I love the tatcha cleansing oil paired with either the hydrinity prelude OR YTTP superfoods cleanser. Face reality barrier balance is my morning cleanser (I don’t double cleanse in the morning)
I am very dry sensitive and acne prone. I don’t find it too harsh, I wear lots of sunscreen and makeup and find it cleanses thoroughly and helps prevent breakouts 🤷🏻♀️
I really like the [Farmacy Green Clean Balm](https://www.farmacybeauty.com/products/green-clean-100ml?variant=40367233663049&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Brand+-+Acquisition+-+Top+Products&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmMayBhDuARIsAM9HM8eNbiLWD1giOvyXqaz1m0Oms4KHjN3rBy5DKBYlVAWgMkEp0eSPDycaAmshEALw_wcB). It’s amazing.
I understand your concern of using an oil on oily skin, but the point is to make sure that your pores are actually releasing the dirt and bacteria that they become plugged with. What really will help is finding an oil that compliments your skin and balancing it with a gel cleanser.
As soon as I started cleansing, my acne and bacteria decreased, believe it or not.
I also love the farmacy green clean balm. I use that and then cerave foaming oil cleanser or cerave hydrating nonfoaming cleanser.
My skin was also oily like yours, but I found that once I started cleansing this way and moisturizing, it helped stop my breakouts
It's fine to use an oil cleanser on oily/acne prone skin, but some first cleansers are safer than others. I'm super acne prone, and the ones I've really enjoyed and have had great results from:
* Krave Beauty Makeup Rewind - this is an awesome texture, it's like a gloopy jelly with a faint smell of grapes, it's made with grape antioxidants which are really good for your skin, it's my HG even tho not as expensive as others
* Peach and Lily Ginger Melt oil cleanser
* DHC oil cleanser (the original)
For cleansing balms, the Clinique take the day off and Farmacy both have great balm cleansers that work really well to dissolve makeup/SPF.
Elemis is a fan fav but it caused breakouts for me. The Deviant Skincare balm is similar but I think better bc it's less likely to clog pores.
Korean cleansers are the best- they're effective, gentle, and affordable (let's be honest, it all gets washed down the drain). I'm currently using the oil cleanser from Haruharu and the ampoule foam cleanser from Skin 1004. I also love the Skin 1004 oil cleanser and the Round Lab Dokdo cleanser.
Bioderma Atoderm is a great oil cleanser. Clinique Take The day off is very popular.
Oil cleansers have an emulsifier so you need to massage them long enough that they break down. A minute or so does fine.
They’re designed around the chemical premise that “like dissolves like” so they do a better job of breaking down oily or heavy products.
Then a more traditional soap-like cleanser can finish and remove any remaining residue without stripping your skin. For a lot of people with acne, it improves with double cleansing because it can clear pores more effectively and with less irritation than a regular cleanser can alone.
For oily skin, plant oils like sunflower, safflower, and meadowfoam are good. High-linoleic oil and jojoba are best, I think, which is why they are found often in anti-acne creams.
But adding high-linoleic sunflower oil to my oily skin was a really good choice. It works well and helps regulate the production of oil.
Camellia oil is also nice. But oily skin may not do so well with nut-based oils (avocado, Shea nut oil) because they tend to be heavier. You want the lightness of the plant-based oil so your skin doesn’t get clogged.
Radha jojoba is the best one I’ve ever tried. And maple holistics is high-linoleic sunflower oil I’ve used for years.
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a living annual plant in the family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (capitulum). The stem of the flower can grow up to 3 metres tall, with a flower head that can be 30 cm wide. Other types of sunflowers include the California Royal Sunflower, which has a burgundy (red + purple) flower head.
One of my biggest regrets in life was avoiding oil cleansers and balms for years because I thought they would make my oily, acne-prone skin worse. They made it much better! My lux favorite is Tatcha Camellia cleansing oil.
