Surprising fact of the day: Cleansing – okay, a specific step in the cleansing process – may be the startling source of creases and crinkles.
The curious culprit? That “pasar malam” terrycloth towel most of us use to wipe our faces with. Who knew?
Here’s the thing. A bath towel’s fuzzy fibres may be superb for sloughing dead skin and wicking water off damp skin, but the friction created by those very same fibres can result in “expression” lines – sort of like the “sleep lines” running down the side of your nose when your cheeks smoosh up against your pillow.
“I wince whenever I spot ladies at the gym dragging rough towels across their sweaty faces,” says Nicolas Travis, founder of Singapore grooming label Allies of Skin. “The abrasion is just going to damage the delicate dermis and result in saggy skin in the long run.”
And skin skeptics, this isn’t some old wives’ tale, either. For what it’s worth, the American Academy of Dermatology itself notes that harsh handling of post-shower skin is a surefire way of promoting premature ageing.
The solution is simple: Ditch the cheap cloth and switch to superior stuff. Budget beauties, we’re not talking fancy-schmancy 1,000 thread-count swag here.
I’m besotted with the bamboo face towels from cult Californian skincare start-up Kerry Benjamin, which are made from silky bamboo stalks and are said to be infinitely more gentle on your skin that your conventional cotton offerings – just remember to pat, not rub.
Even better, these bamboo babies are available online for international shipping – and at S$47 for a reusable pack of seven, isn’t even all that costly, all things considered.
Think of it this way: If you’re splashing out $1,800 a pop for a night cream, a tiny investment in the towel department is quite literally chum change. Good luck in warding off unnecessary wrinkles!