Double Cleansing - Necessity or Gimmicky?

Is Double Cleansing Necessary for Your Skin? 

When it comes to our skin, we try to do what we can to keep happy, healthy, and clean. That means creating some kind of skincare regime in which we pay it attention, using a moisturizer and a cleanser, as well as makeup remover after a long day out at work. However, with so many different opinions and skincare facts floating around about proper skincare, it can leave many of us confused.

Should I clean my face once per day? Twice per day? Not at all? If I clean it too much, will it dry out? If I don’t clean it enough, will it get too oily and cause breakouts? These are all questions we ask ourselves every single day.

Although there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to skincare, especially given the different kinds of skin types in the world, there are general opinions on double cleansing and if it’s necessary for your skin. Let’s first look at double cleansing, moving onto what it can do for you.

What is Double Cleansing?

Double cleansing is a two step cleansing process at the end of the day in which you strip your face of its greases and toxins before you go to sleep. Here is a common example of double cleansing:

Part 1: Use an oil-based cleanser or the usual cleanser that you’re already using to wash off makeup and oil build-up. These kinds of products are designed to break down the sebum of the skin and makeup, which are both oil-based. Spend some time getting off all of the gross oils and other dirt particles that have built up throughout the day as well, creating a clean palette for the next step.

Part 2: Now that your face is cleared and your pores are opening up, it’s time for an old-fashioned lathering cleanser and water. It’s best to wash upwards and outwards and give yourself a face massage to firm your skin.  At this point, it’s important to know your face has been opened up after using two different cleansing methods, which means you want to keep your sleeping environment clean for your pores.

Now that you get the basics, many people wonder if this kind of regime is beneficial. It’s a good question to ask, since double the cleansing can be rough on certain skin types. We’re going to look at the benefits of double cleansing next.

Top Benefits of Double Cleansing

• Better for Makeup Wearers:

If you wear makeup every day, it’s necessary to double cleanse. If you skip right to the cleansing portion while makeup is still on your face, you’re going to grind the toxins right into your pores. Therefore, clearing them off before you actually clean your face is necessary for a deeper and more thorough clean. This also applies to people who come home with a layer of grime built up from being out in the field.

• Deeper Product Penetration:

After a two rounds of thorough cleaning, your pores are more receptive to the products you use after. This allows you to get the extra mile out of the products you’re using, as it allows deeper product penetration and ensures that your skin is having the maximal benefits of your skincare product.

Who Should Double Cleanse?

Therefore, double cleansing is appropriate for various select groups of people:

• People who wear significant makeup every day
• People who work outside and are exposed to dirt
• People who have skin types that are oilier and hydrated naturally

This doesn’t mean that double cleansing is for everyone. If you’re someone who:

• Sits in an office all day
• Uses no makeup
• Struggles with really dry and flakey skin

Then double cleansing might not be your saving grace. It can definitely take a toll from a moisturizing point of view if your skin isn’t ready for it. But, there’s only one way to find out how prepared your skin is, and that’s to test it out. Skincare is incredibly unique to each and every person, which is why it’s hard to make a final verdict on something as personal as double cleansing.

Sigi Skin

As we come to a conclusion, here at Sigi Skin, we recommend double cleansing at night to most individuals, especially anyone applying some kind of makeup or concealer throughout the day. It is important to thoroughly cleanse our pores at the end of the day, to ensure that the dirt and grime are washed away. Our pores are windows into our bodies, which is why we need to treat them carefully. If they are not cleansed well, it would result in unsightly blemishes and acne.

Before you sit down with your cleansing skincare regime, you need to use cleansers are gentle to the skin which would not strip away your skin’s natural moisture barrier. If your skin feels tight after cleansing, change the cleanser immediately, this is a sign that the cleanser is too harsh for your skin.

Over cleansing does result in a weakened skin barrier, which prompts the skin to overcompensate by producing more oils and hence leading to skin troubles such as acne.

Thus, we recommend to do double cleansing at night to thoroughly cleanse your face and in the morning to wash your face with just water (no cleanser) to ensure that you do not over cleanse your skin.