Sandy Says: On the back of my daily cleanser (Alpha Hydrox Nourishing Cleanser to be specific) it instructs to apply with an “upward motion”. Is there any actual reason for this, or was it just thrown in to seem more “special”? Should I be applying other products in a certain direction/motion?
The Right Brain Responds:
We aren’t aware of any real scientific need to apply facial cleansers with an upward motion. Our guess is that it’s marketing speak to make the product sound more special. Maybe they think that since gravity drags your skin down (making it saggy and wrinkled) you can push your skin up to get rid of wrinkles. Who knows what they really mean?
How You Apply Cosmetics Can Make A Difference
Does your application technique ever make a difference? Yes, in some cases it does. Sunscreens, for example, need to be applied with very even, smooth strokes because they won’t work very well if they don’t evenly coat the skin. Same thing is true for sunless tanners if you don’t apply them consistently you’ll end up with streaks. Some types of make up have similar application issues you need to be careful when applying wrinkle concealing foundations to make sure they fill in those fine lines evenly.
The Beauty Brains Bottom Line:
For some products, application technique does make a difference. That’s not the case for facial cleansers. Whether it be Avotone or StriVectin, there’s no technical reason that applying the product this way should help your skin. On the other hand, it won’t hurt it either.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
i feel like those directions are along the same lines of thought that i read bridgitte bardot had about applying makeup – always apply makeup in the direction you’d like your skin to go. that being said, you don’t want your skin to sag/fall/whatever. man, i wish it did work though.
The old tale I always heard was that if you applied upwards it was supposed to go into your pores better, which makes no sense.
Something that does make sense to me, though, is to apply foundation downwards. It smooths down the little hairs on your face.
I always heard that applying downward caused wrinkles.
Gravity doesn’t really case wrinkles. Other factors-sun, smoking, free readicals, etc. cause your skin to lose it’s elasticity and tightness. Your skin loosens and is going to drop in a direction. Just so happens that gravity pulls them down. If gravity pushed UP, that’s where they’d go.
The instructions to apply or wash UPWARDS are from the old school that recommended any time you touch your face, from childhood on, that you use a lifting motion. The idea was that it would help keep the face from sagging over the years. This was taught me when I was a little girl attending “charm school,” in the fifties.
I’ve always heard this as well and I still do it! I’m pretty happy with my skin (knock on wood) so I’ll continue to use an upward motion even if there is no proof that it’s helping…
I also heard years ago that you should only use the 2 middle fingers on each hand when washing or applying creams since these have the weakest muscles and therefore cause less wrinkles. Again, this probably isn’t true but I’m still doing it….
There are two real reasons that I know of, neither of which have to do with wrinkles or sagging:
1)The openings of the pores on your face do face down and outward, the same direction that the fine hairs on your face grow. Applying your cleanser or mask upward, and toward your nose on your cheeks does, indeed, work the product into your pores better.
2)In massage, you’re supposed to move from the insertion of the muscle(free moving end) toward the origin(fixed end) Mimicking the way an esthetician would massage your face during a facial feels far better than random rubbing.
I, too, was taught to apply cleaning and toning products in an upward motion and makeup (potentially pore clogging prodcuts) in a downward motion. Reasons given: As state in Dorian’s answer, pores face down and out, you want cleaner, treatments, etc to go into pores, but makeup should not be encouraged into the pores and that applying makeup downward smooths down hairs. So I guess my teacher had alllll the reasons.
Dorian is correct. Pores do technically open and close . Pores are openings of sweat glands, they lead down to glands. The glands are attached to blood vessels (blood vessels are really thinly walled allowing things to pass through them like ie impurities), these blood vessels contract when cold is placed on the pores (either by temperature, steam, and a few other items). Think of it like a wood door that expands in heat and contracts when it is cold or how your face flushes when you get hot (which is blood vessels expanding and sending more blood to the surface of the skin). Since blood vessels are attached to the glands which are attached to the pores, pores do open and close. So the cold will close them but it will only shrink them for a short period of time. Pores on the face go down and outward which is why its best to use cleansing products in an upward motion and applying makeup in a downward motion. Plus, people steam their face to allow products to penetrate the skin more deeply. Also when they expand they push dirt closer to the surface which is why people who pop pimples (not a good thing to do), usually steam first.
Remember after cleansing and toning you can exfoliate with AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) with about 10-20% glycolic acid, then apply a moisturizer with sunscreen (or if you just have one of each use the sunscreen last, then suspends a powder in a liquid (clinique has a great one called pore minimizer), apply it like a putty it will turn to powder when dry and fill in your pores, then if you wear makeup use a water based foundation
I am freeborn 81, but I posted the above comment without putting my name in the box so I am not anonymous, my mistake sorry. Jay here are a few of the sources which I used (I have never located anything on recorded media about this, just a few periodicals, several books and 3 dermatologists. I apologize in advance for the incorrect grammatical format being used for my sources. Remember after cleansing and toning you can exfoliate with AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) with about 10-20% glycolic acid, then apply a moisturizer with sunscreen (or if you just have one of each use the sunscreen last, then suspends a powder in a liquid (clinique has a great one called pore minimizer), apply it like a putty it will turn to powder when dry and fill in your pores, then if you wear makeup use a water based foundation.
I apologize in advance for the incorrect grammatical format being used for my sources.
Pits and pores II: formation, properties, and significance for advanced materials : proceedings of the international symposium by P. Schmuki, Physiology of the Skin II by peter pugliese, and others ( I dont feel like adding them all). Three dermatologists have confirmed these things.