As a #cleanseaholic, I have a ridiculous healthy collection of flannels. I am not a fan of a muslin cloth but for the purposes of this post flannel and muslin cloth can be used interchangeably. The staying and staining power of make up these days is such that I have ruined many a pristine white flannel removing products so I stick to darker colours. I also colour code my flannels (you will see why later). The current rotation is black but I have had green and pink flannels in the past.
With wipes and cotton wool, any make up, dead skin cells, sebum, grime, pollution and cleanser is removed and binned. Great from a hygiene as you don’t want those things accumulating on your flannel but not so great for the environment or your pocket or your skin. If you are going to use a flannel (and I would recommend that you do) clean it properly to prevent causing some of the skin issues that you are trying to prevent by cleansing in the first place.
- One flannel per cleanse or maximum one flannel per day. If you don’t clean your flannel properly, (more on that later) you are just going to be reintroducing old makeup and bacteria onto the face you are trying to clean. Use it once and pop it into the machine.
- Rinse the flannel after use. Don’t just wipe your face with it and then store it. You are creating the perfect conditions for a bacterial colony.
- Let the flannel dry between uses. Bacteria love wet environments and your dead skin cells and old makeup make a perfect food source. Don’t scrunch up your flannel after use. Rinse it, wring it out and put it over a radiator or towel rail to dry.
- Don’t use the flannel for any other part of your (or any body else’s body). I love the mister but I really don’t want to use a flannel that he has cleaned his arm pits with on my face. I don’t want to use one that I have used on my own armpit on my face either. In my house body flannels are green and pink.
- Give your flannels a monthly deep clean. This step is vital to ensuring that you really get all the gunk out of them. Soak your flannels in a detergent of your choice for a couple of hours (or overnight) before you stick them in your washing machine. You will be surprised at the gunk that comes out. Try it and see.
- Flannels have a shelf life. For me, with the amount of cleanser I get through and the number of flannels I have, two to three years is good, and then it is time to buy a new set. You don’t have to throw out your old flannels. They can be used as body flannels (do you see the benefit of having colour codes now?) you can use them to clean your home, your car, sew them together to make a quilt – whatever you want or you can just throw them out.
- The price of flannels varies significantly. If you can afford Egyptian cotton, go for it but in my experience, the benefit only lasts a few months before they begin to feel like the cheaper flannels. If you are going to be rotating your flannels every two to three years, a set from Primark will be fine.
Eh voila. Clean flannels, clean face and the knowledge keeping your flannel clean will not exacerbate any skin issues that you may have.