making your complexion prone to rough patches, scaliness, itchiness, tenderness or irritation.

If your skin feels too dry immediately after washing, experts warn it could be a sign of harsh cleanser or too hot or hard of water, making gentle cleansers and mild water as the ideal choices for facial cleansing.

As the season changes, though, Rachael Gallo, an esthetician and Chief Operating Officer of Silver Mirror Facial Bar, recommends swapping products.

“During the hotter months, change to a gel- or foam-based cleanser to help with the excessive heat and dead skin,” she previously told The Post. “In the colder months, switch to a cream cleanser and add one with a milk base for extra hydration.”