Years ago, Maja addicted me to cleansing oils, which remain my holy grail skincare product to this day. It is time I write an ode to my lifesaver, or should I say sunscreen pimple eliminator?
For years, I watched how my skincare-obsessed friends with dry skin removed every tiny sunscreen/makeup residue with cleansing balms. I did try them out, but not even double cleansing helped – they always broke me out. :(
After that debacle, I wasn’t too keen on testing newcomers – cleansing oils. But Maja insisted that I really should as they wash entirely out. Who should you trust if not your best friend? So I bought Balea cleansing oil (a cheap drugstore brand) that Maja recommended.
OMG! The first time I managed to remove sunscreen, a whole new world opened up for me. Mineral sunscreens? No problemo – no more clogged pores (well, in cases where the removal was the only issue).
WHAT ARE CLEANSING OILS (emulsifying ones)
Please distinguish them from normal oils. Cleansing oils emulsify when you add a little bit of water and wash off (almost) entirely with water only. If there is still an oily feeling on your skin and it is not easy to rinse – different from what I am talking about.
Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate is not the only surfactant that can do that, but is definitively the one I check for in cleansing oils. If it’s missing, it hasn’t emulsified on me – Caudalie makeup removing cleansing oil and Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil would be perfect examples.
What mystifies me the most is that cleansing oils are super effective and jet so gentle to the skin. Don’t even get me started on how much better my skin is doing without the stripping washing gels that never removed all the dirt.
HOW SHOULD CLEANSING OILS BE USED
- On my combo super sensitive skin, I get the best result if I massage 2-4 pumps (more in the case of cheaper oils like Balea) into the dry skin.
I remove eye makeup, foundation, sunscreen … everything. - After at least a 30-sec massage, I add just a tiny amount of water and emulsify the oil. I don’t use much force but do give it time to reach my huge pores and suck everything out.
- Only then do I rinse everything with water.
- Double cleanse is gold for my skin type, so I follow up with gentle washing gel.
- The most important step for me is never ever open my eyes until you gently pat my face with a towel. :D I have everything laid out in the correct order so I don’t slip up. Otherwise – hello, blurry vision. :D
Sunscreen and makeup are two main things I want to remove with cleansing oils, so no surprise I mainly use cleansing oils as part of my nighttime routine. Gentle wash gel is all I need in the morning.
I had no issues with my sensitive combo skin, so I see them as appropriate for most skin types. Dry skins will benefit more from more nourishing cleansing oils, while oily ones will favor the no film leaving oils.
Over the years, I tried several of the cleansing oils and wrote individual reviews on them. Keep your eyes on the cleansing oil tag.
My WL is surprisingly short, and I want to try a different kind of emulsifying ingredient, so I am in exploring mode:
– Biodroga Cleansing Oil
– Dermatologica PreCleanse
– DHC Deep Cleansing Oil