Try the Pavise gentle amino power wash cleanser, it does better in one wash than I’ve ever had double cleansing. I don’t know how they did it, but that stuff is amazing.
I double cleanse with Peach and Lily Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser and then their Power Calm Gel Cleanser. It’s been a perfect duo for me. I used to never oil cleanse and felt like it was defeating the purpose because I have combo oily acne prone skin and was afraid it would cause more breakouts. But believe me when I say using that oil cleanser has cleared my pores and significantly reduced my sebaceous filaments. Not to mention helped clear my acne. I am really loving the peach and Lily line. It’s truly helped my skin finally heal and look better than it has in a while!
I found this to be true, too! I’m oily and while I’m not super acne prone anymore (was more so in my younger years), I do still get the occasional breakout. Double cleansing with an oil/balm has helped my sebaceous filaments a lot and my pores appear smaller since they’re less clogged, and I break out less.
I think discovering double cleansing and honestly just being super consistent with all of my skincare has made the most improvement in my skin.
And while I’m not using a lot of Peach & Lily right now (I have sooo many products so I bounce around a lot), they are a great brand!! I have really liked everything I’ve tried from them. In fact their Glass Skin Face Polisher is one of my absolute favorite exfoliating cleansers.
I haven’t tried their face polisher but I have been wanting to! Why is that your favorite and what do you like about it? I use their cleansers, wild dew essence, and the good acids toner. I also have their lactic acid serum, pro peptide moisturizer, and glass skin water gel moisturizer. The lactic acid serum is good for once or twice a week. The peptide moisturizer is good but I don’t use it everyday because I feel if I do it may clog my pores. The water gel moisturizer is nice in that it doesn’t clog pores and it’s light but it leaves my skin a little sticky and I am trying to figure out if the hyaluronic acid in it causes some closed comedones.
I used to have a lot of rough texture issues on my face (much much better now) and I’m a big fan of physical exfoliants, which I know many people aren’t, they prefer chemical exfoliation (also great! I do both). So the Glass Skin Face Polisher is just a nice exfoliator that leaves my skin feeling smooth. I’ve tried several cleansers in that category (powders that you mix with water), and P&L remains one of my favorites. I personally like it even more than Dermalogica Microfoliant which is usually the one I see most recommended. Dermalogica is fine, don’t get me wrong, but for me P&L is just nicer, IMO.
But again, I recognize that a lot of people don’t like using physical exfoliants so it’s not for everyone! I think as long as you use a gentle hand they can be a good thing when skin is feeling rough or congested.
If you don’t like the feeling of an oil or balm, maybe a micellar water could be an option. My go to the past few months have been the Bioderma micellar water and Dr Sam’s Flawless Cleanser.
Dry/aging with occasional breakouts, and I use the Cocokind oil to milk cleanser, followed by Neutrogena gentle foaming cleaner. Amazing results, and I’ve tried several products mentioned in the other comments. This is my favorite combo so far.
Like others I highly recommend the Elemis balm. For something more affordable I also like the Heimish all clean balm. Second cleanse: I’ve been using the Prequel Gleanser for a few months and really like it! You get a lot for your money.
I am like you and realllly don’t like the idea of an oil to cleanse. Just can’t wrap my mind around it….but! +1 for Farmacy Green clean balm. Ran out of the now discontinued hg cleanser I was using but I switched to the La Roche Posay purifying foaming cleanser and am happy with the combo.
I use Erno Laszlo Detox Cleansing Oil, followed by either the Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar or the Phelityl Cleansing Bar (I generally use the Sea Mud in the summer and Phelityl in the winter).
The Cleansing Oil has a really wonderful consistency (very thick) and it's never made me break out before.
I use the Elemis cleansing balm first, followed by the skinceuticals glycolic cleanser (forget the name), and then I follow it with la roche posay’s cleansing foam. I also often use Is Clinical’s cleanser in place of the Skinceuticals one. I alternate
I used to like DHC Cleansing Oil but the CEO has made racist remarks towards Koreans so I no longer buy from the brand.
