The Top 6 Hygiene Tips You Should Prioritize in Your Daily Routine

We all share many of the same daily rhythms of basic hygiene. Brush your teeth twice a day, floss, and keep your hair (reasonably) clean. Of course, there’s always dry shampoo for the days showering doesn’t make the cut – in our book, that still counts as hygiene. 

Hygiene is something most of us are generally aware of. But how much do you know about hygiene practices when it comes to keeping your skin in tip-top shape? 

Hygiene tips can be invaluable to the long-term health of your skin. They’re the glue that keeps your skin healthy and let your products and practices work their magic – unhindered. 

Without further ado, here are our top 6 hygiene tips to keep germs + bacteria out of the way for glowing, flawless skin.

1. Skincare Hygiene: Always Remove Makeup Before Bed

When it comes to skincare hygiene, this may feel like one of the more obvious hygiene tips. But don’t underestimate the importance of taking makeup off.

Leaving makeup on overnight prevents the skin from breathing and can cause inflammation and damage to your skin’s microbiome. Plus, if you remove your makeup before bed, it'll encourage you to stick to your nightly routine and nourish your skin with your fave products.

On top of that, makeup will rub off on your sheets, which will continue to affect your skin negatively each night. That’s why clean, fresh sheets are also part of a healthy night’s sleep.

Removing makeup is one of the first hygiene tips you should incorporate into your routine before anything else. And we won’t lie – this can feel SO hard to do if you’re sleepy and want to roll into bed after a long day. But persistence builds habits. And if you’re already a die-hard makeup remover at night, we applaud you!

2. Wash/Clean Your Tools

Many people aren’t aware of how often you should clean and wash your skincare tools. To us, this is one of those hygiene tips you’ve heard before but never got the details on. 

Have you ever gotten specific instructions on how and when to practice hygiene tips like these? Let’s get super clear with a useful hygiene checklist for your skincare tools. 

• Gua Sha Stone – Wash after every use

Wash with gentle soap + dry off with a clean towel. At the very least, rinse with water after using. A non-abrasive soap like our seasonal hand soap or Branch Basics is perfect. Store in its bag and wash the bag 1/mo.

• Facial Dry Brush + Body Dry Brush – Wash once a week 

We recommend a gentle, non-abrasive soap like our seasonal hand soap or Branch Basics. Dry with bristles facing down so water doesn’t seep into the wooden handle.

• Tweezers – Wash once a month

Tweezers don’t touch your skin quite as frequently as some beauty tools and don’t require as much cleaning. But keep in mind, they may need to be cleaned after using if you set them down on dirty counter surfaces, etc.

• Applicators for products – Wash after each use 

Our masks, which come with an applicator, should be washed after each use to remove any excess product and help prevent bacteria. This hygiene tip is especially important if the applicator has been in direct contact with your face. 

*And be sure the applicator thoroughly dries before dipping back into the mask jar – if water gets into the product it can cause bacteria growth.

• Makeup brushes – Wash every week or every other week

Depending on how often you wear makeup, you may need to wash your brush more or less often. Pay attention to oil and product build-up on the bristles – this will give you your answer. Use a gentle, non-abrasive soap like our seasonal hand soap or Branch Basics and dry with the bristles down.

• Makeup bag – Wash or wipe down once a month

Just as your brushes absorb chemicals and gunk, so does your makeup bag. It's essential to clean the interior of your makeup bag. If it’s water-proof, throw it in the wash once a month. At the very least, give it an occasional wipe-down inside with a gentle vinegar spray.

• Towels – Wash once a week | Washcloths – wash after every use

Towels are known to trap bacteria, especially if they are left in clumps or not properly aerated. Always hang hand towels and bath towels with room to air out. And your washcloth should be washed after every single time it comes in contact with your skin – no exceptions. This is one of the best ways to protect your skin from bacteria.

Keep in mind: Harsh chemicals from detergents can also have an abrasive effect on your skin. Chemicals on your towel are going to transfer to your skin after cleansing. So, always wash your towels with a non-toxic detergent, like Branch Basic’s detergent.

*Tip for tools + dry brushes:  if you need a refresh in between washes (or on the road without access to water) you can always spritz our Hand Sanitizer! 

Hopefully, this hygiene checklist helps relieve some of the pressure and shows you that it’s not a crazy amount of work. With a bit of mindfulness, these hygiene tips are easy to incorporate into your routine.

3. Pay Attention to the Packaging

This is one of the most unassuming yet helpful hygiene tips out there, in our opinion. There are a few critical things to know about the packaging of your skincare products + what it means for your skincare hygiene.

• Expiration dates – this is one of the often overlooked (or ignored) hygiene tips. Many companies don’t focus on expiration dates because they don’t want to point out products with a shorter lifespan. But it’s the reality of skincare products (especially those with ingredients from nature)!

Think of it this way: if food has an expiration date for a reason, so does our skincare. The products are analyzed for the effectiveness of the formula. So you’ll see fewer results with an expired product.

Products are also given an expiration date based on the stability and shelf-life of the product. So even if a product contains preservatives, there’s only so long it will really keep its chemical composition intact.

