Double Cleansing: Is it worth the extra mile?

If you have not yet tried double cleansing, read this article. If you have been double cleansing as a part
of your skin care routine, pat yourself at the back for doing a good job. Double cleansing is exactly what
it sounds like – it’s cleansing your face twice. You start off with a cleansing oil, and then followed by your
usual cleanser, that simple.

WHY IS IT SUDDENLY A THING?

Think of it this way. Besides the usual dirt and sebum, we layer different kinds of skin products on our
skin: Sunscreens, foundations and other colored cosmetics. These products have constantly been
innovated in their formulations to make them stick better (and longer) on your skin. If this is the case,
aren’t we supposed to improve our method of getting rid of them too?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Now let me break down the process and see how it does wonder to your skin; also, to realize that this
isn’t just a useless beauty mumbo-jumbo.

STEP 1: OIL CLEANSING – Dispense enough amount to cover whole area of your face and neck.
Massage face using your fingers (or you can gently use a wash cloth) for about 30 seconds to
remove all e oil-based products and accumulated dirt you’ve layered throughout the day.

The first step requires an OIL CLEANSER. If you are like me, who’s obsessed with oil-free products and if,
this might be a bitter pill to swallow. But relax before you decide this isn’t for you, let’s go over the idea
on how it works.

OIL cleansers works by DISSOLUTION PRINCIPLE. Oil attracts/dissolves oils and other hydrophobic
substances. Hydrophobic substances are substances that loves oil, and fears water (hydro+phobic). Many
of the nasty stuff that we wish to get rid off our face are either oil based or hydrophobic: sebum, dirt,
make up and bacteria (bacteria cell walls are usually hydrophobic). As a result, these stuff are “loosened”
from our face and is dissolved throughout the cleansing oil. You may be able to remove most of it through
a wash cloth, but a thin layer will definitely stay on your skin.
 STEP 2: WATER BASED CLEANSER: Use your favorite facial cleanser (foaming, non foaming or
milk cleansers) to remove oil, and other water based impurities.

Now we have initially “loosened up” the impurities, how do we remove the remaining oil and all other
nasty stuff it carries? This is where surfactant based (or water based, as they call it) cleansers take
action. Surfactants are present in products like foaming and non-foaming facial cleansers. It works by
MICELLE FORMATION.

Remember that oil and water do not mix –unless we use a surfactant. A SURFACTANT is a super friendly
molecule who can hang out with both oil and water. Surfactants has best of both worlds, because literally,
it has two ends: a hydrophobic end (oil lover, water hater) and a hydrophilic head (water lover, oil hater).
When surfactants are suspended in water, the water loving head joins with water, while the oil loving end
joins with oils and other hydrophobes. These surfactants then form a spherical structure called MICELLES.

It entraps oil inside the small spherical structure. Outside the micelles, the hydrophilic head is exposed,
making the whole thing water soluble. Thus, all the dirt, sebum, make up, that are suspended in your
cleansing oil are all encapsulated inside the micelles and are now easily removed during rinsing. This then
leaves your skin squeaky clean. Thus, even if your skin is oily, or blemish prone, with the right choice of
products, double cleansing should not clog your pores, just because you are incorporating “oils”.

Is double cleansing for me?

Double Cleansing will benefit all skin types – even those with oily and acne prone skin, with the RIGHT
CHOICE of products. Not all oils are made equal. To benefit most out from cleansing oils, avoid the
following ingredients that have high comedogenicity and may clog pores .

Cocoa butter

Coconut Butter

Coconut oil

Flax seed Oil

Linseed Oil

Palm Oil

Wheatgerm Oil
What product should I Use?

There are tons of cleansing oils available in the market, but I will go over some brands here in the
Philippines, dissect the ingredients, and hopefully shed some light of what these products can offer.
 CLEANSING OILS

PRICE: PHP 2.00 per mL

Packing: 150 mL
Where to buy: Watsons Stores, https://beautymnl.com, http://www.lazada.com.ph
Product Highlight: This consists of synthetic, and mainly petroleum based ingredients (mineral oil)
which is why it’s relatively cheaper than most cleansing oils available in the market. Mineral oil is
safe and does not clog pores.