Skincare conversations tend to focus on what you put on your skin - serums, actives, moisturisers. But the step that determines how well everything else works is the one that comes first: cleansing.
If your skin isn’t properly clean, nothing that follows can do its job fully. And if you’re cleansing incorrectly - which most people are, in at least one way - you may be actively working against your own routine.
What cleansing actually does
Throughout the day, your skin accumulates a layer of sebum, sweat, dead skin cells, pollution particles, and - if you’re wearing it - SPF and makeup. This layer isn’t just cosmetically unpleasant. It physically blocks the skin’s surface, preventing active ingredients from penetrating, slowing cell turnover, and creating the conditions for congestion and breakouts.
Cleansing removes this layer. Done correctly, it leaves the skin clean, balanced, and ready to absorb everything that follows. Done incorrectly - too harshly, with the wrong formula, or incompletely - it either strips the skin’s natural barrier or leaves residue behind.
Why one cleanse is often not enough
Water-based cleansers - foams, gels, micellar waters - are designed to remove water-soluble impurities: sweat, pollution, and surface debris. They are not designed to dissolve oil-based substances like SPF, sebum, and most makeup formulas.
This is where double cleansing comes in. The principle is simple: use an oil-based cleanser first to dissolve and lift oil-based residue, then follow with a water-based cleanser to remove what’s left. Two steps, two different jobs.
The result is a level of cleanliness that a single water-based cleanser cannot achieve - and skin that’s genuinely prepared for the rest of your routine.
When double cleansing matters most
Double cleansing is most important in the evening, when you’re removing a full day of SPF, sebum, and environmental exposure. Morning cleansing is simpler - your skin has been resting, not accumulating - and a single gentle foam or gel is usually sufficient.
If you’re not wearing SPF or makeup, a single thorough cleanse may be enough in the evening too. But if SPF is part of your daily routine - and it should be - double cleansing is the most reliable way to remove it completely.
It’s also particularly relevant in summer, when heat increases sebum production and SPF reapplication throughout the day means more to remove by evening.
How to double cleanse correctly
Start with VELVET FLOW Oil-To-Milk Cleanser on dry skin. Its oil-gel texture transforms to a silky milk on contact with water, dissolving SPF and oil-based impurities without stripping. Massage gently, then rinse.
Follow with HERBAL BREATH Cleansing Foam — a water-based foam that completes the cleanse, clearing pores and removing any remaining residue without disrupting the skin’s natural balance. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.
Pat dry with a clean towel. Your skin is now ready for toner, serum, and everything that follows.
The most common cleansing mistakes
Water that’s too hot. Hot water feels thorough but disrupts the skin barrier and causes redness. Lukewarm is always better.
Over-cleansing. Cleansing more than twice a day, or using formulas that are too stripping, removes the skin’s natural oils and triggers more sebum production - the opposite of what most people want.
Skipping the second step. An oil cleanser alone leaves an emulsified residue on the skin. The second cleanse removes it. Both steps are necessary.
Rushing. Thirty seconds of massage is the minimum for an effective cleanse. Give the formula time to work.
The foundation of everything else
No serum, no moisturiser, no active ingredient performs at its best on skin that hasn’t been properly cleansed. Cleansing isn’t the glamorous part of a skincare routine - but it’s the part that makes everything else work.
VELVET FLOW Oil-To-Milk Cleanser →
HERBAL BREATH Cleansing Foam →