While double cleansing can be achieved anywhere on the body, today we will focus on the brightest feature of all: your face. There are two very basic steps to achieve a double cleanse. You’ll always want to start your double cleanse routine using an oil-based product, such as liquid cleansing oil or a cleansing balm. Cleansing balms are solidified oil-based cleansers that serve the same purpose as liquid oil. Some people prefer balms to traditional oils because they are less messy and more travel-friendly.

Okay, but why start with oil to cleanse? What if you already have oily skin? Even if you’re oily and acne-prone, there’s good reason to incorporate oils into your skincare routine. “Oil-based product is the ideal first step to remove makeup and sebum from the skin while leaving behind the natural hydrating oils,” says Dermatologist Peterson Pierre, MD of Pierre Skin Care Institute. “This step is gentle and doesn’t strip your skin of its natural moisture.” So rather than making your skin more oily, it actually makes it less oily by extracting excess sebum (AKA pore-clogging oil) from the skin. The result? Your skin will feel cleansed, hydrated, and ready for the next step.

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Men are much more likely than women to die from melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. Non-Hispanic white boys and men aged 15 to 39 are more than twice as likely to die from skin cancer compared to women of the same age and race. By age 65, men are twice as likely to develop melanoma, and by the time they’re 80, they have triple the risk.

The reason is both biological and cultural, says Peterson Pierre, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, California. Cisgender men have more collagen and elastin, which makes their skin thicker with less fat underneath compared to cis women. This difference in biological makeup makes most men more vulnerable to the sun. “Research has shown that men’s skin reacts more unfavorably to ultraviolet radiation than women’s, which means that the skin becomes more damaged,” Pierre says.

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