Value Village ／ Beauty
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Should you wash in the morning as well? Is water enough? Opinion is divided the world over. Japan, however, has a guide that rests on a guideline from the Japanese Dermatological Association, the country's main professional body for skin doctors.
The Japanese Dermatological Association's acne guideline recommends washing twice a day with the lather of soap or a facial cleanser. Removing sebum helps prevention, but over-washing, such as four times a day, is reported to burden the skin and lead to dryness or worsening.
So the guide is "twice". However, this recommendation is made in the context of acne, and is not meant to apply uniformly to every skin condition.
[Verify] The above is based on several dermatology clinic websites that present the Japanese Dermatological Association guideline. Check against the society's original text (the guideline on acne vulgaris) before publication.
The guideline's figure is twice, but what is on your face in the morning is mostly what your own skin has produced. On days when your skin is not oily, lukewarm water alone is an option. If your skin feels tight after washing, that is a sign the method is too strong for your skin as it is now.
Four times a day is described as "over-washing". Removing the sebum you need puts a burden on the way the skin surface works.
Leaving a lot of sebum in place can also lead to skin trouble. "Don't wash" is not always the right answer either.
Skin changes with the season and with your physical condition. You do not need to keep the same number of washes all year.
If acne or eczema persists, do not try to solve it by changing how often you wash. See a dermatology clinic (covered by Japanese health insurance).
---
https://www.dermatol.or.jp/uploads/uploads/files/guideline/
https://www.dermatol.or.jp/qa/
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-11120000-Iyakushokuhinkyoku/kesyouhin_hanni_20111.pdf
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Cosmetics are not medicines and are not meant to diagnose, heal or prevent any condition. If your skin reacts, stop using the product and see a dermatologist.
Tell us if this has changed
Approved contributions keep the contributor's name, shown in five languages.
Other languages：日本語 ／ 简体中文 ／ 繁體中文 ／ 한국어
Value Village is not a government body. Always confirm procedures on the official site.
Written by Value Village from public sources. Nothing here is reproduced from another site.