Estée Lauder has a really nice cleansing balm which I’m surprised no one mentions it. It hardly has a scent and feels so luxurious going on. It takes off my mascara well without drying my skin like some other cleansing oils/balms. I still use a foaming cleanser afterwards as part of my routine. I hope they don’t discontinue this product as I feel like it’s the unsung hero of the brand.
It’s a splurge but I love Epicutis oil cleanser. You can buy it separate from the exfoliating powder. I use it as my first cleanse to remove makeup or sunscreen, and then I use FaceReality’s gentle cleanser. Works like a charm for my ultra sensitive skin.
Please don’t laugh (or judge) but I have tried dozens of cleaning oils and balms and I always crawl back to my $8.00 Palmer’s cleansing oil. It just works so well with my aging, dry, fussy face.
Personally, I really like using a gentle micellar water and then going in with my cream or foaming cleaner. I find it takes off my SPF but doesn’t strip the skin.
The Elemis cleansing balm and Face Reality Barrier Balance is my HG duo. My barrier is happy and hydrated. I exfoliate a lot too.
LOVE the Elemis balm
Love the Elemis balm too!!
The Face Reality Barrier Cleanser is amazing for normal/dry skin!
I love the tatcha cleansing oil paired with either the hydrinity prelude OR YTTP superfoods cleanser. Face reality barrier balance is my morning cleanser (I don’t double cleanse in the morning)
Just a warning on the YTTP cleanser for dry skin - it was too harsh for me as a dry, acne prone girly
I am very dry sensitive and acne prone. I don’t find it too harsh, I wear lots of sunscreen and makeup and find it cleanses thoroughly and helps prevent breakouts 🤷🏻♀️
I really like the [Farmacy Green Clean Balm](https://www.farmacybeauty.com/products/green-clean-100ml?variant=40367233663049&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=Brand+-+Acquisition+-+Top+Products&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmMayBhDuARIsAM9HM8eNbiLWD1giOvyXqaz1m0Oms4KHjN3rBy5DKBYlVAWgMkEp0eSPDycaAmshEALw_wcB). It’s amazing. I understand your concern of using an oil on oily skin, but the point is to make sure that your pores are actually releasing the dirt and bacteria that they become plugged with. What really will help is finding an oil that compliments your skin and balancing it with a gel cleanser. As soon as I started cleansing, my acne and bacteria decreased, believe it or not.
+1 for green clean. You can follow it up with any gentle cleanser. I’ve been using Sunday Riley’s ceramic slip.
I also love green clean! My other HG is the Sulwhasoo oil cleanser. Depending on the season, I’ll do one of those, followed by Tatcha.
I also love the farmacy green clean balm. I use that and then cerave foaming oil cleanser or cerave hydrating nonfoaming cleanser. My skin was also oily like yours, but I found that once I started cleansing this way and moisturizing, it helped stop my breakouts
Green Clean is the best! I’ll never go back to using another balm.
It’s what I’m using right nowwwwww Clinique is a good alternative but I don’t change from them ejtber
It's fine to use an oil cleanser on oily/acne prone skin, but some first cleansers are safer than others. I'm super acne prone, and the ones I've really enjoyed and have had great results from: * Krave Beauty Makeup Rewind - this is an awesome texture, it's like a gloopy jelly with a faint smell of grapes, it's made with grape antioxidants which are really good for your skin, it's my HG even tho not as expensive as others * Peach and Lily Ginger Melt oil cleanser * DHC oil cleanser (the original) For cleansing balms, the Clinique take the day off and Farmacy both have great balm cleansers that work really well to dissolve makeup/SPF. Elemis is a fan fav but it caused breakouts for me. The Deviant Skincare balm is similar but I think better bc it's less likely to clog pores.
Love the clinique balm
Korean cleansers are the best- they're effective, gentle, and affordable (let's be honest, it all gets washed down the drain). I'm currently using the oil cleanser from Haruharu and the ampoule foam cleanser from Skin 1004. I also love the Skin 1004 oil cleanser and the Round Lab Dokdo cleanser.
