How does oil cleansing work and why is it better?

Double cleansing is becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. Double cleaning usually means cleaning in 2 steps:

1st step - cleaning with an oil product and

2nd step - water-based/gel cleansing product.

Unpopular opinion: It is not necessary to follow the 2nd step after oil cleansing, as long as the product is good enough and your skin feels good.

Make-up, mineral sunscreens and tinted ones contain particles (zinc oxide, titanium oxide, several types of iron oxides (pigments), etc.) that are insoluble in both water and oil. Therefore, that the oil removes make-up on the principle of "like dissolves into like" is not entirely true. Also, most products are water based as the continuous (external phase) and if that were true these products would not work well.

What happens is that the insoluble particles found in makeup are better wetted than oils (oils initially have a lower surface tension than water). After the particles are well moistened and have "stuck" from the skin, the substances (surfactants) added for easy washing off, upon contact with water, emulsify the oil, which also contains the makeup particles.

It is true, however, that it also works on the principle of "like dissolves into like" and dissolves some of the excess sebum, helping to deal with blackheads.

To know which products really work well, you need to wear makeup and foundation. After you have rubbed the oil product into dry skin and washed it off with water, take a wet washcloth or pad with micellar water and wipe your face - if you are still washing off large amounts of makeup - the oil is not working well. If the pad/cloth is almost clean - the oil does the job well.

Unita's Botanical Cleansing Oil is formulated with this very idea in mind - to be effective enough on its own.