Skincare guru Caroline Hirons has issued a stark warning about a common shower habit that could be wreaking havoc on your complexion. According to the skincare expert, washing your face in a hot shower might lead to broken capillaries as a result of dilated blood vessels.
Hirons, often dubbed the ‘Queen of Skincare’, highlighted that while our bodies can handle high temperatures, our facial skin cannot. She stressed the importance of cleansing your face separately using cool or lukewarm water to prevent damage.
Aesthetipedia.com notes that some factors leading to broken capillaries include ageing, inflammatory conditions, too much pressure on the skin and sun damage, leaving skin thinner and less collagen-rich.
During an appearance on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, she revealed her top tips: “Most of us have the water too hot for our face. And if the water is too hot, because your body can take it, but your face can’t.
“You’ll get broken capillaries, you’ll get the red flush. If you come out of the shower and your cheeks are red and flush, you need to turn the heat down. That’s not the goal.”
The celebrity aesthetician urges people to wash their faces with their back to the shower stream. “I said it in the early days and I still say, you have to stand as if the shower has greatly offended you,” Caroline described to listeners.
“Like a movie and you wash your hair from behind, like an old Timotei ad. If you have a tepid shower, knock yourself out, [but] most people have a hot shower and it’s too hot for your face.”
The Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery Institute has warned that washing your face in hot water can strip the skin of its natural oils, leading to dryness, irritation, and breakouts. Speaking to New Beauty, Caroline, 54, advised that facial cleansing should be done with cool or tepid water, both morning and night.
“It really comes down to basic hygiene. We spend a small fortune on overnight products that resurface, stimulate and regenerate our skin, and then we question removing the results of that in the morning? Madness,” she said. For a simple yet effective skincare routine, the qualified aesthetician suggests using a cleanser, moisturiser and SPF 50 or above daily.
To improve texture, she recommends using acid and retinoids, and for a greater glow, add products containing Vitamin C and facial oils.