How To Properly Use Cleansing Oil To Remove Makeup - My Women Stuff

To remove makeup at the end of a long day, my makeup remover of choice is the cleansing oil. Ever since I was introduced to it, I have never looked back as it leaves my skin feeling clean and soft every time.

I was discussing the use of the cleansing oil with my regular facialist and she gave me some pointers on how to use cleansing oils effectively to remove makeup. These tips coupled with some I discovered through trial and error have helped in making my skin feel cleaner and make more effective use of the cleansing oils as well.

• Always start with dry hands and a dry face. The oils act to loosen the dirt from the ports of the skin and water emulsifies it to wash it out. If your hands or face are wet, it counteracts the use of the oil and that leaves your skin feeling oily and not clean.
• Use at least 2 pumps of oil. You need sufficient oil for the cleansing properties to work. If you try to save by using less oil then you may find that the layer of oil is too thin to clean the skin properly. My personal experience puts 2 pumps of oil as sufficient.
• Warm the cleansing oils in the palm of your hand before applying. I personally find that some cleansing oils are thicker than otheres. Warming them in the palms of my hand by rubbing my palms together gently helps make them more liquid, which also helps you spread it on the skin more evenly.
• Massage the cleansing oils into your skin. Unlike a foaming cleanser, which you apply, rub a little then rinse off, cleansing oils require a little more work. After spreading it all over your face, gently massage the oils into the skin with the tips of your fingers. You will feel the oily slowly becoming more liquid as they warm up on the skin. You will also feel little bits of grit on the skin start to form as you slowly massage the oils on the skin. With careful massage on congested areas of the skin, even blackheads and clogged pores can be cleared this way.
• Introduce water a little at a time. First, wet your hands and massage your skin, to emulsify the cleansing oils. You will find the oil dissolving under your fingers and turning a milky white. This is what removes the oily feeling on the skin. After a while, wet your hands again with a little more water and massage again. Repeat until all the oil is emulsified then rinse until clean. This way, you can ensure that there are no oils left on the skin. This is something not every sales person will tell you. Usually they stop at the introduction of water and I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about their skin feeling oily and congested after using cleansing oils which may be attributed to improper washing.
• Use warm water. I personally find that warm water helps wash the cleansing oil off better and leaves the skin feeling cleaner and smoother. You can use cold water after that if you like.

These are just some little tips which I practice. Using these tips, I’ve found that almost any brand of cleansing oils can work for me as effectively, except for some brands which I react to caused, I suspect by the ingredients. I’ll be doing a challenge write up about high end and low end cleansing oils in the near future so stay tuned!

Do you have any tips to share for using cleansing oils effectively?

Update: Read this post for more tips and all the cleansing oils I’ve ever used!

P/S Its a very special date today 08-08-08! 😀 How are you marking it? I will be watching the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. How exciting!