Benefits of Double cleansing

Cleaning your face twice may seem like a chore. It may even sound crazy. You may be tempted to pass it as just the latest fad. But hold on for a minute. Do not, not even for a second, ever underestimate the importance of facial cleansing. It is arguably your first and single-most important skincare routine. No amount of expensive high end moisturisers or serums are going to be effective on your face if your base is not right. The prep has to be done right to allow other active ingredients to penetrate deeper in your skin.

That said, it is easy to be confused with the array of skin cleansing products available today. Skincare is a very competitive market with hundreds of products available at every price level. What is right for your skin can seem like a million dollar question. This is where double cleansing can benefit you. It is not only gentle and soothing, but every bit as effective in maintaining your skin’s natural beauty, whether your skin is oily, dry or sensitive.

Double cleansing is nothing new. It has been used for centuries in Korea and Japan. In the skincare and cosmetic world, Korea and Japan are the trend-setters, bringing out the most innovative products to the world. In fact, they are famously known for their 8-10 step beauty regime and double cleansing plays the most important role.

Firstly, it’s very important that you only use products that do not have any irritants or questionable ingredients. If you’re not already doing so, you should start paying more attention to the list of ingredients. That means no fragrances, mineral oils, drying alcohols, sulphates or preservatives. As a general rule, the harder to the ingredients are to pronounce, the more processed they are. This applies to natural skincare as well. Ingredients that are easy to pronounce and understand are the best ones to have. They are the simplest one and closest to being natural.

Now to the main event. Double cleansing starts with oil and balm cleansers. The science behind this is ‘oil cleanses oil’. Cleansing with oil is the most effectual and natural way to clear all your makeup, sun-screen, bacteria, dirt and other impurities that your skin picks up during the day. It may seem counter-intuitive, but oil cleansing is equally beneficial for oily skin. When your skin lacks its own natural oil and is dry underneath, it works extra hard to produce oils in excess that can lead to skin clogging and acne. By providing oils topically, your skin will rebalance and naturally learn to regulate sebum (oil) production.

Not all oils are the same. Only certain oils are beneficial for skin cleansing. That’s why our Mango + Apricot Sorbet Cleanser uses a special blend of oils at a certain percentage that is most effective for every skin type. Our blend of oils is light, full of anti-oxidants and nutrients and made with only four simple ingredients and no preservatives or fragrance.

This is the easy part. No need to wash your face with water first. Instead with clean dry hands, scoop a small amount of oil/balm onto your hands and massage all over your face and neck. This step alone will remove even the most stubborn make-up residue, so normal day-to-day bacteria and impurities don’t stand a chance. Depending on your time availability and lazy-meter, the massage can last from anywhere from 20 seconds up to one minute. But if you have lots of make-up, it makes sense to spend a little extra time.

After massaging with oil, lightly wash your face with lukewarm water. When you add water, the oil cleansers turn milky as they emulsify. However, the water alone will not remove oil as they do not blend together. For a single-step cleansing, use a clean facecloth to remove extra oil from your face. This step will alone leave your skin feeling dewy and moisturised with an added glow. Surprisingly, oils have the power to do this all on their own.

Hopefully by now you are convinced about the goodness of oil cleansing. For the second step in double cleansing, instead of using a facecloth to remove oil, you should use a gentle water-based cleanser. In my experience, this step is easier than cleaning excess oils with a facecloth as it requires less work. Maybe because we have all grown up using water-based cleansers and are accustomed to them.

Simply wash your face with water after oil cleansing and use a water-based cleanser as you normally would. This second step ensures your water-based cleanser works to its full potential and thoroughly cleans your skin. Our Apple Juice Foaming Cleanser is especially formulated to balance your skin’s pH balance. Made with only 7 ingredients, this formula is self-preserving with no added alcohol, fragrance or any toxic ingredients. Keeping ingredients to the minimum means every ingredient has a high concentration, giving your skin more nutrients and vitamins. We use only ingredients that your skin need.

As cleansing is the most important step in maintaining your health, it pays to spend extra an extra 20 seconds on it. To date, no cleansing ritual has proven to be more effective or healthier than double cleansing. It’s a perfect mix of oil and water, giving you the benefit of both worlds.