Double-cleaning is a concept which seems to be found mostly in Asian brands or asian skincare routines. I haven’t seen the other big “western” brands promoting this method of cleansing yet.

What is double cleansing? Well essentially, its exactly what it says. You cleanse your skin twice. The first time, with cleansing oil and the second, with a gel or foaming cleanser.

It was explained to me by Kanebo as thus:

• Step 1: Cleanse with cleansing oil to remove the oil, residual makeup and impurities from your skin. Rinse.
• Step 2: Cleanse your skin with a cleansing gel or foam cleanser.
• This double-cleansing is only to be done in the evening/night

The reason given was because cleansing oils help remove the residual makeup and oils that accumulate on your skin and in your pores throughout the day. Using oil on your skin is an alien concept as it was to me when I first heard about it. However, its not as alien now that I use it. It removes makeup a treat, especially waterproof mascara and the Bobbi Brown long-wearing gel eyeliners. After using a cleansing oil, my skin usually feels cleaner. I’ll write about cleansing oils again some time.

After using cleansing oils, the next step using cleansing gel/foam is to ensure that your skin is really clean and free from impurities so that your moisturers and toners can absorb better.

This double step process is supposed to help make your skin clearer. So, does it work?

I have tried it religiously for a while. I’d double cleanse at night, because I’ve had makeup on the whole day. I’d use a cleansing oil first then a foam cleanser. Yes, my skin did feel cleaner and yes, I’d find myself with a clean cottonpad when I applied my apple cider vinegar toner. No residual makeup at all.

But I found that depending on the foam cleanser I used, I might end up with a drier face than I liked especially around the eyes and cheeks. So, for now, I don’t double-cleanse that often. I do it about 3 times a week, just to make sure that my skin really gets clean (and usually on working days when I wear makeup) but the other 4 days, I’d use either the cleansing oil or the foam cleanser by itself.

Is there a particular brand I recommend? The answer is no. For me, any combination of any cleansing oil and foaming cleanser works just as well. If you are prone to oily skin though, then you may want to double-cleanse daily for it does help remove the oilies at the end of the day. But if you have dry or combination skin, you risk making your skin drier. So, I woudln’t double-cleanse that often.

All said, I would recommend this method of cleansing your skin and I think the Japanese got something right with this! Their skin is amazing!