The Art of Proper Cleansing: How to Wash Your Face Without Damaging Your Skin

Cleansing is one of the most important steps in any skincare routine, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood.

Every week in my treatment room, I see skin that is dehydrated, reactive, congested, or struggling with barrier dysfunction because of simple cleansing mistakes. Many people focus on finding the perfect serum or moisturizer while overlooking the cleanser they use every day.

The truth is that healthy skin starts with proper cleansing. When cleansing is done correctly, it supports the skin barrier, helps products perform more effectively, and creates the foundation for long-term skin health.

After more than two decades of treating skin, I can tell you that I see more damage from improper cleansing than most people realize.

When cleansing is done properly, it helps maintain skin health, supports barrier function, improves the performance of other products, and creates the foundation for a healthy skincare routine.

When cleansing is done incorrectly, it can contribute to irritation, dehydration, breakouts, inflammation, and long-term barrier dysfunction.

Understanding the difference is one of the most valuable things you can do for your skin.

The Importance of Proper Cleansing

Throughout the day, the skin accumulates sunscreen, makeup, environmental debris, excess oil, sweat, and dead skin cells. Proper cleansing helps remove this buildup while preparing the skin for the products that follow.

At the same time, cleansing must respect the skin barrier. The skin barrier helps retain moisture while protecting the skin from environmental stressors, irritation, and water loss. A cleanser that is too aggressive can disrupt this barrier, leaving skin feeling tight, dry, reactive, and uncomfortable.

Many people assume that a cleanser's job is to leave the skin feeling squeaky clean. In reality, that sensation is often a sign that the skin has been stripped beyond what is necessary. Properly cleansed skin should feel comfortable, balanced, and refreshed. It should not feel stripped, tight, itchy, burning, or overly dry.

A good cleanser removes  makeup, sunscreen, excess sebum, pollutants and debris without stripping the lipids and other components that support the barrier.

The skin barrier helps retain moisture while protecting the skin from environmental stressors, irritation, and water loss. If you are unfamiliar with how the barrier functions, read my guide to Skin Barrier Function.

How Social Media Made Cleansing More Complicated

For most of human history, cleansing was relatively simple.

Today, social media has transformed cleansing into a complicated ritual involving multiple cleansers, cleansing devices, cleansing balms, double cleansing routines, exfoliating tools, and countless trending techniques. 

Consumers are constantly exposed to videos showing elaborate cleansing routines that may look impressive but are not necessarily appropriate for their skin. 

Social media skincare advice tends to treat skin as something you can understand from appearance, ingredient lists, and trends. But there is an enormous difference between knowing some things about skincare and having spent years actually touching, examining, treating, and watching skin respond over time.

A person who has worked hands-on with thousands of faces learns things that don’t fit neatly into a Reel: how dehydration can masquerade as oiliness, how an impaired barrier changes texture and reactivity, how aggressively treated acne can look superficially “clearer” while the skin itself is becoming less healthy, and how two people with seemingly similar concerns might need  completely different routines.

One thing is omnipresent in social media skincare: the pursuit of the “new.” It may be genuinely new, or centuries old, but simply new to you. Novelty itself becomes the selling point. Social media skincare advice encourages people to adopt routines based on trends rather than skin physiology - the underlying assumption is that more products, more steps, more actives, and more cleansing must somehow produce better skin.

In reality, I often see the opposite.

Many clients come into the treatment room using multiple cleansers, cleansing brushes, oil "cleansers" (oil is NOT a cleanser), exfoliating  pads and tools, and active ingredients, yet their skin is dehydrated, reactive, congested, or they are struggling with a compromised skin barrier.

Just because a routine is popular does not mean it is working.

Double cleansing can be useful for some people, particularly those who have very oily skin, wear heavy makeup, heavy or water-resistant sunscreen, or have significant buildup to remove, such washing your face after spending time in a dusty environment. But not every skin requires multiple cleansing steps, and definitely not every day, or twice a day. Many people are cleansing perfectly well with a single, properly selected cleanser. Double cleansing has become one of those practices that is often adopted simply because everyone else seems to be doing it, rather than because the skin actually needs it. And no one seems to question it.

Now we have triple cleansing, which takes this logic even further, to a parody level. Cleansing is not a competition, and skin does not become progressively cleaner or healthier with every additional wash. At some point, repeated cleansing simply increases the opportunity to remove too much of what healthy skin needs to function properly - its protective lipids, components of its microbiome, and the integrity of the stratum corneum.

