Handwashing has gotten all the attention lately (and rightfully so) because of the coronavirus pandemic, but with notables like singer Shawn Mendes and Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying they dont wash their faces, the old twice-a-day rule has started coming into question.

The pop star prefers to meditate a lot because he believes if youre happy, you wont break out! The glowing former Democratic presidential candidate uses Ponds moisturizer but told Cosmopolitan , I never wash my face. And actor Kristen Bell told Elle she cleanses only once a day, at night, since she doesnt want to strip my own natural oils in the morning by washing.

Before diving into how often you should wash, we need to start by defining what cleansing actually means.

When were talking about facial cleansing, were typically talking about using a cleanser in addition to water, Nada Elbuluk, a dermatologist at Keck Medicine of USC and a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Southern California, told HuffPost. Something thats going to help with removing the oil and dirt and things that build up on the face over the day, which water alone is not going to do sufficiently.

What happens when you dont wash your face at all?

When you completely abstain from face washing, New York and New Jersey dermatologist Meghan Feely warned that not cleansing may result in acne, particularly after a day at the beach or following a workout, or for those who wear helmets or hats and may notice acne on the forehead if sweat is not rinsed off.

Even if youre not sweating, day-to-day life puts you in contact with elements that clog pores, and those elements should be removed regularly. As we sleep and over the course of the day, oils and dead skin cells build up on our skin, Feely explained. Throughout the day, we are also exposed to environmental pollutants.

Those pollutants could be infectious, like bacteria or viruses, Elbuluk said. It could be allergens, it could be dirt, it could be all types of things, but things that we dont want to have prolonged contact with our skin. Healthy skin is skin that is cleansed of those kinds of things.

Elbuluk noted that leaving residual makeup, dirt and/or oil behind makes it hard for products like sunscreen to be effective. Those products cant penetrate as well if your skin isnt clean because you have a coat of something on it, she said. You decrease the efficacy of those things.

However, our skin does naturally exfoliate in the long run. We are all like snakes and the skin turns itself over every 21 days, New Jersey dermatologist Rebecca Baxt told HuffPost. That happens naturally.

What if I just use makeup wipes?

Makeup wearers, like actor Sarah Hyland, might rely on makeup wipes, which she told InStyle are a Godsend. ... Thats what I use on a daily basis. I dont wash my face, I just do that.