Do You Need Facial Cleanser in the Morning? Criteria for Deciding Based on Skin Type and Skincare

The debate was sparked by a press release for a new product that Shiseido issued in June 2024. A survey the company conducted of women aged 15 to 29 found that "one in two do not use facial cleanser in the morning," and the release described this behavior as having surfaced on social media as the "face-wash cancel crowd." In response, opinions online split between those saying "you should use facial cleanser in the morning too" and those saying "washing with lukewarm water is enough," and the topic drew widespread attention.

Kazunosuke first expressed unease with the way the term "face-wash cancel crowd" was being used. Unlike the term "bath cancel crowd," which people use self-deprecatingly when they know they should bathe but skip it due to fatigue or mental circumstances, he points out that those who don't use facial cleanser in the morning are in many cases making a deliberate choice, because "my skin is in better condition when I don't use it."

He also views the current situation, in which one in two people don't use facial cleanser, as a major shift away from the once-mainstream beauty wisdom that "you should wash thoroughly with facial cleanser morning and night." Around 15 years ago, using facial cleanser was the norm, but growing concern about skin problems caused by over-cleansing led to the spread of approaches that reduce face washing, as well as methods such as "skin fasting" and "off skincare." Today, however, some people are cutting back on cleansing so much that they fail to remove even the sebum that needs to be removed, and develop skin problems as a result—things tend to swing from one extreme to the other. For that reason, he says, it is important not to fall into an all-or-nothing mindset and to find the right balance.

A frequently cited argument for using facial cleanser in the morning is the claim that "sebum secreted during sleep oxidizes into lipid peroxides, which harm the skin, so it needs to be removed with facial cleanser." Kazunosuke, however, counters that this claim lacks scientific evidence and is overstated.

As evidence, he cited data from a 1991 paper published by POLA, "Distribution of Lipid Peroxides and Epidermal Lipids in the Stratum Corneum and Their Removal by Cleansing." This study compared the amount of lipid peroxides produced when spending time indoors without exposure to UV rays versus outdoors with exposure to UV rays.

• Indoor living (no UV): Even after 24 hours, the amount of lipid peroxides increases only slightly compared with the initial level. Over the 6 to 8 hours of sleep, even fewer lipid peroxides are produced, an amount unlikely to cause serious harm to the skin.
• Outdoor living (UV exposure): In an environment exposed to direct sunlight, the amount of lipid peroxides surges to about 5.1 times the initial level in just 6 hours.

The main factor that dramatically accelerates sebum oxidation is UV radiation, so it is hard to imagine large amounts of lipid peroxides forming during sleep, when there is no sunlight. Although some slight oxidation may occur due to oxygen in the air, that level of grime can be adequately removed by washing with lukewarm water or lightly wiping with toner. He therefore concludes that the claim that "a strong facial cleanser is essential to counter sebum oxidation during sleep" goes too far.

Considering the physical and chemical burden on the skin, Kazunosuke advocates limiting facial cleanser use to "once a day" as a basic rule. Many facial cleansers in the past were based on pure soap, which is alkaline and strongly degreasing, so using them twice a day carried a risk of significantly damaging the skin's barrier function. Milder amino acid-based cleansing ingredients and the like are now widespread, but the act of washing the skin with surfactants still inherently places a certain burden on it.

Whether facial cleanser is needed, by skin type, can be summarized as follows.

• People likely not to need facial cleanser in the morning
  • Sensitive, dry, or atopic skin: Because these skin types naturally secrete little sebum and their barrier function tends to be weakened, using facial cleanser in the morning as well tends to trigger dryness, flaking, and skin problems. Washing with lukewarm water or wiping with toner is more suitable.
• People likely to need facial cleanser in the morning
  • Adolescent boys and girls: This is the period when sebum secretion peaks over a person's lifetime, so a lot of sebum is secreted by morning even if they washed their face at night. Even if their skin tends toward dryness, it is safest to use facial cleanser to prevent acne and skin problems caused by excess secretion.
  • Resilient skin or severely oily skin: Those who secrete a lot of sebum and whose barrier function is little affected even by washing twice a day will find it easier to keep their skin in good condition by using facial cleanser in the morning as well to reset their sebum.

Even when adding facial cleanser to a morning routine, there is no need to use a high-cleansing-power soap-based product like the one used at night. By choosing a mild gel, milk, or foam cleanser whose main ingredients are amphoteric surfactants such as cocamidopropyl betaine or amino acid-based surfactants such as sodium lauroyl methylalanate, you can remove only the excess sebum while minimizing the burden on the skin.

