This is the best time of day to wash your face, according to experts

This week Lauren Conrad wrote a post on her website discussing her philosophy about how often you should wash your face. She says that as a general rule, you should probably wash your face twice a day: once in the morning and once at night. But if you have oily skin, it's OK to wash your face only once a day. But what if (whether you have oily, regular, or dry skin) you're lazy and you always want to wash your face just once a day? When's the best time of the day to do so? I reached out to two top dermatologists, Joshua Zeichner, an assistant professor in the dermatology department at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and Jason Emer, a cosmetic dermatologist and aesthetic surgeon in Beverly Hills, to get some intel.

Both Emer and Zeichner agree that if you're only going to wash your face once a day, nighttime is the best time to do it. "Most dermatologists recommend face-washing twice daily, once in the morning and once before bed," says Zeichner. "In reality, this doesn't always happen. If you're going to skip [a wash], then it's better to skip the morning one than the evening one. At night, you want to remove the dirt, oil, and particulate matter that accumulate during the day." What's more, Zeichner says that skipping an entire day is just fine: "It's important to wash regularly, but a single missed day of face washing will likely have little effect on the overall health of your skin."

Emer says that using the right cleanser for the specific skin type you have is equally as important as how often you're cleansing. "People with dry skin need to ensure their skin barrier is protected and should be washing with a gentle, hydrating cleanser that's milky with a moisturizing base, like CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser," says Emer. "Oily skin does well with salicylic or glycolic acid cleansers, like Neutrogena Pore Refining Daily Cleanser." There you go. Now you can go on living your lazy life without feeling like a dirty slob.

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