When it comes to washing your face, there's a lot of advice out there, especially in places like TikTok. People share all sorts of tips and tricks, like how long you should wash your face and what kind of towel you should use and much more. But it can be hard to know what's actually good for your skin without consulting with a dermatologist. There are many skin experts who revealed these are unnecessary tips and tricks, at times they also debunked many harmful tips that social media influencers give out. One of the conversations that has popped up is face washing and cleansing.

One popular trend that is going viral on TikTok- ‘to wash your face for at least 60 seconds if you want to have the perfect wash’. While the notion has quickly picked up, dermats do not see how this can help.

Dermatologists suggest that there is no scientific backing for how long you need to clean. They explained that if there are special ingredients like salicylic acid, leaving it on your skin for a little while, like 30 to 60 seconds, might help. But it is redundant for any other cleanser.

Does The Two-Step Approach Work?

Double cleansing means washing your face twice, using two different types of cleansers. This method can be helpful for people who wear a lot of makeup or sunscreen, or who have oily skin. First, you use an oil-based cleanser to break down the makeup and sunscreen. Then, you use a water-based cleanser to remove any remaining dirt and oil. This two-step process can help make sure your face is really clean. However, if you have dry or sensitive skin, you might not need to double cleanse. One gentle wash is often enough. Double cleansing can sometimes irritate sensitive skin by removing too much of its natural oils.

Using the same towel, you use for your body to dry your face isn't a good idea. Bath towels can collect bacteria, mold, and dead skin cells, which can irritate your face. It's better to use a separate, clean towel just for your face and make sure the towel is soft, too. Rough towels can be abrasive and irritate your skin, almost like scrubbing it with a rough cloth. When you dry your face, gently pat it dry instead of rubbing it. Rubbing can cause tiny irritations that can lead to redness and other problems.

How to Find The Right Cleanser?

Choosing the right cleanser for your skin type is important. There are different types of cleansers for different skin needs. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, foaming cleansers are a good choice. They help remove excess oil. If you have normal or combination skin, gel cleansers can give you a deep clean without drying out your skin.

Oil-based cleansers are great for removing makeup and sunscreen, especially if you're double cleansing. Cream or hydrating cleansers are best for dry or sensitive skin because they're gentle and moisturizing.

Exfoliating cleansers, which have ingredients like AHAs or BHAs, should be used sparingly because they can irritate your skin if used too often. If you have ongoing skin problems, it's best to see a dermatologist. They can help you find the right cleanser and routine for your skin.

John Cena, the beloved WWE wrestler and actor, has opened up about his skin cancer diagnosis. Being diagnosed with melanoma twice, he recalled getting a phone call twice as his doctors told him the biopsy for came out cancerous. The first spot had appeared on his pectoral muscle and a year later it was in a different spot on his upper trapezius muscle. He explains that this information was sobering and prompted him to change his life.

He has also now become the face of Ultra Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen SPF 70 that moves to normalize the use of sunscreen among men. He admitted he always neglected sunscreen, but now he has added it to his daily routine. While there has been a rise in the number of cancer diagnoses, there hasn’t been a clear reason why.

Is There A Gender Gap For Sunscreen?

Cena noticed that women talk about skin care and sunscreen more openly than men. He believes it can be harder for men to start these conversations. But he thinks it shouldn't be that way. "Men are becoming more aware of taking care of themselves," he says. "We just need to make it a normal thing." Cena wants more men to use sunscreen as often as women.

Studies show that women are much more likely to use sunscreen than men. However, by the age of 50, men have a higher risk of getting melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer, than women. At any age, men are more likely to die from melanoma. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, only a small percentage of men (12.3%) always used sunscreen when outside in the sun for more than an hour, compared to a much larger percentage of women (29.0%). Younger men used sunscreen the least.

A recent survey done by Neutrogena also found that a third of people never go to a skin doctor for check-ups. Women were also more likely to be told to wear sunscreen every day compared to men. Cena believes that sunscreen is often linked to beauty in women's minds, which might explain why they use it more.

Why Is Melanoma Becoming An Increased Issue?

According to 2023 review published in the Cancer journal, in the US, the number of melanoma cases have increased by 40% from the years 2009 to 2019. The number of new cases that have been predicted to happen is 110,000, which is a drastic increase considering the 65,000 in the year 2011. The study says that there is a disproportionately higher risk of men developing cancer and by 2040, melanoma will be the second most common cancer overall.

Cena says he doesn't care if men use sunscreen for health reasons or to avoid wrinkles – he just wants them to use it. He compares using sunscreen to going to the gym for looks but getting healthier in the process. He says using SPF is "super easy," like brushing your teeth. His hope is that men will start keeping sunscreen next to their toothpaste and use it every day. Cena says his own life perspective changed after his cancer scares, and he wants to encourage others to be proactive about skin protection before it's too late.

