A good double cleanse can be helpful, but let’s dive in deeper.
There’s a multitude of different approaches to cleansing, and a lot of them are contradictory – from products you should/shouldn’t use, through cleansing routines, to minutiae whose meaning is oftentimes overestimated. It’s one of the most vital steps in skincare, which has a profound impact on the skin’s state. This post will cover the basics of cleansing with pros and cons of popular techniques without diving into unimportant details. Let’s go.
Cleansers – what do we have here?
Most commonly seen cleanser types are: micellar waters, gels, foams (not foaming cleansers), lotions, creams, oil-in-gels, oils and balms.
Micellar waters:
They contain surfactants that form micelles, little vesicles. Soak a cotton pad in it, and it will attract makeup and sebum. The issue I have with micellar waters is that there quite often needs to be a lot of friction between the pad and the skin – if you wear heavier makeup you know how many pads are needed. Micellar water is more suitable for an evening cleanse. If they are used in a double cleanse regimen – only as the first step.
Fact or myth? Micellar water needs to be rinsed off.
Depends. Some of them with gentle surfactants (Bioderma comes to mind!) can be left on the skin. It’s good for travelling, some people find this approach suitable for everyday use. It won’t be good for every skin, and some people will need to cleanse afterwards, even with a super gentle cleanser. I always cleanse after micellar water, even Bioderma.
Gel cleansers:
Often associated with oily skin, but drier skin types can find a suitable gel with no problem. If said gel is enough to take off makeup – it can be used even as a first cleanse.
Foams:
Liquids in a special packaging that form a creamy lather while pumped. Already applied as a foam. Usually pretty gentle, won’t be enough for a first cleanse.
Lotions/creams:
One of my fave product types, usually non-foaming or gently foaming. Dry skins should look here in the first place. Most lotions won’t do for the first cleanse, but some will. The difference between lotion and cleansing cream will be mostly in texture and thickness – creams are often more foaming as well
Oil-in-gels:
Hybrids of gel and oil, on the skin they feel like jelly. After you put them on, massage your skin a little bit and add water – they emulsify, turn milky and (ideally) rinse off clean. Will do as the first step of a double cleanse, they usually are good at taking off makeup.
Oils/balms:
Liquid or solid oil-emollient blends that are often used as a first cleanse or makeup removers. Once again – the difference is in texture – balms are solid (melt on the skin) and oils are liquid. I prefer products with emulsifiers that rinse off clean, but there are options without them. Those should be followed by a second cleanser and not left on the skin.
Morning cleanse:
There are quite a few approaches. Some claim that in the morning the skin should be washed with water alone, others that you have to use a cleanser. There are also people that advise not to cleanse the face at all. Let’s discuss.
After a good night’s sleep our skin is covered with the sebum it’s produced, sweat, remnants of skincare and some random sediment gunk – dust, mites, animal hair, pollution particles – so the option number 3 naturally is off the table for me.
Let’s consider the ’only water’ approach – it’s often brought up as an advice for the more sensitive of skins. Is it really the superior method? It’s more complicated than a simple yes/no.
Firstly – water doesn’t contain lipophilic structures that would actually be effective with loosening the mixture of sebum and sedimented particles to remove them easily. It’s just physically poured over them which isn’t that efficient, leaves a lot behind and can worsen the appearance of skin in the long term, as well as impair the absorption of skincare you put on later.
Secondly – pH of tap water is often higher than the physiological pH of our skin and special cleansing products. Check your local water supplier, they often publish results of studies on water parameters, for example the pH of water in Warsaw is usually 7,2-7,6. That’s quite a large difference from pH balanced cleansers that cover the 5,2-5,6 range. Not every skin will react to such a high pH when cleansing, and when the skin barrier works correctly it can quickly recover, but if we’re talking about sensitive skin it might not be the best option.
The question is – if you have sensitive skin should you wash your face with water or search for a product gentle enough for morning use? I’d go for the cleanser, but every skin is different.
For the morning cleanse of my dry, dehydration-prone skin I use gentle, non-foaming lotions that won’t dehydrate me, cause any tightness and are quick to rinse off.
Evening cleanse:
Here’s where it gets really complicated. For me the way to go is the double cleanse, but many people don’t have the time, patience, desire and so on. I’ll give them (and if you’re in the group – you) some tips to emulate the double cleanse experience with a single cleanse.
The aim of the evening cleanse is the removal of sunscreen, makeup and sebum, leaving the skin clean and ready for skincare to come. We have to remember that sunscreens and makeup products are designed to stick to our skin, and we need to remove them appropriately to avoid our skin responding badly. Oftentimes what is described as „xxx sunscreen broke me out” is the result of cleansing that’s not deep enough.