The same is true for cleansing balms and cleansing oils. Like many skincare trends, oil cleansing is often presented as something everyone should be doing, when that is simply not the case.

Oil can dissolve makeup, sunscreen, sebum, and other oil-soluble substances, but dissolving something is not the same as cleansing it away. That is the job of surfactants, which allow oils, debris, and other substances to be lifted from the skin and rinsed away with water.

There is a reason we do not wash our hands, hair, dishes, or clothes with oil. We use surfactants.

Oil alone can leave a film on the skin, and that soft, coated feeling is sometimes mistaken for hydration. It is not. Residue and hydration are not the same thing.

I also see clients presenting with patchy, diffuse redness and eczema-like inflammation that developed or worsened while they were using oil cleansers and so-called oil “serums.” In many of these cases, the skin improves once those products are removed from the routine and a more appropriate cleansing and barrier-supportive regimen is introduced. Unfortunately, I have also seen cases in which the inflammation persisted to the point that clients sought dermatologic care and were prescribed topical corticosteroids.

Skin physiology does not care what is trending, and a simple cleansing routine that is appropriate for your skin will always outperform a complicated routine that continually stresses the skin.

The Biggest Cleansing Mistakes I See in the Treatment Room

After more than two decades of treating skin, I have found that most cleansing mistakes fall into a few predictable categories.

Oil Cleansers: Why I Approach Them With Caution

As mentioned above, one of the most common harmful patterns I see in the treatment room involves clients who arrive with skin that is blotchy, reactive, dehydrated, and often very uncomfortable with how their skin feels. They describe persistent stinging, rough texture, increased sensitivity, and a loss of the healthy, natural sheen associated with well-functioning skin. Some are already under the care of a dermatologist and using prescription creams to manage persistent dermatitis or inflammation.

When I begin asking about their skincare routines, one product category appears again and again: oils and oil cleansers.

The popularity of oil cleansing grew rapidly in the early 2000s alongside the idea that "natural" ingredients are inherently gentler and better for the skin, and  that conventional cleansers are too harsh. While the intention was often good, many people began replacing properly formulated cleansers with oils that were never designed to thoroughly remove the mixture of sunscreen, makeup, sweat, environmental pollutants, and excess sebum that accumulate on the skin throughout the day.

To understand why this can become problematic, it helps to understand how cleansing actually works.

Most makeup, sunscreen, sebum, and many environmental pollutants are oil-soluble materials. This is why oils can be effective at loosening and dissolving them. In chemistry, there is a simple principle: "like dissolves like." Oil readily mixes with other oils, which is why an oil cleanser can help break down makeup, sunscreen, and excess sebum on the skin's surface.

However, dissolving debris is only one part of cleansing.

Effective cleansing requires three steps:

1. Loosening debris from the skin.
2. Suspending that debris so it does not simply settle back onto the skin.
3. Removing the debris completely through rinsing.

Oil performs the first step well. A properly formulated cleanser performs all three.

This distinction is important because dissolving and removing are not the same thing. An oil may dissolve makeup, sunscreen, and excess sebum, but that does not automatically mean these materials have been removed from the skin.

From a formulation standpoint, cleansing relies on surfactants and cleansing agents that help lift, suspend, and rinse away both oil-soluble and water-soluble impurities. A surfactant is the primary cleansing ingredient in a cleanser. Its role is to loosen, lift, suspend, and remove dirt, sweat, dead skin cells, pollutants, sunscreen, and excess oil so they can be washed away.

Some modern oil cleansers also contain emulsifiers. An emulsifier is not a cleanser itself. Its role is to help oil and water mix together. In these formulas, the oil dissolves makeup and sunscreen, the emulsifier allows the oil and water to form a rinseable emulsion, and water removes the mixture from the skin. This is why many oil cleansers turn milky when water is added.

The issue arises when oils are used as a substitute for proper cleansing or when residue is consistently left behind on already compromised skin.

In my experience, skin that is repeatedly coated with residual oils often becomes dull, congested, and increasingly reactive over time. The skin may feel soft immediately after application, but many clients eventually develop rough texture, persistent redness, sensitivity, and a sensation that everything they apply begins to sting.

The cleansing should be evaluated based on how effectively debris is removed from the skin, not simply on whether makeup or sunscreen appears to dissolve.

A useful way to think about cleansing is to compare it to washing your hair, your hands, or your laundry.

