I was double cleansing before it had a name: oil or balm first, then a gel or foam, for more than ten years. I still deep cleanse twice a week. The method matters as much as the habit. Oil goes on dry skin, everything else on wet skin, and the second wash is not optional for me.
I have been double cleansing for more than ten years. Oil or balm first, then a gel or foam. I started before “double cleansing” was a phrase anyone used, and I still do it.
It is not a trend I picked up. It is one of the oldest habits in my routine, and it belongs to a longer story about a patch of skin under my lip.
Where does double cleansing fit in my story?
It was one of the things I did, for years, for the bumps on my chin. Since high school I have had small, whitehead-like bumps there. Most days you cannot see them. If I roll my lips inward, push my tongue against the inside of my chin, or put BB cream or foundation on top, they show, at least to my eyes.
I wrote about those bumps, and what finally made them shallower, in the first entry of this journal. This entry is about the cleansing itself.
How do I double cleanse now?
Twice a week I do a deep cleanse with an oil or a balm, and I have kept that up to this day.
The rule I follow for every other cleanser is wet skin first. I use warm water, never hot, and I wet my face thoroughly before any cleanser touches it. On dry skin, almost anything I put on stings.
Oil is the one exception. My hands and face stay dry. I melt the oil or balm fully in my hands, then roll it gently over my face. Then I add warm water and keep working it until it emulsifies completely and turns milky. I rinse that off, and only then reach for a cleansing gel or foam to wash a second time.
In the morning it is simpler: I wash with a cleansing gel, then move on to a mist and the rest of my routine.
What happened when I skipped the second wash?
My pores ended up more clogged, not less.
That is the part of double cleansing I would underline for anyone trying it. For me, the second wash is what makes the first one work. Leaving the oil step on its own did the opposite of what I wanted.
The evidence on why the two steps work together, and on when a single cleanse is enough, is in our companion piece, Do I need to double cleanse if I don’t wear makeup? The step-by-step method is in How to oil cleanse.
What else is in my deep cleanse?
The oil is the base, but it is not everything I do.
Once a week, I use an AHA/BHA product from the pharmacy. About once a month, I put a sebum-softening product on before washing, let it soften the skin, then wipe it away. Two or three times a month, I hold a warm steam towel over my face for four or five minutes.
None of that cleared the bumps on my chin. What finally made them shallower, about two months into sleeping in retinal patches and pads, is the story of the first entry. Cleansing kept the surface clean. It was not the step that changed the texture.
Did the routine change in other climates?
It got more thorough in the heat.
In Bali and in Malaysia, the climate was tropical and the air carried traffic fumes. I strengthened my cleansing there, used a sheet mask every evening for moisture, and never skipped sunscreen.
In the UK, the problem flipped. It was cold outside and dry indoors, so moisture came first, and I built it up in layers.
What would I tell someone starting out?
Cleansing comes first. Skin that is not clean and settled will not do much with whatever you put on it next. But a clean face is the start of a routine, not the whole of it.
The cleansers in the photo above are ones I have used. One of them, the SEOUL 1988 Daily Gel Cleanser, is from K-SECRET. Disclosure: editor-affiliated brand.
Related: Closed comedones: what causes them and what clears them
Evidence: Personal routine over more than ten years. No measurements.
- haruharu wonder: Centella Sunflower Makeup-Melting Cleansing Balm
- PO:DL: 2X Fresh Bam Balm to Foam Facial Cleanser
- 107: Chaga Jelly Low pH Cleanser
- K-SECRET: SEOUL 1988 Daily Gel Cleanser: Retinal Liposome + PearDisclosure: editor-affiliated brand.
Do you double cleanse every day?
I do a deep cleanse with oil or balm twice a week. In the morning I only wash with a cleansing gel.
Why put cleansing oil on a dry face?
That is the one exception to my wet-skin rule. I melt the oil in dry hands, roll it over a dry face, then add warm water to turn it milky before rinsing.
Editorial content, not medical advice.
