How to Use Cleansing Oil: Dry Face, Emulsify Until Milky
To use cleansing oil, put it in dry hands, spread it over a dry face, add a little water until it turns milky, then rinse. Ria’s two tables cover pump amounts by product, the eye area and lens days, and what to check first when your face feels slippery after rinsing.
If you wear contact lenses, take them out first. On days you wear eye makeup, start by checking how much oil to use. This guide covers how many pumps to use, the eye area, and the order for emulsifying and rinsing. Put the oil in dry hands and spread it over a dry face. Add a little water until it turns milky, then rinse well with lukewarm water. Whether to wash again with a foam cleanser differs by product, so follow the directions on your bottle.
Has your face ever felt slippery after rinsing? Have your eyes stung, or your lenses gone cloudy? Then walk through the steps below. They cover the number of pumps, the eye area, what comes first on lens days, and what to check first when the oil won’t emulsify.
For choosing between an oil, a balm and a cleansing water, see how to choose a cleanser. For the same steps with a balm, see how to use a cleansing balm. Double cleansing on sunscreen days is covered in more detail in how to remove sunscreen.
Why do you put cleansing oil in dry hands?
So the oil meets your makeup before water does. Cleansing oil starts with dry hands and a dry face. Water goes in only after the makeup has melted.
Hold off on splashing your face for a moment
In the evening at the sink, most of us turn on the water out of habit. On cleansing oil days, change that order. Spread the oil before you splash any water on your face.
Cleansing oil directions include a step where you add water and rub until the oil turns milky. This change is called emulsifying. It comes after the makeup has melted, when you are getting ready to rinse. That’s why water comes later.
Dry off, and pull your hair back with a headband
After washing your hands, dry them well with a towel. Do the same for your face. After washing your hair, or when the bathroom is full of steam, water tends to stay on your face. Pat it dry with a towel before you start.
If your hair tends to fall over your face, pull it back with a headband. It makes spreading the oil to your hairline and in front of your ears much easier.
How many pumps of cleansing oil should you use?
It depends on the product. Some list a number of pumps, and some just say “an appropriate amount.” So check your bottle’s directions first. If there is no number, use enough to spread over your whole face without dragging.
If it just says “an appropriate amount”
Start with enough to cover your forehead, both cheeks, nose and chin in one go. If you run short while spreading and your fingertips start to drag on your skin, add a little more.
On days with heavy eye makeup, think of the amount for your face and the amount for your eyes separately. Spread it over your face first. Then put a little more in dry hands and use it just around your eyes.
Press the pump with dry hands
If you press the pump with wet hands, that water meets the oil in your palm first. Dry your hands before you press. Then spread the oil evenly across your palms and bring it to your face.
Even within one brand, the amount and order can change from product to product. When you open a new bottle, read the directions again instead of pumping out of old habit.
| Source | Amount each time | Where to put it | After rinsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, Japanese brand (US official site) | 2–3 pumps | Dry hands → dry face | Wipe off with a warm, damp cloth or rinse well, then double cleanse with a foam cleanser |
| shu uemura Ultime8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil, Japanese brand (US official site) | 3–4 pumps | Palms → dry face | Rinse well with water; no need to double cleanse |
| Innisfree Green Tea Amino Hydrating Cleansing Oil, Korean brand (Malaysia official site) | An appropriate amount | Dry face | Finish by rinsing with lukewarm water |
| Hera Deep Cleansing Oil, Korean brand | No number; “take some in your hand” | In your hand, then over the whole face | Rinsing with lukewarm water is enough; the brand says finishing with foam leaves skin feeling more moist and fresh |
Centellian24
Madeca Cica Deep Cleansing Oil
200 ml
Check this bottle’s directions for how much to dispense.
View on Naver ShoppingSpread it on a dry face and roll it gently with your fingertips
Split the oil between both hands, spread it over your whole face, and roll it lightly with your fingertips. There is no need to press hard. This step gives the oil time to mix with your makeup.
From the cheeks and forehead out to the hairline
Spread it over wide areas like your cheeks and forehead. Then move out to the sides of your nose, under your chin and your hairline. Pulling or scrubbing your skin can irritate it, so use only the weight of your fingertips.
Wash your face with your fingertips, not a washcloth or sponge. A washcloth or sponge can irritate your skin.
On sunscreen days, go all the way to the edges
If you put sunscreen under your chin and in front of your ears, spread the oil out to those edges too. If the oil covers less than the sunscreen did, the parts outside stay behind. Pass your fingertips once over the front of your ears, your jawline and the sides of your nostrils.
If the directions give a time for massaging, stick to it.
How do you use cleansing oil around the eyes?
Close your eyes and gently stroke your eyelids and lashes with dry fingertips to melt the makeup. Just be careful not to let the oil get into your eyes.
Close your eyes and relax your fingertips
Be even gentler around the eyes than on your cheeks. With your eyes closed, rest your fingertips on your eyelids and sweep slowly toward your lashes. Some oils say they remove waterproof mascara and eyeliner too. Still, check your bottle’s description for what it removes.
Once it feels melted, keep your eyes closed and move on to the next step. You may want to open your eyes to check, but don’t rub them with oily hands.
Eye makeup on acne-prone skin
If your skin is acne-prone, try removing your eye makeup with an oil-free remover too, then wash with a gentle cleanser. Whichever way you remove it, don’t rub your face.
For removing just your eye makeup, see how to use a lip and eye remover. For wiping it off with a cotton pad, see how to use cleansing water.
On lens days, take your lenses out before you reach for the oil
Take out your lenses before you remove your makeup. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises putting in your lenses before you use makeup and taking them out before you remove it.
