The oil cleanser will help to free your skin makeup, sun screen, sebum, and skin care left on the skin. “It works by attracting and bonding to excess dirt, bacteria, makeup, and sebum, helping to remove them from pores,” Nichols explains. See, oil attracts oil, so oil-based cleansers are able to break down lipid residues on the skin (of which, many creams, makeup, and sunscreen are).
After you wash off the oil cleanser, your second cleanse (more on this next) will be able to deeply clean the skin without having to break through makeup, dirt, bacteria, and the like. Plus, the rest of your routine will be even more effective.
“By properly eliminating buildup, makeup, and sunscreen, it ensures that the rest of the skincare routine can properly penetrate,” board-certified dermatologist Marisa Garshick, M.D., FAAD tells mbg.
These oil-based cleansers come in many different forms from balms to micellar cleansers (which have oil micelles in them) and simple oil washes. The important thing in choosing a product is to keep your skin type in mind, which will help guide your oil selection (more on that later).