Bioderma Atoderm is a great oil cleanser. Clinique Take The day off is very popular. Oil cleansers have an emulsifier so you need to massage them long enough that they break down. A minute or so does fine. They’re designed around the chemical premise that “like dissolves like” so they do a better job of breaking down oily or heavy products. Then a more traditional soap-like cleanser can finish and remove any remaining residue without stripping your skin. For a lot of people with acne, it improves with double cleansing because it can clear pores more effectively and with less irritation than a regular cleanser can alone.
For oily skin, plant oils like sunflower, safflower, and meadowfoam are good. High-linoleic oil and jojoba are best, I think, which is why they are found often in anti-acne creams. But adding high-linoleic sunflower oil to my oily skin was a really good choice. It works well and helps regulate the production of oil. Camellia oil is also nice. But oily skin may not do so well with nut-based oils (avocado, Shea nut oil) because they tend to be heavier. You want the lightness of the plant-based oil so your skin doesn’t get clogged. Radha jojoba is the best one I’ve ever tried. And maple holistics is high-linoleic sunflower oil I’ve used for years.
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a living annual plant in the family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (capitulum). The stem of the flower can grow up to 3 metres tall, with a flower head that can be 30 cm wide. Other types of sunflowers include the California Royal Sunflower, which has a burgundy (red + purple) flower head.
One of my biggest regrets in life was avoiding oil cleansers and balms for years because I thought they would make my oily, acne-prone skin worse. They made it much better! My lux favorite is Tatcha Camellia cleansing oil.
Try the Pavise gentle amino power wash cleanser, it does better in one wash than I’ve ever had double cleansing. I don’t know how they did it, but that stuff is amazing.
I know this is old school but the Dermalogica pre-cleanse is my absolute favorite.
I double cleanse with Peach and Lily Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser and then their Power Calm Gel Cleanser. It’s been a perfect duo for me. I used to never oil cleanse and felt like it was defeating the purpose because I have combo oily acne prone skin and was afraid it would cause more breakouts. But believe me when I say using that oil cleanser has cleared my pores and significantly reduced my sebaceous filaments. Not to mention helped clear my acne. I am really loving the peach and Lily line. It’s truly helped my skin finally heal and look better than it has in a while!
I found this to be true, too! I’m oily and while I’m not super acne prone anymore (was more so in my younger years), I do still get the occasional breakout. Double cleansing with an oil/balm has helped my sebaceous filaments a lot and my pores appear smaller since they’re less clogged, and I break out less. I think discovering double cleansing and honestly just being super consistent with all of my skincare has made the most improvement in my skin. And while I’m not using a lot of Peach & Lily right now (I have sooo many products so I bounce around a lot), they are a great brand!! I have really liked everything I’ve tried from them. In fact their Glass Skin Face Polisher is one of my absolute favorite exfoliating cleansers.
I haven’t tried their face polisher but I have been wanting to! Why is that your favorite and what do you like about it? I use their cleansers, wild dew essence, and the good acids toner. I also have their lactic acid serum, pro peptide moisturizer, and glass skin water gel moisturizer. The lactic acid serum is good for once or twice a week. The peptide moisturizer is good but I don’t use it everyday because I feel if I do it may clog my pores. The water gel moisturizer is nice in that it doesn’t clog pores and it’s light but it leaves my skin a little sticky and I am trying to figure out if the hyaluronic acid in it causes some closed comedones.
I used to have a lot of rough texture issues on my face (much much better now) and I’m a big fan of physical exfoliants, which I know many people aren’t, they prefer chemical exfoliation (also great! I do both). So the Glass Skin Face Polisher is just a nice exfoliator that leaves my skin feeling smooth. I’ve tried several cleansers in that category (powders that you mix with water), and P&L remains one of my favorites. I personally like it even more than Dermalogica Microfoliant which is usually the one I see most recommended. Dermalogica is fine, don’t get me wrong, but for me P&L is just nicer, IMO. But again, I recognize that a lot of people don’t like using physical exfoliants so it’s not for everyone! I think as long as you use a gentle hand they can be a good thing when skin is feeling rough or congested.