Wash your hands, then lenses out first
Before you touch your lenses, wash and rinse your hands. Then take out your lenses and put them in the case. Use only lens solution to store them.
Once your lenses are out, dry your hands again and pump out the oil. Starting with dry hands is the same on lens days.
Don’t touch your lenses with oily hands
Oily eye makeup remover can leave a cloudy film on lenses (Prevent Blindness, a US nonprofit that works to prevent blindness). If your lenses have ever gone cloudy, think back to whether you touched them again with oily hands.
For the order of putting in and taking out lenses and which eye makeup to choose, see the contact lens and eye makeup order guide.
How do you emulsify cleansing oil?
Clear oil before water touches it, and oil turned milky after adding water.
Wet your fingertips a little and roll them over the oil on your face again. Keep adding water bit by bit and rubbing until the clear oil turns white and milky. That’s emulsifying.
Emulsify with a little bit of water and massage until oil turns milky.
Go back and forth between the tap and your face a few times
Wet your fingertips lightly at the tap, bring them to your face, and repeat a few times. Add the water little by little. If you splash it on all at once, it is hard to see which parts have loosened.
Keep rolling your fingertips lightly while you add water. The directions say to keep massaging until it turns milky.
Until your whole face turns evenly milky
Once your cheeks and forehead turn white, move your fingertips to spots still clear and shiny: the sides of your nose, your chin, your hairline. Once your whole face is evenly milky, it has emulsified.
Once it’s milky, it’s time to rinse
When it has emulsified, rinse well with lukewarm water. Water that’s too hot can dry out your skin. On winter evenings when you want hot water, catch some in your palm and check the temperature first.
On days you don’t follow with foam, pat your face dry with a soft towel after rinsing. Some products let you wipe it off with a face cloth soaked in warm water instead of rinsing. Follow the method on your bottle.
LAGOM
Cellup Micro Pore Cleansing Oil
200 ml
Check the label for when to add water and how to rinse.
View on Naver ShoppingMy face feels slippery after rinsing. Did it not emulsify?
First check whether you added water and rubbed until it turned milky, and whether you rinsed enough. Where to look first depends on the problem, so I split it into a table.
If it stays slippery, check for too little water first
Emulsifying only finishes once water goes in. If there is too little water on your fingertips, only part of your face turns white and the rest stays clear oil. Before rinsing, look over your face once. If any spot is still clear and shiny, add a little more water there and roll it.
When rinsing, splash water several times so it reaches your forehead, under your chin and your hairline. If your cheek still feels slippery when you run your palm over it, rinse once more.
If you’re getting more breakouts, don’t stop at the oil alone
Oil cleansers can cause breakouts on acne-prone skin, especially when used alone (Cleveland Clinic). If you melted your makeup with oil, wash again with a gentle cleanser.
If breakouts still increase, stop using that product. For your next cleanser and remover, look for ones labeled “oil-free” or “noncomedogenic” (made not to clog pores).
| What you notice | Check first | Change next |
|---|---|---|
| My face feels slippery even after rinsing | Whether you added water until it turned milky, and whether you rinsed enough | Wet your fingertips a little more until it turns white, then rinse |
| Eye makeup is left behind | Whether the oil reached your eye area, or you used too little | Put a little more in dry hands and go over just the eye area again |
| My eyes sting and things look blurry | Whether oil got into your eyes | Rinse well with water; if irritation develops, stop using it and talk to a doctor |
| My lenses went cloudy | Whether you took your lenses out before using the oil | Next time, wash your hands and take your lenses out first |
| I got more breakouts after using it | Whether you finished with just the oil | Follow with a gentle cleanser, and if it keeps happening, stop that oil |
Check the label to see whether to follow the oil with foam
Some products tell you to wash again with a foam cleanser, and some say there is no need. As the last column of the pump table shows, it differs by bottle. Follow your bottle’s directions.
If the directions say to “follow with a foam cleanser”
After rinsing off the oil, don’t dry your face. Leave it damp, spread a water-soluble cleanser with your fingertips, and wash.
If the directions say “no need to double cleanse”
Emulsify and rinse carefully, and stop there. Rinse more only on days it still feels slippery.
If your skin is acne-prone
Don’t stop at the oil alone; follow with a gentle cleanser. If breakouts increase, stop that oil.
Double cleansing isn’t a step everyone needs
Most people don’t really need to double cleanse. Washing once thoroughly with a gentle cleanser is enough.
On days you wear makeup, especially waterproof makeup or sunscreen, double cleansing can help. On days without makeup, it may not suit you.
Do the second wash on a wet face
If you wash again, don’t towel off after rinsing the oil; leave your face wet. Gently spread a water-soluble cleanser with your fingertips and wash. Then rinse and pat dry with a soft towel.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends limiting face washing to twice a day, morning and night, and after heavy sweating. For the washing order on sunscreen days, see how to remove sunscreen.
Cleansing oil: questions at the sink
Pat your face and hands dry with a towel before you start. Unless your bottle says it works on a wet face, stick to the basic order. Spread it with dry hands on a dry face, and add water when you emulsify.
The cause of bits in a product can differ by product. Check the directions, and if they don’t explain it, contact the manufacturer.
The flow is similar: melt it while dry, emulsify with water, then rinse. But a balm is a solid you scoop out of a tub, so there is one more step to scoop and melt it. The balm steps are covered in how to use a cleansing balm.
A note to keep by the bathroom mirror
Take out your lenses first, dry your hands and face, then use the amount on the bottle. Spread it on a dry face to melt your makeup, add water little by little until it turns milky, then rinse well with lukewarm water. Whether to wash again with foam depends on your bottle’s directions. If it stings or turns red, stop and talk to a doctor.
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