What is Double Cleansing and Why Should You Do It?

If you think a quick swipe of your face with a pad soaked with makeup remover is enough to clean your face each night, think again.

For an intensive, deep cleanse before you roll into bed in the evening, you should invest your time into double cleansing.

Double cleansing is one of the most effective ways to achieve deeply purified, smooth, and glowing skin. Unlike some laborious skincare steps and complex cosmetic treatments, double cleansing is super easy to do too.

Essentially, double cleansing is exactly how it sounds. It’s a two-step process to remove makeup and grime to clean the skin deeply. To get the process right, you need to apply two specific types of products in the correct order.

Ready to learn more about double-cleansing and how to practice it properly? Let’s go.

What Are the Benefits of Double Cleansing?

A quick wash and go may seem like the easiest option at the end of a long, stressful day. But, if you often wear a full face of makeup, double cleansing helps ensure that you remove every single scrap.

One brief swipe with a face wipe or a cotton pad of micellar water isn’t sufficient to properly remove foundation and pollution particles. And if you leave that gunk sitting on your skin all night, your skin cells won’t be able to regenerate well.

Double cleansing will also help brighten up the skin, reducing any dullness and lifting the complexion.

A thorough evening cleanse enables serums, moisturizers, and any night-time leave-on products to penetrate the skin at their best.

Double cleansing is even more beneficial for those living in busy cities. City dwellers are often exposed to high pollution levels, which can accelerate the aging process. While everyone can benefit from double cleansing, your level of need to practice depends on your lifestyle.

By cleansing twice, you’re making sure that both the first layer of sebum, makeup, sunscreen, and the deeper layers of bacteria sitting on the pores are removed.

The First Cleanse

Ready to learn the ropes of deep cleansing?

The first step in the process is to remove your makeup. During the first cleanse, you need to use oil-based formulas, like cleansing oils or micellar water. The latter is incredibly helpful in removing eye makeup.

These greasy formulas will attach themselves to the dirt, grime, makeup, and excess sebum sitting on your face at the end of the day. Then, they’ll lift them off once you wash your face. For an extremely deep cleanse, you could also use a wet flannel with warm water.

Wash your face until you can’t spot a single scrap of makeup on your cotton pad or wipe. If you like to wear a lot of makeup, this process could take three, four, or even five turns.

If you’ve spent a lot of time applying makeup, it makes sense to invest in the time removing it, right?

Phytomer’s Micellar Water Eye Makeup Removal Solution is a mild cleanser that’s suitable for sensitive peepers. It works magnificently for removing waterproof makeup that doesn’t usually budge. The alcohol-free formula is gentle on the skin, even the delicate areas around the eyes.

The Second Cleanse

Once you’ve dealt with the surface makeup and grime, it’s time for a water-based cleanse.

Avoid using any heavy-duty products and reach for nourishing cleansers that are soothing and work well for your skin type.

Each night thoroughly massage the cleanser into your skin and wash it off. Whether you’re double cleansing or not, be sure to smooth it into your skin for at least a minute to efficiently remove lingering makeup particles, toxins, and pollution build-up.

This part of double cleansing doesn’t require a warm cloth as the pores must close instead of open up.

Generally, most people only spend around 20 seconds on cleansing. However, this isn’t enough time for the cleanser to work its magic. For the best results, take at least a minute or two to wash your face.

The temperature of the water matters too. If it’s too hot, you could risk irritating the skin, especially if you experience skin conditions like acne or rosacea. For a fail-safe cleanse, rinse your face with lukewarm water.

CosMedix’s Benefit Clean Gentle Cleanser is an excellent option for double-cleansing. Packed full of shea butter and a specialized, impurity-filtering mineral, the formula calms and protects all skin types. The cleanser uses zeolite, a unique ingredient from the volcanos, which purges the skin of heavy metals, environmental pollutants, makeup, and grime.

Double-cleansing is simple, and it can make a world of difference. Ready, set, clean!

Want more skin advice? Here’s how to save skin from acne with salicylic acid.