NEW YORK — From beach vacations to family barbecues, summer is often filled with more time spent outdoors, which often leaves people wanting to wash their face at the end of the day. All that time in the humidity leaves people yearning to feel clean, yet according to recently released results from a CeraVe survey conducted online by Harris Poll among 2,000 U.S. adults, people are confused about what “clean” actually means.

While clean skin should feel hydrated, 37% of respondents think their skin should feel tight after cleansing. Another 33 percent associate dry skin with clean skin, which is not true. At a time of year when cleansing is even more essential to a skincare routine, CeraVe, the dermatologist-developed skincare brand, is shedding light on what it means to have clean and healthy skin this Cleanse Your Skin Week, which is taking place July 28^th through August 3^rd.

With 43% of respondents saying that how their skin should feel after cleansing causes confusion, it’s no wonder people are looking to feel “squeaky clean.” However, a feeling of tightness is actually a sign of stripped moisture from the skin and often means you should be adapting your routine with products that include gentler, moisturizing ingredients. This feeling isn’t the only confusion being caused by this essential skincare step. In fact, more than half of respondents (53 percent) said they are confused about which type of cleanser to use; followed by how often to cleanse (47%).

“I always recommend my patients use gentle cleansers with hydrating ingredients as part of their daily regimen to not only provide a deep cleanse, but to avoid the tight feeling people often encounter after washing their faces, which is an indication of lost moisture,” said Dr. Marchbein. “First remove makeup, oil and residue that’s built up during the day with a cleansing cloth, then use a fragrance-free cleanser like the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser, which features hyaluronic acid to attract hydration to the skin’s surface and ceramides to help lock in moisture.”

Despite confusion, a regular skincare routine is a necessity for healthy skin. Yet, nearly half of respondents (47%) admit to behaviors that are bad for their skin and one-third (35%) confessed to having poor skincare habits. When it comes to cleansing, 53% of respondents said they only use water when they wash their face, which board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shari Marchbein says is not an effective way to cleanse.

Moreover, people are willing to admit that there is more than confusion contributing to their skin sins:

• The top three reasons respondents say they don’t cleanse are that they’re too tired (61%), they forget (47%) and they feel it is too much of a hassle and inconvenient (33%).
• More than one-quarter of respondents (27%) say they have gone more than two weeks without washing their bed sheets and pillowcases, leaving skin susceptible to breakouts and irritation from sweat, oil and bacteria buildup.
• While many people use washcloths for cleansing, 42% of respondents will use the same cloth up to four times without washing it and 16% will even use it up to seven times; thus, adding back accumulated grime and bacteria to freshly cleansed skin
• Two-fifths of respondents (41%) admit that they use hot water when washing their face, which dermatologists say strips moisture from the skin and therefore, they advise using lukewarm water instead.

To help achieve a proper and effective cleansing routine, CeraVe offers a complete range of cleansing products with three essential ceramides. Ceramides are found naturally in the skin as a key component of the skin barrier, helping skin seal in moisture and seal out impurities. The CeraVe products leave skin cleansed and moisturized without disrupting the skin’s natural barrier.

“Cleansing is essential for healthy and hydrated skin, but it’s a step that tends to cause confusion,” said Derrick Booker, vice president of marketing. “As the No. 1 dermatologist-recommended skincare brand, CeraVe knows that a proper skincare routine starts with cleansing and has created National Cleanse Your Skin Week to shed light on the importance of cleansers and how you don’t need to compromise your skin to achieve a clean, healthy look and feel.”

In addition to cleansers, CeraVe offers a wide variety of therapeutic skincare products that are developed with dermatologists and contain ceramides 1, 3 and 6-II, which are essential to restoring and maintaining the skin’s natural barrier