I had to take the make-up off, my face was CRAVING lotion, it felt soo dry. It was not fun washing. I would recommend a VERY soft wash cloth and still be very careful about doing anything more than dabbing your face!!!! I used Impruv cream extremely liberally, and my face was burning for 30 minutes, tolerable, but not nice either. My face feels better now, but I am going to go put on some bactroban cream now and spend the rest of the day making sure it's kept moist!!!