Many dermatologists and beauticians swear by double cleansing for flawless skin. We explain this super cleanser for facial skin.

One of the first anti-ageing treatments is skin cleansing. You can use the very best skincare products, but there’s no point in using them on skin with clogged pores and a “blocked” surface.

On social media, double cleansing is a popular technique. But is it suitable for all skin types? And being careful about choosing the right products and following the right steps is important. Cleansing, yes. Stripping, no!

What does double cleansing involve?

Double cleansing originated in Japan. It has since been emulated in South Korea, where layering is practised, and in the United States, where people wear a lot of make-up, and where the act of “stripping” skin and hair is commonplace.

This two-step double cleansing ritual aims to remove make-up and impurities and thoroughly cleanse the skin, leaving it radiant and more receptive to the products you use afterward.

Why two steps?

Double cleansing takes place in two stages to remove various impurities that clog the skin.

A greasy step to eliminate oils

The first step is to use a greasy product, an oil, or a cleansing balm to remove all the fatty particles and lipophilic impurities from makeup – including waterproof makeup – and sebum, as well as sunscreen, which can be difficult to remove. They should be applied directly to dry skin all over the face and neck with bare hands, using gentle circular movements, before rinsing. NACRE ÉCLAT’s Metamorphosis Balm is perfectly suited for this step. It removes makeup and cleanses the skin perfectly and gently while maintaining the skin’s microbiota balance. This generous, soothing balm with a vegetable oil-rich texture (organic oleic sunflower oil) that dissolves makeup and impurities, transforms into a milky balm due to gentle, non-foaming surfactants that trap impurities.

Ultra-concentrated, a hazelnut-sized amount is all you need to cleanse your face, eyes, and lips. With mother-of-pearl extract (NACR-45®) and Pre- & Post-biotics, it respects the balance of the microbiota and strengthens the stratum corneum.

An aqueous stage to eliminate hydrophilic molecules

In a classic double cleanse, we move on to an aqueous phase using a hydrophilic textured gel, foam, or milk. This removes any residue left over that was dissolved during the first stage. While oil removes lipophilic molecules, the foaming cleanser tackles hydrophilic molecules such as sweat and dust, leaving the skin deeply cleansed and oxygenated. NACRE ÉCLAT’s Milky Micellar Water, whose milky texture transforms to water to revitalise combination to oily skin, is a must-have. Enriched with cleansing micelles and balancing pre- and post-biotics, it gently rids the skin of all impurities thanks to its gentle, non-foaming surfactants. What’s more, it preserves the skin’s natural moisture thanks to the action of NACR-45® mother-of-pearl extracts. After use, the skin is clearer, fresher, and brighter.

Oil, even for combination or oily skin!

When we have oily skin, we tend to be wary of greasy, oily textures, for fear that they will feed on the sebum and cause blackheads. But what is true for skincare is not true for makeup removal.

The most effective texture for eliminating grease

It’s precisely because grease likes grease that oils or balms with an oily texture are best suited to eliminating grease. Oily molecules love grease, and only a product with an oily base can get rid of everything greasy, especially sebum. What’s more, makeup removal oil, which emulsifies when in contact with water, is eventually rinsed off.

But not just any oil!

On the other hand, choose products specifically formulated for this purpose, including gentle emulsifiers that make the oil compatible with water when rinsing. Avoid vegetable oils such as olive or coconut, which do not emulsify and can cause blackheads.

Choosing the right products

Respecting the skin barrier

The skin is protected by a hydrolipidic film and the microbiota. Any cleansing, however gentle, upsets the balance of these two environments, which need a few hours to regenerate. And over-aggressive cleansing, using products that are too stripping with abrasive surfactants, attacks both, leaving the skin barrier vulnerable. Transepidermal water loss is then increased and the skin becomes “porous” to harmful aggressors and pathogenic bacteria. In the long term, repeated over-abrasive cleansing of this kind can lead to increased skin problems: blemishes and excessive sebum production, tightness, inflammation, and discomfort, even on combination and oily skin. So avoid products containing sulphates, silicones, and mineral oils, favouring plant oils, squalene, plant butters, plant waxes, and gentle emulsifiers derived from coconut sugars.

Is using two products necessary?

Modern cleansing oils and balms often have “transformation textures” which, using emulsifying sugars, form a milky emulsion when the oil comes into contact with water. This makes rinsing easy, without leaving an oily residue on the skin.

Micellar products contain micelles, molecules with a hydrophilic head and lipophilic tail. When these micelles come into contact with the skin, the tail clings to oily impurities (makeup, pollution, sebum), and the head clings to aqueous impurities before curling up to trap and eliminate them.

Whether it’s a cleansing oil or a micellar product, the same product provides both stages of double cleansing!

This is true of both the Metamorphosis Balm and the Milky Micellar Water!

Whether you choose one or two products, this type of cleansing is performed in the evening to remove makeup, dust, pollution, sun products, and other impurities. In the morning, you can use a toner, floral water, or a mist such as Isotonic Nacre Water.