Alex Cooper is, to me, just one of those modern celebrities who appeared out of the ether fully formed and everyone suddenly knew her name one day. The truth is, her Call Her Daddy podcast grew somewhat organically after being picked up by Barstool Sports and then Spotify (and now SiriusXM). She’s arguably one of the most successful podcasters out there, and she’s gotten some pretty major celebrities to appear on the CHD pod. She’s gotten exclusives too, some celebrities really spill a lot of tea on her pod. Well, the CHD podcast has turned Alex into a celebrity in her own right, which means Vogue asked her to do one of their “skin care/beauty secrets” videos, where she talks to the camera as she applies makeup. Alex revealed something major: she never washes her face.
Alex Cooper has a skincare routine secret — she skips one step that a lot of experts consider crucial. Speaking with Vogue on Wednesday, June 26, the Call Her Daddy host, 29, showed off her simple makeup and skin routine — and even recreated the look she used on her wedding day back in April. According to the podcaster, her skincare routine excludes one thing that many people would consider step one: washing her face.
“I have an honest thing to share with you right off the bat. I don’t wash my face,” she revealed in the video. “No, please don’t judge me. I just realized that like early on when I was breaking out a lot, my skin was super oily and it was confused and I was struggling a lot with my skincare and when I stopped washing my face, all of a sudden, I stopped having pimples.”
Cooper told the magazine that for much of her adult life, she never really maintained one skincare routine and had struggled with knowing which products were right for her.
“I would say it was about like two years ago, I really started to care about my skin and I know that’s insane ’cause I’m 29 years old,” she added. “But I didn’t really know the answers and there’s so much information online, so I just started to kind of eyeball it and try different things.
After two short years of trying out different moisturizers, toners and more, Cooper noted that some of her favorite products include Advanced Snail Mucin, an EltaMD moisturizer with SPF and Burt’s Bees pomegranate chapstick.
“Now, I feel like I figured out my place and I know it works for me,” Cooper said.
My first reaction to the headline was: ew, gross, why do women talk about not washing any part of their body? But as I watched the video, I think that for Alex, it was more a trial-and-error situation where she was really just trying to figure out what worked and what routine gave her fewer breakouts. Everyone’s different and there is no one-size-fits-all skin care method. My skin would be a complete greasy mess if I skipped face-washing or showering. Then again, I haven’t worn makeup in years and that’s what makes my skin clearer too. That’s what I’ve never understood about the women who say that they’re not washing their faces – are they not removing their makeup at all??
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- 2022 amfAR Los Angeles Gala November 3, 2022 – Pacific Design Center West Hollywood Featuring: Alex Cooper Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 03 Nov 2022 Credit: KOI SOJER/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
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- Los Angeles Premiere Event Of Netflix’s ‘XO, Kitty’ Season 1 held at the Netflix Tudum Theatre. Featuring: American podcaster Alex Cooper (Alexandra Cooper) Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Los Angeles Premiere Event Of Netflix’s ‘XO, Kitty’ Season 1 held at the Netflix Tudum Theatre. Featuring: American podcaster Alex Cooper (Alexandra Cooper) Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I “wash” my face in the shower, but I clean my face with exfoliating towelettes. I had severe combination skin until I discovered this, and I just went with what worked.
My take is she doesn’t “wash her face” with facial cleanser and toner and do that, not that she literally doesn’t clean her face.
I stopped washing my face in the beauty sense years ago. I also have super oily skin and nothing worked. These days I wipe my face with a wet washcloth and use a mud mask. My skin is great and I’m not gross.
How dumb. Of course she washes her face. She must wash her make up off. Maybe, like me, she takes an evening shower and washes the makeup off in the shower, goes to bed, and doesn’t re-wash her face in the am. But yea, she must wash her face at some point in the day.
My mom never washed her face. She used Pond’s cold cream, morning & night, slathered all over her face & wiped off with a Kleenex. All her adult life. And she had great skin. Me, though, I soap & water, always.
If she’s not removing her makeup that’s disgusting. Full stop. And eventually her skin will rebel. I don’t use cleanser to wash my face in the mornings. I cleanse with room temp water and then apply my hydrating serum, moisturizer and sunscreen. But at night I use a cleansing oil to remove my makeup and then a traditional cleanser followed by other skincare. All I can think about is the amount of dirt, pollution and makeup she is leaving on her face and PILLOW every night.
Just last year she was sharing her daily regimen of cleanser, toner, serum. Maybe she’s not using that cleanser anymore, but there’s no way she isn’t removing her makeup.
She’s not using soap and water, but she is cleansing it somehow. Annoying clickbait by Cooper.
Several years ago, Selma Hayek said she only washes her face in the evening to remove makeup (no wash in AM) to maintain the natural moisture balance in her skin, and as someone with dry irritated skin, this made so much sense to me. I only wash my face at night (double cleanse with balm then reg face wash to remove my SPF) and I shower in the morning so my face gets a rinse. My problematic skin stays much more moisturized now. My skin was also greatly improved (less breakouts) when I stopped wearing foundation. Now I only apply a SPF moisturizer in the morning.
So she’s cleansing but not washing, fair enough but given what she does (and being PR savvy) I’m sure that she knew saying it this way would get her attention. And it has!
I think that she means that she’s only washing her face in the shower or something like that because there is no way her skin would look this smooth if she didn’t wash it at all.
I tried the double cleaning method and it ruined my skin in one week when I don’t usually have that many skin problems.
I don’t wash my face with soap for the same reason. I make my own cleaners with carrier oils, clay, and some essential oils. Soap strips the natural protective barrier from skin and it can cause acne, really oily skin, dry spots, etc.
Soap is generally not great for your skin.
For years I only washed my face with water because soap made me break out. I took off makeup with makeup remover, but only around my eyes – I didn’t really wear other makeup.
Now I don’t wear any makeup, and I just started double cleansing in the morning. Oil, followed by my CeraVe cleanser. The oil is the only thing that takes the oil off my nose!