In addition to skin type, the skincare products used the previous night also affect how strongly you should cleanse the next morning.

A typical case in which using facial cleanser in the morning is recommended is when a high-concentration retinol product has been used at night. Retinol has the property of degrading when exposed to UV rays, which can cause skin irritation and problems. Products with low concentrations can be dealt with by washing with lukewarm water, but if you went to sleep after applying a high-concentration product, it is advisable to use a mild facial cleanser to wash away any ingredients remaining on the skin's surface before being exposed to morning light.

Conversely, it is easier to skip facial cleanser in the morning when you have used skincare with strong antioxidant effects the night before, such as high-concentration vitamin C derivatives or astaxanthin. These ingredients suppress oxidation of sebum on the skin's surface, further lowering the risk of sebum degrading during sleep. Kazunosuke says that, from his own experience, on mornings after using antioxidant ingredients, enlarged pores and the unpleasant feeling of sebum are not noticeable, and on many days he gets by without problems by skipping even the lukewarm water wash and just wiping with toner.

It is also essential to reconsider the role of morning cleansing within the overall picture of one's daily skincare.

If you fall asleep without washing your face at night due to work fatigue or the like, using facial cleanser in the morning is not a problem, since it maintains the "once a day" cycle. Also, when removing makeup at night, if you do not double cleanse (foam washing with facial cleanser) after using a cleansing product, or if you finish an oil cleanse using vegetable oils or the like with just tissue-off, oil and leftover makeup may remain on the skin's surface. Having reduced friction on the skin by skipping the double cleanse at night, doing a mild foam wash the next morning to reset is a reasonable option.

When skipping facial cleanser in the morning and just "wiping with toner," Kazunosuke strongly urges caution about physical friction.

• Soak a cotton pad generously with toner (about 10 drops) so that it saturates all the way through to the back.
• Rather than sliding and rubbing it across the skin, gently pat it on with a pressing motion to absorb sebum and grime.
• Only on the sides of the nose and areas where clogged pores are a concern, wipe with a very slight pressing motion.

The stratum corneum is vulnerable to friction, so repeatedly rubbing it on a daily basis leads to the breakdown of barrier function. When wiping, it is essential to consistently "press without sliding."

Caution was also urged, from the standpoint of cleansing science, regarding the idea that "to prevent daytime shine and makeup breakdown, the morning is exactly when you should strip off all your sebum with facial cleanser."

According to data from a 1994 Shiseido study, "Research on Scalp Sebum Secretion Volume," the rate of sebum secretion differs greatly depending on how the skin is cleansed. When the skin was completely degreased using an organic solvent (acetone), facial sebum levels rapidly recovered to pre-cleansing levels in just about 130 minutes (about 2 hours). In contrast, on skin washed with water alone, the subsequent rise in sebum secretion was very gradual.

In other words, if you strip away your sebum with a strong facial cleanser in the morning, the skin tries to replenish it rapidly, and the rate of sebum secretion accelerates sharply in the roughly 2 hours after washing. As a result, sebum-induced makeup breakdown and shine are more likely to occur early in the day, which can cause makeup to apply poorly.

If you want to suppress sebum secretion and keep your makeup lasting through the day, it is actually more rational to limit morning cleansing to water or lukewarm water alone, or to use a mild facial cleanser that gently removes only the excess oil on the surface.

The conclusion to the question of whether facial cleanser is needed in the morning is not that there is one correct answer for everyone, but rather that "roughly half of people need it and half don't."

• People who don't need facial cleanser: Those with dry, sensitive, or atopic skin, and those who use antioxidant skincare at night. Protecting the skin with a lukewarm water wash or gentle patting with a low-irritation toner is suitable.
• People who need facial cleanser: Adolescents with high sebum levels, those with extremely oily skin, those who used high-concentration retinol at night, and those who only used a cleansing product at night without double cleansing. Even when using it, however, it is recommended to avoid products with overly strong degreasing power and choose a mild facial cleanser, such as an amino acid-based or betaine-based one.

Rather than being swayed by extreme claims such as "everyone should use facial cleanser in the morning" or "not using it is unhygienic," it is important to observe your own skin type, the season, and the previous night's skincare, and then choose the appropriate cleansing strength.