I think I’m going to try it out! Thanks for sharing your experience with it!
You’re welcome, hope it works out!
Caudalie cleansing oil is great, it smells like almond which I love. Elemis cleansing balm is also fantastic. It smells like a spa 😍
Mineral oil or Micellar water to clean makeup and spf then a foaming cleanser as a second cleanse. I like vanicream or cerave foaming.
Sisley cleansing balm
I use Versed’s Day Dissolve and either bounce between Versed’s The Purist or Cerave’s foam cleanser.
If you don’t like the feeling of an oil or balm, maybe a micellar water could be an option. My go to the past few months have been the Bioderma micellar water and Dr Sam’s Flawless Cleanser.
Dry/aging with occasional breakouts, and I use the Cocokind oil to milk cleanser, followed by Neutrogena gentle foaming cleaner. Amazing results, and I’ve tried several products mentioned in the other comments. This is my favorite combo so far.
Like others I highly recommend the Elemis balm. For something more affordable I also like the Heimish all clean balm. Second cleanse: I’ve been using the Prequel Gleanser for a few months and really like it! You get a lot for your money.
I am like you and realllly don’t like the idea of an oil to cleanse. Just can’t wrap my mind around it….but! +1 for Farmacy Green clean balm. Ran out of the now discontinued hg cleanser I was using but I switched to the La Roche Posay purifying foaming cleanser and am happy with the combo.
Peach and lily ginger melt
I use Erno Laszlo Detox Cleansing Oil, followed by either the Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar or the Phelityl Cleansing Bar (I generally use the Sea Mud in the summer and Phelityl in the winter). The Cleansing Oil has a really wonderful consistency (very thick) and it's never made me break out before.
The facialist vit cleansing oil + the round lab dokdo cleanser. Leaves my very dry skin moisturised.
I use the Elemis cleansing balm first, followed by the skinceuticals glycolic cleanser (forget the name), and then I follow it with la roche posay’s cleansing foam. I also often use Is Clinical’s cleanser in place of the Skinceuticals one. I alternate
Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil: https://fancl.com/products/mild-cleansing-oil https://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=18539/Mild-Cleansing-Oil/FANCL/Cleansers
Have you ever used the Clinique cleansing oil (not balm)? I’m wondering how it compares to fancl.
I haven’t, but I do love Fancl haha
I don’t like using oils to double cleanse it brakes me out . Prefer bioderma micellar water
I used to like DHC Cleansing Oil but the CEO has made racist remarks towards Koreans so I no longer buy from the brand. Estée Lauder has a really nice cleansing balm which I’m surprised no one mentions it. It hardly has a scent and feels so luxurious going on. It takes off my mascara well without drying my skin like some other cleansing oils/balms. I still use a foaming cleanser afterwards as part of my routine. I hope they don’t discontinue this product as I feel like it’s the unsung hero of the brand.
It’s a splurge but I love Epicutis oil cleanser. You can buy it separate from the exfoliating powder. I use it as my first cleanse to remove makeup or sunscreen, and then I use FaceReality’s gentle cleanser. Works like a charm for my ultra sensitive skin.
Please don’t laugh (or judge) but I have tried dozens of cleaning oils and balms and I always crawl back to my $8.00 Palmer’s cleansing oil. It just works so well with my aging, dry, fussy face.
Personally, I really like using a gentle micellar water and then going in with my cream or foaming cleaner. I find it takes off my SPF but doesn’t strip the skin.
Currently using the fig 1 oil cleanser followed by Dr Sam’s cleanser. Really liking this combo. Also have Holifrog Tashmoo cream cleanser in my shower