Imagine applying oil to greasy hair. The oil may loosen styling products, sebum, and surface debris, but few people would consider their hair truly clean if the oil were simply massaged through and left behind. The hair would feel coated, heavy, and eventually attract more dirt and environmental debris. Oil cannot be effectively rinsed out with water alone…

The same principle applies when washing your hands. If your hands are covered in grease, adding more oil may help dissolve the grease, but most people would still reach for soap to lift and rinse the mixture away. Dissolving residue is only part of the process. Removal is what leaves the surface clean.

Laundry provides another useful example. Oils can loosen oily stains from fabric, but clothing is not considered clean until detergents suspend the loosened soil and water carries it away. Without that removal step, much of the residue remains in the fabric.

Skin is no different. Effective cleansing requires more than loosening makeup, sunscreen, sebum, and environmental debris. These materials must also be lifted from the skin and removed. This is where surfactants play their essential role. They help suspend impurities so they can be rinsed away rather than simply redistributed across the skin's surface.

For this reason, I believe that dissolving debris should never be confused with cleansing. True cleansing requires both loosening and removal.

For clients struggling with sensitivity, dehydration, barrier dysfunction, or chronic irritation, I generally find that a well-formulated gentle cleanser provides more reliable results than routines built primarily around oils.

Cleansing Too Aggressively

Many people believe that if their skin feels tight, squeaky clean, or slightly irritated after cleansing, the cleanser must be working.

In reality, those sensations often indicate that the skin barrier has been unnecessarily disrupted.

I have never looked at healthy skin and wished it were more stripped. Yet every week I meet people who believe that tightness, dryness, or irritation are signs that their cleanser is working. They may then follow with an astringent or drying toner, mistaking that temporary sensation of tightness for firmness or toning.

Healthy skin should feel comfortable. Cleansing should support the skin, not punish it.

A good cleanser removes excess oil, sunscreen, makeup, and daily buildup while preserving the skin's natural barrier function.

Choosing a Cleanser Based on Trends Instead of Skin Type

One of the most common mistakes I see is people choosing cleansers because they are popular rather than because they are appropriate.

A cleanser should be selected based on your skin type, skin condition, and skincare goals.

For example, oily and congested skin often benefits from controlled exfoliation and more thorough cleansing. In my practice, I frequently recommend the  Daily Cleanser or Mandelic Cleansing Gel because they help maintain clarity while remaining appropriate for sensitive and breakout-prone skin.

For clients experiencing active acne or very oily skin, the Acne Wash can be a useful part of a carefully designed routine designed to address breakouts without overwhelming the skin.

Normal, combination, and many slightly oily skin types often do exceptionally well with the Daily Cleanser, which provides effective cleansing while respecting the skin barrier.

For clients who prefer a non-rinse option, travel frequently, wear light makeup, or need a gentle first cleanse, Micellar Water can be an effective way to remove makeup, sunscreen, and daily buildup without excessive rubbing or irritation.

The best cleanser is not necessarily the most expensive, the most active, or the most popular. It is the one that appropriately supports your skin.

Using Cleansing Brushes and Devices Too Often

Mechanical cleansing devices can feel satisfying, but they are often overused. Repeated brushing not only removes surface debris, but can also strip away too much of the skin's natural protective oils and disrupt the outermost layers of the skin barrier.

Many people already receive adequate exfoliation from their cleansers, treatment products, and professional treatments. Adding aggressive brushing on top of that can contribute to irritation, redness, sensitivity, dryness, and barrier dysfunction.

This is one reason cleansing brushes are not nearly as popular as they once were. As our understanding of skin barrier health has evolved, many professionals have shifted away from recommending daily mechanical cleansing and toward gentler cleansing practices that support the skin rather than challenge it.

In most cases, your hands are perfectly capable of cleansing the skin effectively. A well-formulated cleanser, applied with gentle massage and thoroughly rinsed away, is often all that is needed to keep the skin clean without unnecessary irritation.

If you enjoy using a cleansing brush, choose a non-motorized device with soft bristles and use a gentle touch. Limit use to once or twice per week at most, and avoid using cleansing brushes on skin that is irritated, inflamed, dehydrated, or experiencing a barrier flare-up.

For most people, a well-formulated cleanser applied with clean hands provides all the cleansing power needed without the additional friction and potential irritation associated with frequent mechanical exfoliation.

Using Water That Is Too Hot

Hot water feels relaxing, but it can contribute to dehydration and irritation.

Excessively hot water may increase redness, worsen sensitivity, and leave skin feeling dry and uncomfortable after cleansing.

Lukewarm water is generally the safest and most skin-friendly choice.

Cleansing More Often Than Necessary

More cleansing is not always better cleansing.

