4 Reasons Why You Should Double Cleanse

When I think of the word “overkill”, I think of 2003. A hot, boring summer’s day at home. Looney Tunes: Back In Action playing on the old TV. Steve Martin as the evil chairman cackling away with the Brendan Fraser’s “dad” tied up on the tracks. “You see Mr. Drake,” he says to Fraser’s character, “if the train of death doesn’t kill your father, then maybe those crates of TNT will, not to mention the two ton anvil hanging over his head, and oh, and look there’s the pendulum of doom!”

He screams at the intercom. “What’s the pendulum of doom doing there? I did not order the pendulum of doom! That’s overkill – get rid of it!” Cue laughter from 8-year-old me (I found anything remotely silly very funny). The word overkill added itself into my vocabulary, for use whenever I needed to show off my linguistic “prowess”. Since then, however, I’ve never really made use of the word: nothing ever seemed to come close to the comedic extremity in that scene, forever immortalised in my mind. Plus, it’s a stupid word.

I only remember it slipping out once. I witnessed a flatmate haul a bundle of cleansers, scrubs and peels into the bathroom with her. It was the evening before her first big date of that academic year. “Triple cleansing is, like, the thing now. Gets all the London dirt out,” she explained, furiously rubbing oils, foams and all the A-B-C-whatever-HAs into her skin.

I winced. “Sounds like overkill to me.”

Funny that, considering I’m now the one harping on about the benefits of multi-cleansing, but trust me when I say that I have 4 damn good reasons for why I converted, and why you should too. Anyway, let’s get to it!

1. Different dirts have different needs

A lot of things can get on your skin. Dust from the Central line. Keyboard grime from that time you had an itch on your face and scratched it. A bit of mayo from your Pret salad. Or in my case, all of the above. Different kinds of dirt will have varying amounts of staying power and what’s more, not all of them will yield to your favourite cleansing product. It’s better to combine an oil-based cleanser with a water-based cleanser, to ensure that you’re covering all your bases.

2. Because we all love a bit of makeup

Our makeup is designed to stay on for as long as possible. It’s not going to flinch at a blob of foam. Neither is the SPF or the primer or the moisturiser you wear underneath your amazing contour. That’s why double cleansing is so great – together, they give a really thorough deep cleanse that ensures your skin comes out free of ev-er-y-thing.

3. It helps your other prods work harder

Clean skin translates to unadulterated canvas for all the products in your beauty cabinet. Hoping your essence, serum or toner will absorb quicker and work harder? Double cleanse!

4. It makes everything better

Less dirt on your face means cleaner pores means less spots – and let’s face it, no spots is everything. Plus, did I mention that it can help stop blackheads too?

So go ahead. Grab your favourite cleansing oils, foams, balms and creams and curate your own champion duos. If you’re stuck for ideas, however, why not gather some inspiration from our some of our favourite cleansers?