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Do I Double Cleanse, Or Not?

A Double Cleanse. What does it entail and what are the benefits!


So what is a Double Cleanse? This is a process where by at the skin is cleansed twice. First with an oil/balm based cleanser. Then with a water-based cleanser. This is reserved for the evening or PM routines to help breakdown products and congestion of the day. For this reason a double cleanse is not required in the morning part of your routine. For your morning routine, you can either cleanse with water, or gentle based cleanser like CeraVe's Hydrating Cleanser (or similar)

The oil-based cleanser is used to breakdown oil-based products like oil-based products, environmental congestion, makeup and sunscreen. The oils in these types of cleansers are attracted to the surface oil on the skin. The oils used in these are hydrophilic, which allows these products to be dissolved easily, rinsed off without build-up or heavy film left behind. For this reason it's not recommended to use only oil-based products alone, a specific cleansing oil needs be used. This is used in the evening only as it allows a thorough cleanse of oil-based products. A Water-based cleanser removes water-based products and residual congestion.

The benefit of this is to completely breakdown and remove the previous product without stripping the skins natural sebum. This also allows maximum product absorption of any products applied. A little tip is to use this method before applying any rinse off exfoliants or masks.

How to perform a  Double Cleanse:
- Using a cleansing oil/balm, apply this onto dry skin, gently massage all over your face, neck and décolletage., ideally for 30-60 seconds. You will see the product begin to breakdown.

- From here add a small amount of water to activate the surfactant agents and rinse. Personally I prefer to use a sponge-like the below image. However, any cleansing tool, cleansing or even rinsed with water is sufficient.



For the final step in your double cleanse you can proceed with your usual water-based cleanser, and nighttime routine as normal.

For severely sensitised skin types a cream-based cleanser can be utilised in place of the above method. In this situation these skin types can apply the product directly to dry skin. Again gently massage the product for 60 seconds, and remove. Re-dampen the face and perform a second cleanse for no more than 15-20 seconds and again remove. Depending on your location water can exacerbate certain sensitivities so I would opt for a cleansing sponge/cloth that has antimicrobial properties.

Now given a lot of us in lockdown and not using makeup or sunscreen as often. This method is only suitable if utilising these oil-based products (or for the tip above, but this should only be done 1-2 times per week maximum). Now given a lot of us in lockdown and not using makeup or sunscreen as often. This method is only suitable if utilising these oil-based products (or for the tip above, but this should only be done 1-2 times per week maximum).

 Here are some of the Cleansing balms/oils that are well formulated and have been tested for efficacy:
Cleansing Oils - 
- Simple Cleansing Oil
- Isntree Micellar Melting Cleansing Oil 
- Rohto Mentholatum - Hada Labo Gokujyun Oil Cleansing

Cleansing Balms - 
- Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm
- The Ordinary’s Squalane Cleanser
- Then I Met You - Living Cleansing Balm 

I hope this helped gain a better understanding as to how the 'Double Cleanse' process works. 

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