How 'Bad' Is It If You Don't Wash Your Face Every Morning?

Ask any dermatologist what they recommend for the first step of a skin care routine, and they’ll likely give the same answer: cleansing. But is that true for both morning and nighttime routines?

“My opinion is that washing your face in the evening is a nonnegotiable,” said Dr. Angela Casey , an Ohio-based, board-certified dermatologist. “Overnight, our skin undergoes the ‘rest and repair’ phase of the skin cell cycle.”

According to Casey, when people don’t thoroughly remove dirt, allergens and other irritants from the face at night, they can interfere with the skin’s repair cycle.

Though many beauty aficionados have a nightly skin care routine with multiple steps, such as double cleansing , their dedication to a morning skin care routine may be another story. A lot of them are lucky to have enough time in the morning to splash water on their face before running out the door.

Although dermatologists agree that most (if not all) of their patients need to wash their faces at night, what do they think about people who skip the morning face wash? Is it “bad” if you don’t wash your face every morning?

“As with most skin care habits, the answer is that it depends,” said Dr. Helen He , a New York-based dermatologist and resident at the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology at Mount Sinai.

What type of skin do you have?

Unsurprisingly, if you have oily or acne-prone skin, most dermatologists recommend that you incorporate a cleanser into your morning routine.

“Patients who tend to sweat and produce more oils while sleeping during the night are also more likely to transfer debris from their pillowcase onto their face, and thus would benefit from thoroughly cleansing their face in the morning to remove