Although incredibly convenient, the simple face wipe has to be one of my most hated inventions ever. When they first hit stores they were perceived to be something of a revelation, giving women back precious moments and simplifying sometimes over complex skincare routines. I for one stocked up by the packet-load and spent many years using them to remove my makeup before bed... Until I realised they were causing more problems than they were solving. By their very nature, face wipes are saturated with all kinds of chemicals to keep them moist for a long period of time; ironically these can be incredibly drying and sometimes damaging to skin. Furthermore, a face wipe will only remove makeup and dirt that's visible on the surface, rather than helping to lift and clear the build-up that's sitting within the deeper layers of skin, waiting to potentially cause spots, irritation and blocked pores.
Your face is a delicate flower that needs to be watered and tendered to in the right way, but face wipes cause us to be lazy and scrap the routine that has been preached to us since we were teenagers: cleanse, tone and moisturise. Whenever I get approached about a skincare problem, the very first thing I ask is whether or not the person in question is using face wipes alone to remove their makeup at the end of the day; unfortunately, more often than not this tends to be the root cause of everything from dryness and spots, to uneven skintone and blackheads. If you need convincing, the...