Lucy Hale swears by double cleansing to keep her complexion clear and glowing. Read on to see why it may benefit you, too!
No stranger to breakouts, I know that washing your face before bed is a must for a healthy complexion (among many other healthy habits, *sigh*). There’s a fine line, however, between over-washing your face (stripping moisture, disrupting your acid mantle and all that) and failing to thoroughly remove all makeup and grime (you’d be surprised how much tends to linger!).
One of the most effective ways to remove a full face of makeup without making your skin tight and dry is double cleansing. Actress Lucy Hale is a huge fan of this cleansing method: “Double cleansing is what it’s really about for me,” she told Byrdie. It even helped her battle cystic acne (and what a frustrating battle that can be).
There are a few reasons why double cleansing is so awesome.
- While we sleep, our skin goes into repair mode. Cue cellular renewal! While our bodies are programmed to do this regardless of what cleanser we use, a full layer of makeup may hamper the efficiency of this process, slowing down the rate at which our complexion recovers from environment-induced inflammation.
- Clean skin is better prepared to absorb and benefit from active ingredients in your nighttime treatments (vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, watermelon extract…).
- A quick round of foaming cleanser may not be enough, Annet King, director of global education at Dermatologica explains: “We’ve always said the first cleanse lifts off all the surface stuff, and is more of a makeup remover, melting what you’ve put on your face. The second is there to dissolve deeper dirt, and more oil and dead skin cells, giving you a deeper cleanse.”
- Although it may be counter-intuitive, an oil cleanser (the first step in the double cleansing process) helps address oily skin conditions and dissolve oil-based makeup products: “The oil from the cleanser is attracted to the fat in your sebaceous glands [the glands in your skin that produce oil], giving it a nice, deep cleansing effect that still doesn’t strip away the lipids and ceramides between the skin cells,” King explains. Bottom line: Oil cleansing won’t leave your skin feeling parched.
How to Master the Art of Double Cleansing:
If you’re wearing some heavy-duty eye makeup, you may choose to get a head start on that with a micellar water or eye makeup-specific remover. (Technically, that would make this triple cleansing, but hey, we’re down for the adventure!)
Start your cleanse with an oil-based cleanser. There are dozens of oil cleansing products out there, but a simple non-comedogenic carrier oil will do the trick. I find argan oil works perfectly for double cleansing. Try Josie Maran 100% Organic Argan Oil.
Using small circles, firmly massage about ½ teaspoon into skin (add more as necessary), focusing on areas that tend to get congested (chin, nose and around the nose, forehead, etc.). You may notice a gritty feeling the more you massage. This may be a combination of dead skin cells getting sloughed off, makeup pigment/powder/minerals, and (gasp!) blackheads.
Follow with a gentle cleanser—whichever one you find doesn’t strip your skin. I really like Mad Hippie Cream Cleanser.
Aaaaand now you can layer on your evening products!
If that sounds like a lot of work, don’t feel like you need to double cleanse all that time. In fact, it’s really only necessary at the end of the day if you’re wearing makeup. If you’ve gone bare-faced on a given day, a single (thorough) cleanse is probably all you need.
Have you tried double cleansing? What are your secrets for keeping your skin clear?
Related: Celebrity Estheticians Share 10 Ingenious Skin Care Tips You Can Do At Home
Adriana Lima’s Beauty Secret Makes Her “Look 10 Years Younger” (You’re Welcome)
Can Luxe Farm-To-Face Beauty Detox Your Skin From Pollution? I Tried It
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