For 15 years, I washed my face with water as hot as I could tolerate. Steaming hot, almost scalding. It felt deeply cleansing, like I was opening my pores and melting away all the dirt. My face would be bright red after washing, but I thought that meant it was working.
Then last winter, my skin went haywire. Constant dryness, flaking around my nose, that uncomfortable tight feeling all day long. My dermatologist asked about my routine. When I mentioned hot water, she actually winced. “You’re destroying your moisture barrier,” she said. “Switch to lukewarm water immediately”.
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The Short Answer: Lukewarm Water Wins Every Time
After testing all three temperatures methodically, lukewarm water (between 98°F and 105°F or roughly 36°C to 38°C) is the clear winner. This isn’t my opinion. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends lukewarm water, and every dermatologist I consulted said the same thing.
Lukewarm water is warm enough to effectively dissolve dirt, oil, and makeup while being cool enough not to strip your skin’s natural protective oils. It’s the Goldilocks zone for face washing.
Hot water feels amazing but damages your skin over time. Cold water feels refreshing but doesn’t clean effectively. Lukewarm water lacks the drama of temperature extremes but delivers the best long-term results. Water temperature affects skin, and it’s important to pair it with appropriate cleanser frequency.
What Hot Water Actually Does to Your Face
During weeks one and two of testing, I deliberately used hot water (around 110°F) to document the effects. The damage became obvious quickly.
Hot water strips away your skin’s natural oils. These oils form a protective barrier keeping moisture in and irritants out. When you remove them with excessive heat, your skin becomes vulnerable and dehydrated.
Within three days of hot water washing, my skin felt tight within minutes of cleansing. By day seven, visible dry patches appeared on my cheeks. By day 14, my skin was producing excess oil to compensate for the dryness, creating that awful combination of tight, flaky skin with an oily T-zone.
Hot water also breaks down the lipid barrier of your skin. This barrier is essential for retaining moisture and protecting against environmental stressors. A 2022 study found that hot water exposure damaged skin barrier function and increased transepidermal water loss.
My face would flush bright red after hot water washing. That redness indicates dilated blood vessels and inflammation. For people with rosacea or sensitive skin, hot water triggers visible flare-ups that can last hours.
Hot water can exacerbate existing skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and acne. The excessive drying causes your sebaceous glands to overproduce oil, potentially leading to more breakouts rather than fewer.
After two weeks of deliberate hot water use, my skin looked and felt worse than it had in years. The “deep clean” feeling I’d associated with hot water was actually my skin screaming in distress.
The Cold Water Truth: Refreshing But Limited
Weeks three and four involved washing exclusively with cold water (around 60°F to 70°F). This had its own set of problems.
Cold water feels incredibly refreshing, especially in the morning. It definitely wakes you up and provides a temporary tightening effect that makes pores appear smaller. This temporary vasoconstriction can reduce puffiness around eyes and throughout the face.
However, cold water simply doesn’t cleanse effectively. Oils and makeup don’t dissolve well in cold water, even when using facial cleanser. After washing with cold water for a week, I could feel residue on my skin. My cleanser didn’t foam properly, and I never felt truly clean.
Cold water can also trap dirt and oil in your pores. Some dermatologists believe that the vasoconstriction triggered by cold water causes skin to “close up” around debris before your cleanser removes it properly.
My skin didn’t get damaged during the cold water weeks like it did with hot water. But it didn’t get truly clean either. By week four, I had developed small bumps along my jawline from inadequate cleansing.
The one genuine benefit of cold water is reducing inflammation and redness after cleansing. A cold rinse at the very end of your routine (after washing with lukewarm water) can help soothe irritated skin and reduce temporary puffiness.
Why Lukewarm Water Is the Sweet Spot
Weeks five through eight used exclusively lukewarm water. The transformation was remarkable and happened faster than I expected.
Lukewarm water (feeling slightly warm but not hot to touch) effectively dissolves dirt, oil, makeup, and sunscreen. My cleanser foamed properly, rinsed completely, and left my skin feeling genuinely clean without that tight, stripped sensation.
Within three days, the dry patches from my hot water weeks disappeared. Within a week, the bumps from inadequate cold water cleansing cleared. By week two of lukewarm water, my skin looked better than it had in months.
Lukewarm water maintains your skin’s natural pH balance and doesn’t disrupt the moisture barrier. Your sebaceous glands produce appropriate amounts of oil rather than overcompensating for stripped skin.
The temperature also helps your cleanser work optimally. Most facial cleansers are formulated to activate and work best at lukewarm temperatures. Too hot or too cold prevents them from performing as designed.
Dr. Dennis Gross, board-certified dermatologist, states that lukewarm water preserves the skin’s natural oils while allowing effective cleansing. This balance is exactly what I experienced during my testing.
The Pore Opening and Closing Myth
During my research, I discovered that the whole “hot water opens pores, cold water closes pores” concept is completely false. Pores don’t have muscles to open and close. They’re fixed openings in your skin.
What does happen is that warm water helps soften the sebum and debris within pores, making them easier to cleanse. Cold water may cause temporary tightening that makes pores appear smaller, but this is purely visual and temporary.
For effective pore cleansing, rely on proper cleansers with ingredients like salicylic acid rather than temperature tricks that don’t actually work.
How to Wash Your Face the Right Way
Beyond water temperature, proper technique matters enormously.
Test water temperature on your inner wrist before washing your face. If it feels comfortably warm (not hot), that’s lukewarm. If it feels distinctly hot, it’s too hot. If it feels cold, it’s too cold.
Wet your face with lukewarm water first. Apply a small amount of cleanser appropriate for your skin type. Massage gently with fingertips in circular motions for 30 to 60 seconds. Don’t scrub aggressively.
Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water, ensuring all cleanser is removed. Soap residue causes its own problems.
If you want, finish with a brief cold water rinse to reduce any redness or puffiness. This optional final splash can feel refreshing and provide temporary tightening.
Pat your face dry gently with a clean towel. Don’t rub or scrub. Then immediately apply moisturizer while skin is still slightly damp.
When Temperature Extremes Might Be Acceptable
Despite lukewarm being best for daily cleansing, extreme temperatures have limited situational uses.
Very brief exposure to cold water (like a 10-second cold splash after cleansing) can reduce morning puffiness and provide a refreshing wake-up effect. This isn’t cleansing, just a finishing rinse.
Some people with extremely congested pores find that a warm (not hot) compress applied before cleansing helps soften stubborn debris. This targeted warmth is different from washing your entire face with hot water.
But these are additions to proper lukewarm cleansing, not replacements for it.
Conclusion
After eight weeks of systematic testing, lukewarm water is unquestionably the best temperature for washing your face. Hot water damages your moisture barrier, strips natural oils, and causes dryness and irritation. Cold water feels nice but doesn’t cleanse effectively, leaving residue and potentially trapping debris.
Lukewarm water balances effective cleansing with skin barrier protection. It removes dirt, oil, and makeup without stripping your skin or causing damage. This isn’t dramatic or exciting, but it works.
My skin transformed when I stopped using hot water and switched to lukewarm. The chronic dryness resolved within days. The tight feeling disappeared. My skin barrier repaired itself, and for the first time in years, my face felt comfortable all day.