Some people wash their face multiple times a day in an attempt to control oil production, breakouts, or shine. Unfortunately, excessive cleansing can disrupt the skin barrier, increasing dryness, irritation, and sometimes the appearance of oiliness. Excess oil is better addressed with products specifically formulated to regulate sebum, reduce congestion, and support healthy skin function, rather than by repeatedly stripping the skin.

Most people do well cleansing in the evening to remove the day's buildup and then adjusting their morning cleansing routine according to their skin's needs.

Using the Wrong Cleanser Entirely

Sometimes the issue is not how often someone cleanses or how they cleanse, but the problem is the cleanser itself.

I frequently see dehydrated skin using harsh or acid- based cleansers, oily skin using products that are far too rich, and sensitive skin trying to tolerate active cleansers that are simply not appropriate.

The right cleanser should help the skin function better. If it is causing barrier-related problems, use of that cleanser should be reconsidered.

How to Choose the Right Cleanser for Your Skin

One of the most common questions I hear is:

"What is the best cleanser?"

The truth is that there is no single cleanser that is best for everyone.

The right cleanser depends on your skin type, skin condition, treatment goals, age, lifestyle, environment, and the products you use throughout the rest of your routine. The strongest cleanser is rarely the best cleanser.

A cleanser should help remove excess oil, sunscreen, makeup, environmental debris, and daily buildup without unnecessarily stressing the skin.

The goal is not to remove as much oil as possible. The goal is to maintain skin barrier balance.

Oily and Congested Skin

Many people with oily skin assume they need the strongest cleanser available.

In reality, excessively aggressive cleansing can leave skin dehydrated and irritated while doing little to improve congestion.

Oily skin often benefits from regular, controlled exfoliation and consistent cleansing rather than harsh treatment.

The Mandelic Cleansing Gel and the Daily Cleanser are one of my preferred options for oily, congested, and breakout-prone skin because they help support skin clarity while remaining appropriate for many sensitive skin types.

For clients experiencing active acne, the Acne Wash can be a useful addition to a routine when additional support is needed.

The goal is not to strip the skin, but to maintain a healthy environment where congestion is less likely to develop.

Oily skin  benefits from regular, controlled exfoliation and consistent cleansing rather than harsh treatment. Learn more in my tips for Acne-Prone Skin.

Dry and Dehydrated Skin

Dry and dehydrated skin often suffers from over-cleansing.

Many people continue using cleansers that leave their skin feeling tight and uncomfortable without realizing that the cleanser itself may be contributing to the problem. Others use cleansers that leave residue behind, which can interfere with the products applied afterward and leave the skin feeling coated rather than truly clean.

When skin is dehydrated, cleansing should focus on removing daily buildup while preserving moisture and supporting barrier function.

A properly selected cleanser should leave the skin feeling comfortable and clean, not stripped and desperate for moisturizer.

Many dry, dehydrated, and mature skin types do exceptionally well with the Mandelic Cleansing Gel and Daily Cleanser because they effectively remove daily buildup while helping maintain comfort and barrier function.

Sensitive and Reactive Skin

Sensitive skin requires a thoughtful approach.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is sensitive skin being treated as though it needs more and more soothing products while the source of irritation remains unchanged.

Sometimes the cleanser itself is part of the problem.

Sensitive skin often responds best to gentle, consistent cleansing without excessive exfoliation, aggressive cleansing tools, or unnecessary cleansing steps.

Many reactive skin types do exceptionally well with a simple cleansing routine that respects the skin barrier and avoids unnecessary irritation.

Many reactive skin types do exceptionally well with a simple cleansing routine that respects the skin barrier and avoids unnecessary irritation. For more on how barrier disruption can lead to redness, stinging, and increased reactivity, read my guide to sensitive skin and how to restore a compromised skin barrier

Normal and Combination Skin

Normal and combination skin often benefit from a balanced cleanser that effectively removes daily buildup without disrupting the skin barrier.

In my practice, many clients with normal, combination, and slightly oily skin do exceptionally well with the Daily Cleanser.

If you have normal, well-functioning skin, appreciate it. Not every complexion needs to be corrected or optimized. Enjoy the fact that your cleansing routine can be simple. The goal is simply to cleanse thoroughly while maintaining comfort, hydration, and barrier integrity.

Acne-Prone Skin

Acne-prone skin is often caught between two extremes. Some people avoid active cleansers altogether out of fear of irritation, while others aggressively strip the skin in an attempt to eliminate every breakout.

Neither approach tends to produce healthy, balanced skin.

