How To · Simple Body
This is one of those questions that sounds simple but actually has a real answer — and the answer depends entirely on what your skin is dealing with. Cleansing oil or face wash? Both clean your skin. But they clean it differently, they're suited to different situations, and for a lot of people, the best answer is actually both. Let me explain.
What a Face Wash Actually Does
A face wash — a good one, not a stripping one — uses gentle surfactants to lift water-based debris from the surface of skin. Sweat, environmental residue, bacteria, the water-soluble parts of your skincare from the day before. It rinses clean, leaves skin feeling fresh, and when it's formulated well, it doesn't disrupt the skin barrier in the process.
The problem is that most face washes — even ones marketed as gentle — are formulated with sulfate detergents that strip more than they should. Your skin has a natural acid mantle, a slightly acidic protective film that keeps moisture in and irritants out. Harsh surfactants disrupt that layer. You feel it as that tight, squeaky-clean sensation after washing. That feeling isn't clean — it's stripped. And a stripped barrier is a reactive one.
This is why the cleanser matters more than most people think. A face wash that cleans without stripping leaves your skin's pH intact and ready to absorb everything that comes after it. One that strips it means your toner and serum are spending their first few steps just trying to calm things down.
What a Cleansing Oil Does Differently
A cleansing oil works on a completely different principle: like dissolves like. Oil binds to oil — sunscreen, makeup, sebum, the oil-based ingredients in your skincare — and lifts it away when you emulsify it with water. What's left behind is skin that's been thoroughly cleansed without any detergent touching it at all.
This is why cleansing oils are so good at removing SPF. Sunscreen is oil-based and designed to bond to skin — it doesn't fully rinse away with water alone, and a single pass with a regular face wash often isn't enough either. A cleansing oil dissolves it completely. If you've ever noticed your skin still feeling slightly tacky after washing off sunscreen, that's why. It didn't all come off.
"Oil cleansing doesn't break you out. The wrong oil, or skipping the second cleanse, might. The method itself is sound."
I hear from people all the time who tried oil cleansing, broke out, and swore it off forever. But nine times out of ten, the issue wasn't the oil cleansing — it was either the wrong formula, or they skipped the follow-up cleanse and left emulsified oil sitting on their skin. Done correctly, cleansing oils are genuinely one of the most effective and gentle ways to clean skin.
So Which One Do You Actually Need?
Here's how I think about it. If you wear SPF daily — and you should — you need a cleansing oil in your evening routine. Full stop. A face wash alone will not reliably remove sunscreen, and leaving SPF residue on your skin overnight is a real problem: it blocks absorption of your evening serums, contributes to congestion, and undoes a lot of the work your nighttime routine is trying to do.
If you wear makeup, same answer. Cleansing oil first, face wash second. This is what's called double cleansing, and it's not a trend — it's just logic. The cleansing oil dissolves the oil-based layer, the face wash clears everything else. Two minutes, thorough, done.
In the morning, a face wash alone is usually enough. You haven't worn SPF overnight. You're just clearing what accumulated while you slept. A gentle foaming cleanser handles that without any extra steps.
If you have dry or sensitive skin that reacts to almost everything, a cleansing oil morning and evening — with no face wash at all — can actually be a revelation. No surfactants, no stripping, no disruption to the acid mantle. Just clean, calm skin.
The Insider Tip
Worth Sharing
When you use a cleansing oil, add water to your hands before rinsing — don't rinse with water straight away. Rub the oil between wet palms first, let it emulsify and turn milky, then rinse. That emulsification step is what actually lifts the dissolved debris off your skin and carries it away. Skip it and you're leaving a film behind. The extra ten seconds makes the whole method work the way it's supposed to.
How to Choose the Right Formula for Each
For a face wash, the ingredient list tells you everything. Avoid sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) — these are the stripping culprits in most drugstore cleansers. Look for gentle, plant-derived surfactants instead. Fragrance-free is important for anyone with sensitive or reactive skin, and chamomile or other botanical anti-inflammatories in the formula are a genuine plus — they support the skin barrier while cleansing rather than working against it.
For a cleansing oil, look for a lightweight, non-comedogenic base — something that emulsifies cleanly with water and doesn't leave a heavy residue. A formula that also removes makeup means one product is doing double duty, which simplifies everything.
What We Use at Simple Body
The Cleansing Oil + Makeup Remover is formulated specifically to dissolve SPF, makeup, and oil-based buildup without leaving skin greasy or needing aggressive rinsing. It emulsifies properly — turns milky when you add water — and comes away clean. For anyone who's struggled with oil cleansing leaving residue, this is usually the formula that changes their mind about the whole method.
For the second cleanse, the Chamomile Foaming Face Wash is sulfate-free and built around chamomile's anti-inflammatory properties — so it calms while it cleans. No stripping, no tightness, no compromised barrier. It's the cleanser I recommend for sensitive skin, reactive skin, and anyone who's been told their skin is "too sensitive" for most products. Together, these two cover everything your skin needs at the end of the day. For more on building a routine that works, explore more on the blog.
xoxo, Jewels
From the Simple Body Shelf
Clean Skin Starts With the Right First Step
If you wear SPF — and you should — your evening cleanse needs to start with an oil. The Cleansing Oil + Makeup Remover dissolves sunscreen, makeup, and buildup completely, without stripping or leaving residue. The cleanest canvas your skincare has ever had to work with.
Try the Cleansing Oil + Makeup Remover →