Being overweight means tackling health issues like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases. However, gaining weight in certain stages of life is worse. While childhood obesity must be avoided, healthy weight gain is necessary for children’s growth, it is also not a big concern as kids who lead a generally active lifestyle.

So, are there certain ages when weight gain should be avoided or paid more attention to?

Science says yes. A recent study, showcased in the 32nd European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, found that putting on extra weight before you turn 30 could almost double your chances of dying early. Researchers looked at the health information of 620,000 adults and saw that most people gained about one pound each year between ages 17 and 60. However, becoming very overweight in your 20s had much worse health effects than gaining weight later in life.

How Gaining Weight In 20s Could Be A Health Issue

The study showed that men who became obese before they were 30 had a 79% higher chance of dying early compared to those who stayed at a healthy weight. For women who became obese before 30, this risk was even higher, at 84%. These findings are important because most people tend to gain weight when they are young adults. This often happens when people in their early 20s move out and start eating more fast food and easy, unhealthy meals.

Researchers explained that the most important takeaway from the study is that avoiding weight gain, especially when you're in your late teens and 20s, can really help your health in the long run. She said that gaining weight early in adulthood or becoming obese at a young age makes you more likely to die from many long-term illnesses later in life. The study followed men for an average of 23 years and women for an average of 12 years.

Why Young Adults Must Adopt Healthy Living

People who gained weight later in life also had a higher risk of dying early, but not as much as those who gained weight when they were young. Becoming obese between the ages of 45 and 60 increased the overall risk of early death by about one-fourth. If people became obese between 30 and 45, their risk increased by 52%. For those under 30, gaining just a little bit of weight each year (one pound) increased the risk of early death by 24% for men and 22% for women.

Experts said that the years between 17 and 30 are a very important time in life when building healthy habits can have long-lasting good effects. Experts say that even gaining a small amount of weight in your 20s can greatly increase your risk of dying early if it stays with you for many years. They emphasized that the earlier people start living healthily, the better their chances of living a long life.

Ibrahim Ali Khan recently opened up about his struggle with speech impediment since childhood due to severe jaundice. In a recent interview with GQ magazine, the 24-year-old actor said he had difficulty with speech since childhood and had to work "hard" on it.

Talking to GQ magazine, he said, "Soon after I was born, I had very bad jaundice, and that went straight to my brainstem. I went on to lose quite a bit of my hearing, and that impacted my speech."

He shared that he has worked a lot over the years to improve his speech and in fact, continues to do so. "My speech is something that I had to work hard on since I was a child, with coaches and therapists. It is not perfect; I am still working hard on it."

How Does Jaundice Impact One's Speaking And Hearing Abilities?

As per a 2018 study titled Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia, published in the Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, hyperbilirubinemia is a common neonatal problem with toxic effects on the nervous system that can cause hearing impairment.

What Is hyperbilirubinemia?

As per the National Library of Medicine, jaundice is also known as hyperbilirubinemia. It is defined as a yellow discoloration of the body tissue resulting from the accumulation of excess bilirubin.

Deposition of bilirubin happens only when there is an excess of bilirubin, and this indicates increased production or impaired excretion. The normal serum levels of bilirubin are less than 1 milligram per deciliter (mg/dL). However, the clinical presentation of jaundice with peripheral yellowing of the eye sclera, also called scleral icterus, is best appreciated when serum bilirubin levels exceed 3 mg/dl.

As per the Nationwide Children's Hospital, jaundice is a very common condition in newborn babies and appears in the first few days or weeks of life. Most causes of jaundice are not caused by any disease or concerning problem and clear up quickly without any treatment.

As per a 2016 study titled Audiologic impairment associated with bilirubin-induced neurologic damage, bilirubin-induced neurologic damage may occur in some infants. The auditory pathway is the most sensitive part of the central nervous system to bilirubin-induced toxicity, and permanent sequelae may result from only moderately elevated total serum/plasma bilirubin levels. The damage to the auditory system occurs primarily within the brainstem and cranial nerve VIII, and manifests clinically as auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder.

As per these studies high levels of bilirubin damage various parts of the auditory system, which also include the auditory brainstem nuclei, auditory nerve, and spiral ganglion. It leads to hearing loss and other auditory issues, which can in fact be permanent.

When the auditory nerves get damaged, the inner ear causes issues processing the sound, and it can thus translate into language difficulty. Severe jaundice and kernicterus can also cause other neurological problems, such as brain damage, cerebral palsy and developmental delays.