Do I need to double cleanse?

For years cleanse, tone, moisturise was the skincare routine that suited everyone. A catchy three-step solution to every visage woe there is. But, as the science and technology has advanced, we’ve discovered that there is so much more help we can give our skin.

Terms like slugging, purging and double-cleansing are entering the mainstream as regular skincare practices and while we will talk about all of them, today we’re looking at double-cleansing because we know you have some questions.

Well, sort of. The reason that double cleansing has become so popular is that with the first wash, you’re washing off the day. With the second, you’re washing the skin itself. In the same way that a lot of us double shampoo our hair, cleansing the face twice makes sure we’re really cleaning it. If you’ve ever washed your face and, upon drying it with a white cloth, seen grime or make-up all over it – you might see the value in the double cleanse.

Yes, but also ideally not. There’s nothing wrong with cleansing twice with the same product. As we talked about above, if the idea is to really clean the skin, then you can’t go wrong. However, the recommendation for those who wear SPF (hopefully all of you!) or make-up, is to use an oil-based cleanser for the first cleanse. Oils are amazing at breaking down make-up (including stubborn mascara) and other products like sunscreen. So, once you’ve washed off the day, following with your usual cleanser will be, quite literally, starting with a clean slate. See our visual below to help you understand what happens when you double cleanse!

Yes! Double cleansing is great for those with oily skin. It might seem counterintuitive to ‘fight oil with oil’ but often an excess production of oil is the skin crying out for more moisture. There’s no harm in using an oil-based cleanser on oily skin for the first cleanse to remove make-up or sunscreen. You can then follow with your usual clarifying cleanser. We know we said up top that you can use the same cleanser for the double-cleanse but if you feel like your skin starts to feel dry or tight when using a clarifying cleanser twice, we really recommend switching to an oil-based one or something gentler.

If you have dry skin, we can understand you don’t want to strip your skin of the oil it does have. That’s why using a nourishing oil-based cleanser to start and a gentle, nourishing one to follow will keep your skin’s moisture balance and give it much-needed hydration.

The main draw of the double cleanse comes back to washing the skin, not just washing off product. So, if you’re not wearing anything on your skin then you probably don’t need to but if you’re wearing a daily SPF (hands down the best thing you can do for your skin) then it can’t hurt. If we don’t sufficiently wash product off our faces, it can clog the pores or build up over time which can make it difficult for serums to penetrate the skin or make-up to sit smoothly.

To start: An oil-based cleanser.

A gentle option: For sensitive skin.

For oily skin: A clarifying gel to break down excess oil.

For dry skin: Gentle on skin and with nourishing rosehip.