Cameron Diaz and Salma Hayek claim not to wash their faces - is this the key to looking younger?

Cameron Diaz and Salma Hayek claim not to wash their faces and both have beautiful ageless skin - but would you try out this hack?

Cameron Diaz revealed that she doesn't wash her face on Michelle Visage’s podcast Rule Breakers. In the interview, the 50-year-old actress explained that since welcoming her daughter in 2019, she no longer worries about having a regimented skincare regime.

"I don't care. Literally, the last thing I think about on a daily basis," she happily. Cameron explained that even washing her face - which many people believe to be the bare minimum and the cornerstone of a skincare regime - is not on the cards for her. "I literally do nothing. I like never wash my face…. Twice a month, if I'm lucky, I'll be like, 'Oh, I better put this on. One time works, right?'"

While the star may have been exaggerating to make a point, she is not the only star who has openly shunned washing their face.

Fans were shocked when Salma Hayek claimed that her morning routine does NOT include the obligatory cleansing clean that starts the skincare regime of nearly everyone. In an interview with GQ, the actress claimed, "My grandmother taught me to never wash my face in the morning. It's not disgusting guys."

She then explained that the logic behind this is to protect the oils that your skin produces while you sleep, and not just immediately wash them off. "What happens at night is your skin produces all the oils that your skin needs to look youthful. It regenerates. So, wash your skin really well at night but don't wash the hard work off your skin in the morning."

So, she does wash her skin at some point, but prefers to kick off her skincare and makeup routine without washing her face. 

Other celebrities have taken this idea one step further and claimed that even washing your whole body isn't totally necessary on a day-to-day basis. "More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times," said Jake Gyllenhaal in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2021. "[I] think that there's a whole world of not bathing that is also really helpful for skin maintenance, and we naturally clean ourselves."

So what on earth is going on? Should we be washing our faces? In fact, should we even be washing out bodies at all? If these celebrities are claiming not to be cleaning themselves in these regular patterns and manage to look like that - could this be the secret for younger skin?

We spoke to an expert who explained whether we should be cleaning ourselves and if cleaning our faces in the evening is more beneficial - and the answer will probably not surprise you...

Chartered Chemist and founder of SOS Serum Skincare, Bruce Green, debunked this celebrity trend and said that of course, we should be washing our skin!

"I love Salma Hayek, but I don’t agree with her grandmother’s or her views on skin cleansing. Cleansing is one of the single most important things you can do for your skin. Everyone’s skin gets dirty from dust, sweat, make-up, sebum, and atmospheric impurities, at all times of the day. If you do not cleanse your skin twice a day, your pores will become clogged, and your skin will start to look dull," said Bruce.

"You should cleanse your face in the evening just before bed then again in the morning before you start your day. Follow this with your preferred skincare regime." Bruce added that he also recommends using a non-alcoholic cleanser that is gentle on skin. "I always recommend a non-alcoholic cream cleanser that is pH balanced to be compatible with the skin’s protective acid mantle pH 5.0-5.5 – natural protection."

"Cleansing your skin not only improves the way you look, but it will also make the skin more receptive to active ingredients in your treatment products," the expert concluded. So it looks like this potential celebrity trend absolutely does not have any merit!