Acne-prone skin often benefits from consistent cleansing that helps reduce excess oil, remove daily buildup, and support clearer pores without unnecessarily disrupting the skin barrier. The goal is not to dry the skin out. The goal is to create an environment where congestion and breakouts are less likely to develop.

For many acne-prone skin types, the Mandelic Cleansing Gel provides an effective balance of cleansing and gentle exfoliation while remaining appropriate for many sensitive and reactive complexions. Clients experiencing active breakouts may benefit from incorporating the Acne Wash as part of a carefully structured routine when additional support is needed.

Even when managing acne, healthy skin function remains the priority. Over-cleansing, excessive exfoliation, and harsh treatment products can sometimes create additional irritation that makes acne more difficult to manage over time.

Makeup, Sunscreen, and Daily Buildup

For clients who wear makeup, sunscreen, or simply prefer a non-rinse cleansing option, Micellar Water can be a useful addition to a routine.

Micellar technology helps lift makeup, sunscreen, excess oil, and daily debris from the skin without excessive rubbing.

It can be used as a standalone cleanse in certain situations or as a preparatory cleansing step before a traditional cleanser. When micellar water is used as the only cleansing step, I recommend following with toner to help remove any remaining surfactant or product residue from the skin

What Properly Cleansed Skin Should Feel Like

One of the simplest ways to evaluate a cleanser is to pay attention to how your skin feels after washing.

Unfortunately, many people have been taught to believe that a cleanser is effective only if their skin feels squeaky clean, tight, or completely oil-free afterward.

In reality, those sensations are often signs that the skin has been stripped beyond what is necessary.

Properly cleansed skin should feel clean, comfortable, and balanced.

It should not feel:

• Tight

• Dry

• Itchy

• Burning

• Overly shiny from rebound oil production

• Red or irritated

• Desperate for moisturizer immediately after cleansing

Many people become accustomed to over-cleansing and mistake irritation for cleanliness.

When cleansing is done correctly, skin should feel refreshed and comfortable. The skin should feel like itself, just cleaner.

If your skin consistently feels uncomfortable after cleansing, it may be worth evaluating whether your cleanser, cleansing frequency, water temperature, or overall routine are appropriate for your skin.

Your cleanser should help prepare your skin for the products that follow, and if it irritates your skin, it should be re-evaluated.

Build a Cleansing Routine That Supports Your Skin

After more than two decades of treating skin, I  know that cleansing is about finding the right cleanser:  the cleanser that supports your skin barrier, respects your skin type, and helps create a healthier environment for the rest of your routine.

Healthy skin is the result of consistency, balance, and products that are appropriate for the skin they are being used on.

Whether your skin is oily, acne-prone, sensitive, dehydrated, or somewhere in between, cleansing should work with your skin rather than constantly challenge it.

At Biba Los Angeles, our cleansers were developed from real treatment room experience and designed to support healthy skin function.

For oily, congested, and breakout-prone skin, explore the Mandelic Cleansing Gel or Daily Cleanser.

For active acne, the Acne Wash can provide targeted support as part of a balanced routine.

For normal, combination, and many slightly oily skin types, the Daily Cleanser provides effective cleansing while respecting the skin barrier.

For makeup removal, sunscreen removal, travel, or a gentle cleansing option, Micellar Water offers a simple and effective solution.

The best cleanser is not the trendiest cleanser,  is the cleanser that helps your skin function at its best.

Explore the Biba Los Angeles Cleanser Collection to find the cleanser that best supports your skin's individual needs and helps create the foundation for a healthier skincare routine.

FAQ

How often should I wash my face?

Most people benefit from cleansing once in the evening to remove sunscreen, makeup, excess oil, and daily buildup. Morning cleansing can be adjusted based on skin type and individual needs, especially if you have oily skin.

Is double cleansing necessary?

Not always. Double cleansing can be useful for heavy makeup wearers, water-resistant sunscreen users, and those exposed to significant environmental debris. Many people achieve excellent results with a single well-formulated cleanser.

Why does my skin feel tight after washing?

Tightness after cleansing is often a sign that the cleanser is too aggressive or that the skin barrier has been disrupted.

What is the best cleanser for acne-prone skin?

The best cleanser depends on the severity of acne and overall skin condition. Many acne-prone skin types do well with Mandelic Cleansing Gel, while active acne may benefit from Acne Wash as part of a balanced routine.

Can cleansing damage the skin barrier?

Yes. Over-cleansing, harsh cleansers, excessive exfoliation, aggressive cleansing tools, and very hot water can all contribute to barrier disruption