Truth or myth? Cleansing products that cleanse deeply damage your skin barrier and remove beneficial lipids from your skin.
It’s important to use a balanced cleanser that won’t strip your barrier even though they cleanse deeply. Products that do strip the skin – it’s dry and squeaky after cleansing – are either too strong for our skin or just not that good of a product. Either way – stop using it.
My fave delicate, effectively cleansing products are: EqualRXN Fluid, PSA Skin Reset, Sensibiafine Creme Demaquillante.
To double cleanse? Or not?
I’m a firm believer in the double cleanse method – using products suitable for my skin enables me to utilise the double cleanse almost daily without any stripping. With double cleanse, contrary to popular belief, you have some wiggle room with assigning the products to the steps. The important part is that the first step should be effective enough to remove 90% of your makeup or sunscreen. If you don’t wear makeup a gel or lotion could be enough. The second cleanse can be more of a skincare situation with actives, and even a lush cleansing balm (Emma Hardie’s Moringa balm is too good for taking your makeup off!). You can get away with cleansing with the same product twice.
How to check if the skin is clean after a cleanse? I use a flannel (face towel) that’s damp and warm to delicately remove leftover makeup, I use the first side to scoop anything that’s left, and the other side to check if the skin’s clean – it should be. The flannel should take off anything that wouldn’t be swept by the second cleanser. I use one flannel per day. Cheap, good quality flannels can be bought in a lot of discount stores on offer – look for hotel face towels. If you want something a bit more luxe – look for Votary towel sets, they are super soft and feel great. I have about 30 towels and wash them every 30 days in bulk, using a gentle, fragrance-free laundry capsule. If you don’t feel like using a flannel, use a water-dampened cotton pad to check if there’s no makeup left on your skin after cleansing.
What if your skin, preferences or lifestyle exclude double cleansing? There are products that will do a reasonable job in a single cleanse. Foaming oil-in-gel by Allies of Skin is one of them – it cleans deeply while nourishing the skin with antioxidants. Zelens Shiso Balm and Murad 4-in-1 are non-foaming lotion-gels that can do that as well. Cheaper options are for example Korres Yoghurt Cream Cleanser or the Plantea oil-in-gel. With makeup it’s always better to pre-cleanse with something, even a micellar water.
My tried and tested routines (dry skin), thanks to which my skin’s always well cleansed:
- If I’m wearing a tinted sunscreen/makeup, I always double cleanse. First step is an oil-in-gel/oil/balm, and the second will be a gel or lotion.
- If I’m wearing a non-tinted sunscreen, 98% of cases will be a double cleanse like above, and the rest are late night situations when I can’t be bothered. One of the single cleanse products mentioned above saves my face.
- If I’m not wearing sunscreen (for example a lazy weekend at home), I’ll do a gentle, lotion single cleanse.
These are more of a roadmap than rules – as we know, in skincare there’s not many one size fits all approaches.
PS. makeup removing balms can be better for oily skin than straight up oils, they often emulsify better as well. If you’re venturing into balm makeup removal – start with something good but cheap – they can be a real game changer for a lot of people!
The most important part of a cleansing ritual is getting the right products for your skin type. How to do that?
Finding the right product for you:
There shouldn’t be a situation when after cleansing your skin feels dry, tight, uncomfortable or squeaky when touched. We don’t want the squeak. It’s a sign that the product is too harsh for us and shouldn’t be used (use it on the body if you don’t like to be wasteful). Dry skins can be more prone to that effect, but even very oily skins should avoid it. Gels with low emollient content that foam intensely can cause stripping more often, but it’s not a universal rule (there are nourishing foaming cleansers out there).
Do oil-based products cause breakouts? Not to everybody, and not every product. If you know your skin can’t take oils – there is a whole lot of products that don’t contain them.
Should you avoid scents in cleansers? Only if you know that your skin reacts to fragrance – since cleansers are washed off after a while there’s much lower risk of irritation than when it comes to leave-on products.
If we rinse off cleansers quickly – is there a point in using cleansers with actives? Yes and no – cleansing shouldn’t be our most expensive step, but it’s not like the actives in cleansers can’t work. There is quite a few tricks that can help deposit actives, one of the most interesting uses ion charges and attraction to do that! Acid cleansers can be a nice option for beginners or gentle exfoliation.
Do we need a toner after cleansing? No, currently available cleansers should not wreak havoc on your skin pH in a way that would require a separate product to bring it back down, just follow with regular skincare. If you use an old-fashioned toner on a pad to „cleanse” your face after insufficient cleansing – change the cleanser because it doesn’t do the job.
That’s all when it comes to basic knowledge about cleansing. If you have any questions – feel free to leave them in the comments! See my fave products here.