Extra hygiene tip: Expiration dates are guidelines usually from the date opened, not purchased.

• Physical packaging – generally speaking, glass products are best. If you can opt for amber or dark-colored glass, even better! These protect products from oxidizing, which can cause cellular damage to the skin.

We understand some of your favorite products come in plastic packaging. If this is the case, follow the hygiene tips here, and you’re all set. 

• Avoid high heat – though some packaging is protective against high temperatures, you don’t want to expose your products to extreme temperatures.

The biggest takeaway from these hygiene tips with packaging? Just be mindful of the products you’re purchasing + the healthiest choices for your skin.

4. Sanitize the Bathroom Regularly to Avoid Mold + Germs

Before you say it to yourself, we’ll say it first: Hygiene tips with cleaning aren’t fun – we get it. But the physical act of sanitizing is so crucial for the health of yourself + your loved ones. And a clean environment trickles down the line, creating a more hygienic skincare routine too. 

• Keep a spray in or near the shower/tub to spray it down after each use. Showers develop mold easily, and if you’re keeping your tools in the bathroom (as most of us do!), you could also be exposing them to mold. The goal is to clean before mold/residue builds up, so you don’t have to scrub later.

• Keep the bathroom fan (or window or door open) on for at least an hour after showering to eliminate extra moisture.

• Wipe down the counters regularly – it’s hard not to set items down on the counter, right? But doing so can easily transfer germs and bacteria to all your products, your skin, and basically anything else you touch. Keeping your counters clean is one of the simplest hygiene tips with a huge benefit for your health + your skin.

• Diffuse our home line oil blend or light a beeswax candle to help purify the air in these smaller spaces like the bathroom.

While these may not be the most *fun* hygiene tips, they’re essential for keeping intrusive things like mold and bacteria at bay. If you struggle to find motivation, throw on your favorite podcast and set a timer for 15 minutes once a week – you can do it! 

5. Be Mindful of Which Items You Reuse 

Hygiene tips usually talk about not reusing items – but this isn’t always the case. Some products don’t need daily cleaning or are fine to reuse. Other products should definitely be used once and then thrown away or washed before being used again. Let's discuss a few majors.

• DON’T reuse washcloths for the face – these remove all the grime and oil from the day, so you definitely don’t want to mix that with today’s grime and oil. Applying a dirty washcloth to your face will not help your skincare hygiene. 

• DON’T reuse cotton rounds or cotton swabs – these items are only good for one use. If you’re going to use the other side to be waste-conscious, just make sure to do so in the same sitting. If you use fabric cotton rounds, make sure you wash them in between uses with a non-toxic, gentle laundry detergent.

• DO reuse bath towels – towels are fine to reuse, depending on how often you shower. A good rule of thumb is to be mindful of how they smell. Once your towel starts smelling damp or musky, it’s time to throw it in the wash. We’d recommend washing your towels once a week just to be safe. 

Another thing to consider is your detergent. Since towels have direct contact with your skin, you want to ensure you’re using a non-toxic detergent (we love Branch Basics) that won’t cause skin irritation.

• DO reuse sheets + pillowcases – similar to towels, it’s unrealistic that you could change your pillowcases or sheets every day. Aim for washing your pillowcase once a week (throw it in with a load of clothes) and your sheets every other week. And because these items have direct contact with your skin, always use a non-toxic detergent like Branch Basic’s detergent.

Sometimes, it comes down to your schedule. If you’re short on time, it might be hard to follow these hygiene tips for reusing items. That’s okay – don’t stress yourself out. Just prioritize cleanliness when you can with these hygiene tips. 

6. Don’t Over-Cleanse Your Skin

This is one of those hygiene tips we wish everyone knew! While keeping bad bacteria and grime free from your skin is vital in skincare hygiene, there IS such a thing as over-cleansing the skin. 

Many conventional skincare products contain harsh chemicals that damage the skin barrier, decreasing hygiene. When your hygiene suffers, your skin is more vulnerable to inflammation, irritation, and bad bacteria. 

Opt for a gentle process like the oil cleansing method instead. If you’ve just had a workout and feel extra greasy, try double cleansing to get your skin completely clean with an extra cleansing step.

Cleansing your skin requires a delicate balance. You want to eliminate excess oil, bad bacteria, and impurities, but you want to do so gently. 

Use These Hygiene Tips to Build Healthy Habits + Healthy Skin

Hygiene tips may feel straightforward in some ways, but it’s always helpful to have a round-up of everything in one place, right? 

Even for us, these hygiene tips have been a great refresher on all our routine aspects we need to be mindful of. Skincare hygiene follows many of the same principles as regular “hygiene,” but with more focus on keeping bad bacteria far away from the skin. 

You definitely won’t regret picking up a few (or all) of these surefire methods for supporting the best skin of your life. So give them a try, and see how your skin changes for the better.

After all your skin goes through each day, give it some much-needed protection with these hygiene tips. With these specific tips, you’re all set – let’s raise the bar for hygiene across the board. 

XO