The Japanese Secret to Clear skin - Double Cleansing

Korean Beauty Secret

Recently I just stumbled upon an episode of a Korean Serial on television and I was really amazed by their flawless skin!! Their face and skin just looks like a clean canvas to be painted... like dolls!! Now you might be wondering why am I talking about Koreans when the title says Japanese... believe me I'm on the right track.

Finally it's an Asian secret to beautiful skin and I really hope it will work for us. I started reading a lot about the Korean beauty secrets and found this with pride.

Many Korean actresses have sworn in by this beauty secret for their youthful skin (They have almost the same skin until their 40's) !! Oooooolalaaaaaaaaa!!! They also preach "Never go to sleep with makeup on your skin"!! On an average, a Korean women uses 10-20 products daily to take care of her skin. How many do we use?? Half of it? Not even that!!

We've been told by almost everyone in the Beauty world to follow the CTM routine always. But I feel the first part - Cleansing is much more important in keeping your skin clean and free from future problems. On a daily basis, our faces are exposed to dirt, pollution, makeup, sebum and sweat... do we remove 100% of all of that from our faces??

Some of us use foaming face washes, luxurious CTM products or a normal soap. But what is the Korean secret behind cleansing?

This secret cleansing regime called "Double Cleansing", actually originated in Japan in the 1960's. (Now you know why it's a Japanese secret :) It's a two-step cleansing process based on a scientific reason. We all know that water cannot remove oil effectively, Oil removes oil. 

Double Cleansing Method

This method will not over-strip the natural oils of your skin, and thus do not lead to over-production of oil by the skin pores. It deep cleanses your pores and gives the nourishment to the deep layers.

1. First you will cleanse your face with a deep cleansing oil or milk, since milk also has oil like properties too. Skin prone to breakouts can actually try the cleansing milk for a safer bet, but these days even the cleansing oils come with non-clogging properties.
2. Massage well for 3-4 minutes in the below shown direction. Remove with a cotton pad.
3. Now apply your foaming cleanser or face wash with some water and massage for 2 minutes.
4. Wash off your face with lukewarm water first and then a rinse of cold water to close your pores - this should take about 4 mins. Pat dry with a towel.

This method is also called as the 424 Method -> 4 mins oil cleansing - 2 mins Foaming cleanser - 4 mins rinse off!!

Ta Da!! Squeaky clean Face! This is simple but takes some time in your everyday skin care regime, but literally pays off for years. I must tell you that I've seen a difference just in using a normal face wash Vs a deep cleansing Milk for my everyday routine. My face is much cleaner and less breakouts. I'm also gonna follow the Korean/Japanese secret - first few weeks would try with cleansing milk and a foaming cleanser. Then would gradually move to a good cleansing oil until I find one :)

Hope you liked our Korean discovery. Look for more Korean beauty secrets to be revealed ;)