Oil Cleansers

I know it sounds counterintuitive to put oil on your face when you're trying to rid your face of the oils that are already there, but that's exactly how it works. I'll spare you the chemistry details and just say that oil loves oil like Kanye loves Kanye. So in order to break down all that oil-based makeup and sunscreen on your face, a little bit of an emulsifying oil cleanser will do just the trick. The difference between rubbing any ol' oil on your face and an emulsifying oil is that emulsifying oils have extra ingredients that allow water and oil to mix so that you aren't left with an oily film on your face after rinsing. A splash of water added to your emulsifying oil cleanser creates a milky mixture on your face that you can easily wash off, along with all that built up oil, sebum, sunscreen and makeup from the day. They come to you in two forms:

Liquid Oil Cleansers

These look like just regular oils except they're emulsifying. They usually come packaged in a bottle with a pump so you can easily control how much you're using.

Recommendations: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, ROHTO Hadalabo Gokujun Cleansing Oil, Biossance Squalane + Antioxidant Cleansing Oil, Tatcha Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil

Balm Oil Cleansers

I prefer to use balm oil cleansers just because I think they're a little more fun! These start out as solid balms, in either a jar or a tube, and then turn into a silky oil as you massage them into your skin. I've found that balms give you more of a milky look when emulsifying than liquid oil cleansers do.

Recommendations: Banila Co Clean it Zero, Hemish All Clean Balm, Farmacy Green Clean

How To Use Oil Cleansers

1. To use your oil cleanser, apply it to your dry face and use both hands to massage it into your skin (I do this for around 30 seconds). Bonus - oil cleansers also work wonders at removing eye makeup!

2. Rinse hands with water, return them to your face, continue cleansing and watch as the oil begins to emulsify and create a milky look.

3. When you feel that everything is dissolved, rinse off.

At this point, with a freshly rinsed face, you'll finish your double cleanse with a low pH water-based cleanser to wash away any remaining impurities - but more on that next. 

When Should I Oil cleanse?

I only oil cleanse at night to dissolve any sunscreen and makeup from the day. Oil cleansing in the mornings isn't necessary and can cause your skin to dry out.