Trend alert: Double Cleansing, its benefits and disadvantages

What is “double cleansing”?

Double cleanse means using two different cleansers — one with oil, followed by another with water — to get your face as clean as possible, without irritating your skin.

The idea behind this trend is that after a day inside/outside there will be both water and oil-soluble stuff on your skin worth removing. It makes sense, as long as you don’t remove the precious lipids that make your skin a good barrier protecting you from the environment, microbes, and more.

Disadvantages? Adding more and more steps to a skincare routine until it takes over your morning (and/or evening) is not useful. It distracts from the main objective which is to provide your skin with the actives it needs: antioxidants to prevent damage from UV and ROS*, and whatever else your skin may need at each stage of life: acne control ingredients or epidermal growth factor or actives to protect your invaluable stem cells (they are yours, they are limited, they are fragile).

So go ahead and do two cleansings with oil and water but wait, isn’t that what a cream, an emulsion of water and oil, is supposed to be? Yes. So save yourself one step and use a creamy emulsion with a (very) mild surfactant to help solubilize the particles and chemicals we want out.

What are your Skin Actives options? Either of the first two cleansers in this list will do a great job of removing water and oil-soluble “dirt” from your skin without touching the lipids that make your skin a great barrier. But we have more, and anyone will do a great job, choose the one you like best.

Daily Cleansing Gel

Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, PEG 16 Macadamia Triglycerides, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Kelp/Lactobacillus Ferment Filtrate, Acrylates Crosspolymer-4, Gluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride.

Gentle Cream Face Cleanser

For special skin problems:

Salicylic Cleanser

Water, Sodium C14-C16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lactobacillus/Kelp Ferment Filtrate, Propanediol, Acrylates Crosspolymer-4, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Gluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate, Salicylic Acid, Zinc PCA, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Hydroxide.

For hands and body, Essential Cleanser

Water, Seakelp (Lactobacillus/Kelp Ferment Filtrate), Bioferment, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cocamide, DIPA, Glycol Distearate, PEG-150 Pentaerythrytyl Tetrastearate, Decyl, Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea), Butter, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Polyquaternium-10, Polysorbate, 80, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Pectin, Galactoarabinan, Beta Glucan (Yeast), Beta Glycan (Oat), Opuntia Ficus Indica (Prickly, Pear) Extract, Fragrance (Eucalyptus citriodora (Lemon Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, (and) Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil (and) Citrus limon (Lemon), Peel Oil (and) Lavandula hybrida (Lavandin) Flower Oil (and) Eugenia, caryophyllata (Clove) Stem Oil (and) Backhousia citriodora (Lemon Myrtle) Leaf, Oil (and) Origanum majorana (Marjoram) Leaf Oil (and) Origanum vulgare, (Oregano) Leaf Oil (and) Cymbopogon martinii (Lemongrass) Leaf Oil (and) Salvia, officinalis (Dalmation Sage) Leaf Oil), Minthostachys Verticillata (Peperina), Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Tocotrienols, Tocopherols, Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Xanthophyll, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Fucoxanthin, Porphyridium Polysaccharide, Lactic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl, Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol.