What exactly are pre-cleansers, cleansing oils and cleansing waters?

So many exciting products to try and see what we like best

Have recently started the Goodness cleansing balm. It is light and pleasant, but another cleanse afterwards is necessary to remove the residue.

So the cleansing oil is to be used before a cream like cleanser? Or does it replace the step? I am getting a little confused.

I love skincare and the Dermalogica Pre-cleanse is wonderful. I have tried a few cleansing oils and really love them....one I really loved is a Garnier Cleansing Oil that I got when i was in the US that sadly we dont have here. Micellar waters are wonderful also but they are not all created equal so it pays to try a few out before making your choice of which one to add to your cleansing routine.

I love cleansing oils. The precleanser seems a good idea

Heard of cleansing oils, hadn't heard of pre-cleansers. Makes sense though.

They all sound pretty good

I don't think women of all different skin type's to be using this many product's, Miceller water-Scrub-Face cream is a better order to your specific needs/type of skin you have (individually) that sound's better then what they are telling you here.

I'd really like to try Sk II - but haven't taken the plunge yet!

I use Dermalogica precleanse to remove heavy make up, followed by a cream cleanser. I use micellar water when I've got no make up on.

I actually tried the Sukin micellar water the other day for the first time and was surprised how well it worked. The smell was a bit odd but not bad!

I'm not big on cleansing oils, I guess I haven't found a good one to use though. Although love facial oils. I use Micellar Water before using my cleanser all the time if I'm wearing makeup. I prefer using it compared to wipes. If I'm not wearing makeup, I just go straight to my cleanser.

I thought a cleansing oil was more for women with dry skin because of the oil in it. How wrong I was it seems after reading this. I've also used micellar cleansing water just as a cleanser on its own. I didn't realise it was a pre-step to using a cleanser. Oh well....live and learn. LOL !!!

I don' t mind cleansing oils, but I hate cleansing waters. I do not like a wet drippy feeling on my face!

Great advice. I pick the products that fit my skin tone.

I tried a cleansing water one but didn't like it much on my skin.

Very informative article. I learnt a lot. After reading about cleansing oils I think it would definitely be suitable for my skin type.

I use Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Oil on the days that I have a full face of makeup (which isn't every day) and then I use Bioderma Sensibio H2O Solution Micellaire Cleanser to remove the remainder of my makeup.
I didn't know I could use another Cleanser in between without drying out my skin. Good to know!

It gets so overwhelming with the amount of products that are available and does seem to be ridiculous how many skincare steps some of these companies expect you to do. I've only ever used a sample of the neutrogena pre cleanse oil and it only seemed to do a good job in removing makeup. I think using any oil cleanser would be similar. If anything I want to simplify the amount of products I'm using not add to it.

I think the pre-cleansers work similarly to the cleansing oil. I have come across Korean skincare double cleansing steps and other youtubers that mentioned products such as cleansing balms, cleansing stick and so on. They are similarly cleansers, just in different forms. Cleansing balm is easier to manipulate, without that liquid oil texture, and thus, some people prefer it more.

But this article is really good in introducing various cleansers to people. The oil cleansers are always good in removing make up, dirt and sebum from the face but some people dislike the oily layer that it leaves. So, following up with another cleanser allows us to remove the oily feeling of oil cleansers. It also helps for people who have dry skin because the cleanser will not completely strip the natural oils from the face.

I have never seen the Garnier version of this cleansing water. But I do love the regular Garnier cleansing water, they are really convenient and gentle on the skin too for the morning. I always follow up with a rinse of water just to wash off the cleansing water.

I have only ever tried cleansing oils and I'm not really a fan

In Asian skincare this is called the double cleanse but it's actually been around since at least the 30's or 40's possibly earlier -women would use cold cream first & then a soap like nuetrogena soap for example & then sometimes a rosewater or witch hazel before either applying another layer of cold cream& leaving it on or another type of moisturiser instead of the cold cream. You can adjust the routine to make it more modern if you like but either way it is a great method of cleaning & can really do wonders for your skin.

For me a basic cleanser does the trick.I don't have any skin condition and I don't use makeup everyday.

This is a great article! I didn't even know how uneducated I was about the cleansers until now

I used to have a cleansing oil by Shu Uemera and I loved it. I should really buy one again.