Cleansing your face is the cornerstone of every skin care routine. Freshly washed skin that’s clear of dirt, makeup and bacteria helps pave the way for any other beneficial products you might want to use, from wrinkle-smoothing retinols to plumping hyaluronic acid serums. That said, when it comes to facial cleansing, does the saying “twice is nice” apply? If you’ve heard of double cleansing, you might be wondering if that’s the case. We’re here to explore the double cleansing method, so you can determine whether it’s a good fit for your skin care routine.

• What is double cleansing?

• Do I need to double cleanse?

• How to double cleanse

What is double cleansing?

Double cleansing roots are in K-Beauty, a ten-step skin care routine popularized in South Korea. It involves using two cleansers that clean your face in different ways for your face-washing routine: an oil-based cleanser and a water-based cleanser.

The first step of a double cleanse—the oil-based cleanser—helps dissolve makeup and sebum on your face. This is because (and you might remember this from science class) “like dissolves like,” so an oil-based cleanser helps break up oil-based makeup and sunscreen as well as excess natural oil on your face.

With all those impurities out of the way, the second step of a double cleanse—the water-based cleanser—can help provide additional skin benefits depending on the ingredients it contains, such as preventing acne, improving signs of aging or hydrating the skin.

Do I need to double cleanse?

Now that you know what double cleansing is, the next step is to figure out whether your skin might benefit from the double cleansing method or whether you should steer clear.

“While this idea may sound attractive, there is more of a chance that it will cause harm to the skin than help, in my opinion. Soaps and cleansers aren’t really meant to be ‘squeaky clean,’ and if they are, then the important natural skin oils—and the protection they provide—have likely been lost,” says board-certified dermatologist and LovelySkin CEO Dr. Joel Schlessinger. “In particular, I don’t recommend double cleansing to my patients with skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea or psoriasis. Washing your face with one gentle cleanser is enough and introducing more products at this stage might cause irritation.”

If you wear makeup or waterproof sunscreen, however, the double cleansing method might be a good fit for your skin care routine. “If you notice traces of makeup after cleansing or if you seem to be breaking out after wearing sunscreen, your cleanser may not be fully removing those products from your skin,” Dr. Schlessinger says. “You probably need just one good cleanser, like the LovelySkin Exfoliating Gel Cleanser. If you are still intent upon considering two, these are our choices below.”

How to double cleanse

Are you ready to give the double cleansing method a try? Here are some of our go-to double cleansing products to consider:

Double cleansing pair #1:

ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm + LovelySkin LUXE Exfoliating Gel Cleanser

This duo of double cleansing products will help thoroughly remove makeup and sunscreen as well as deliver anti-acne and anti-aging benefits.

Enjoy a silky balm texture with this solid oil cleanser from ELEMIS. It comes in a few different scents—original, fragrance-free, rose, summer bloom and green fig. What they all have in common is a base of sweet almond, jojoba, oat kernel and wheat germ oils.

You can apply it to dry skin to melt away makeup and excess oil and use a washcloth dampened with warm water to remove it before washing with the gel cleanser from LovelySkin LUXE. As the second step of your double cleanse, this face wash contains glycolic acid, salicylic acid and afaLUXE, three exfoliating ingredients that help improve skin texture and prevent acne.

Double cleansing pair #2

Eminence Organics Stone Crop Cleansing Oil + ALASTIN Skincare Gentle Cleanser

If addressing visible redness is one of your skin care goals, you might try this double cleansing product pair.

This Eminence Organics cleansing oil features a base of jojoba seed, sunflower seed, olive and pumpkin seed oils along with hydrating stone crop extract and a microgreens complex to help improve the appearance of redness while it cleanses your skin.

The soothing foam-based face wash from ALASTIN Skincare also works to help calm redness and irritation with vitamin B5, glycerin and bisabolol, a chamomile extract.

Double cleansing pair #3

Dermalogica PreCleanse + Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

Skin care brand Dermalogica created these two products specifically with the double cleansing method in mind.

Dermalogica PreCleanse is a cleansing oil that you’ll first apply to a dry face to help dissolve waterproof eye makeup with kukui, olive and apricot kernel oils. Next, you’ll wet your hands with warm water to emulsify the oil cleanser as you rinse.

The second and final step for your double cleanse is Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, a foaming face wash that helps purify your pores and decrease acne-causing bacteria to help keep your skin clear and free of breakouts.

Double cleansing pair #4

EltaMD Double Cleanse Daily Duo

EltaMD makes trying double cleansing easy with this cleansing duo designed to work together to remove all traces of water-resistant sunscreen, makeup and excess oil without causing dryness or irritation.

Your first double cleansing step is the EltaMD Oil-in-Gel Cleanser, which features an oil-based formula with an easy-to-use, mess-free gel texture. It pairs meadowfoam seed oil and coconut oil with skin-soothing ingredients, such as glycerin and vitamin E.

After that, you’ll wash your face with the EltaMD Foaming Facial Cleanser, a fragrance-free water-based formula that contains coconut amino acids, which act as a natural cleanser, and bromelain, a pineapple-derived extract that exfoliates skin.

Double cleansing pair #5

Erno Laszlo Cleansers

Erno Laszlo is yet another skin care company that has created its facial cleanser formulas with the double cleansing method in mind. This duo features an oil-based liquid face wash and a solid cleansing bar that are especially well-suited for oily skin.

For your first step, the Erno Laszlo Detoxifying Cleansing Oil contains jojoba, olive and grapeseed oils to help dissolve makeup and dirt as well as charcoal to absorb excess surface oil.

For your second step, the Erno Laszlo Sea Mud Cleansing Bar lathers up to exfoliate and restore skin with mineral-rich Dead Sea mud and glycerin to leave your skin feeling smooth and hydrated.

Are you struggling with hormonal acne? We can help with dermatologist-recommended cleansers, spot treatments and more. You can read about the best products for hormonal acne on the LovelySkin Blog.