The Best Oil Cleansers for Acne Prone Skin

In this post I’ll share the best oil cleansers for acne prone skin.

Table of Contents

• The best oil cleanser for sensitive acne prone skin
• The best oil cleanser for acne prone skin
• The best oil cleanser for sebaceous filaments
• The best oil cleanser for combination acne prone skin
• The best oil cleanser for dry acne prone skin
• Do oil cleansers clog pores?
• Do oil cleansers cause purging?
• Can you use a cleansing oil for oily skin?
• Olive oil vs oil-based cleansers
• What makes an acne safe cleansing oil?
• How to emulsify your oil based face cleanser
• Benefits of double cleansing for acne prone skin

It goes without saying but none of these recommendations are sponsored – only the links are affiliate.

So if you buy something on my link, I might earn a small percentage fee. You don’t have to use the links, though!

The best oil cleanser for sensitive acne prone skin

In general I really like Dermatica’s skincare line because they make very simple products without irritating ingredients.

If you were to pick and choose a whole skincare routine from their products, I think that’d be a great start.

This Dermatica Caring Squalane Cream Cleanser is a great cleansing oil for oily acne prone skin because of its simple yet powerful formula.

• Squalane is an oil that naturally occurs on our skin making it very well tolerated (also known as a skin identical).
• Glycerin is another skin identical moisturiser that most people tolerate very well.
• There are only 14 ingredients.
• It does not contain essential oils or fragrance.

The best oil cleanser for acne prone skin

The Ordinary’s Squalane Oil Cleanser is an old favourite of mine.

I’ll always return to if I need something simple and reliable.

For anyone that says ‘oil cleansers always break me out’, this is one that I always recommend.

I’d call it a relatively acne safe oil cleanser, however the term ‘acne safe’ is misleading – more on that later!

• It comes in two sizes which is handy for travel or just trying it out.
• It’s very easily bought online or in stores, depending on where you are.
• There are no fragrance or essential oils.
• Glycerin is a great skin identical moisturiser.
• Squalane cleansers make great oil cleansers for acne because squalane is a skin identical ingredient.

I would say the only downside of this cleanser is how long it can take to warm up in your hands.

Sometimes I find it very quick, and other times it takes a while.

I find that if it’s stored in a cold room vs a warmer room, this makes the difference.

A warmer room allows it to melt easier in your hands.

The best oil cleanser for sebaceous filaments

HaruHaru Wonder Black Rice Cleanser is a great oil based cleanser for acne prone skin, and a great place to start if you’re interested in a K beauty cleansing oil.

• It is fragrance and essential oil free (all of my recommendations will be!)
• There are only nine ingredients – minimal is always a great sign with cleansers (although don’t take this too literally, some products like SPF need more ingredients to be effective.
• It is a mix of oils that rate lowly on the comedogenic scale. While this is a good sign, I don’t want to encourage people to cling on to these pore clogging ingredient ratings. This is why the comedogenic scale is almost meaningless.
• It is easily bought on Amazon, which is handy because of the quick delivery times. A lot of K beauty skincare websites can take a while to deliver.
• One of the best oil based cleansers for oily acne-prone skin.

The best oil cleanser for combination acne prone skin

I’m not usually a fan of Nip & Fab, but I am usually not strictly brand-loyal.

For example, if a brand I dislike bring out a product that looks great (based on ingredients) I will still try it.

Mostly because when you have super picky skin, not many products are on the table!

The Nip & Fab Ceramide Fix Cleansing Balm is great for:

• Cleansing balm for acne prone skin that feels luxurious when removing makeup
• Ceramides, squalane and glycerin for skin hydrating and conditioning
• Fragrance and essential oil free

I was really pleasantly surprised when I saw this one, as most cleansing balms are made with ethyhexyl palmitate which I personally think can cause issues.

For this reason, I think it is amongst one of the best oil based cleanser balms for acne prone skin.

The best oil cleanser for dry acne prone skin

The Peach & Lily Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser is little harder to get in the UK, so I most recommend it for my US friends.

One thing I love about it is that it’s still fun, whilst not being irritating.

So many ‘fun’ skincare products are just full of irritating and unnecessary ingredients (I’m looking at you, Glow Recipe).

• Soothing and brightening ingredients such as centella and liqorice root extract
• No fragrance or essential oils in this oil based cleanser
• Very good at removing makeup without using a micellar water prior
• Uses a mix of emollients (oils) to remove makeup and cleanse the skin

Overall, it’s a great oil based cleanser for dry acne prone skin if you’re in the states.

Do oil cleansers clog pores?

Do oil cleansers clog pores?

I know it can be scary to use an oil cleanser if you’re prone to clogged pores.

Lots of people even think that oil cleansers should be avoided if you’re acne prone.

My photos above show that that’s absolutely not the case for everyone!

I’m so dedicated to my oil based cleanser because it keeps my pores nice and clear, cleaning away SPF and makeup better than a water based cleanser could on its own.

We all break out with different things, which is why products marketed as ‘non comedogenic oil cleansers‘ don’t really mean much!

For a more detailed explanation, check out my post on pore clogging ingredients.

Ultimately, some oil cleansers will break you out and some won’t.

This is no different than any other category of skincare product.

Do oil cleansers cause purging?

If you’re struggling to figure out ‘is my oil cleanser breaking me out?’, this part is easy.

Unfortunately there’s lots of false info online about oil cleansers causing purges.

A purge is where your skin gets worse before it gets better when using a new skincare product.

Oil cleansers do not cause a purge.

So if your new oil based cleanser is causing breakouts, unfortunately the product just isn’t right for you.

The only exception is if your oil based cleanser contains an exfoliant, like salicylic acid.

In which case you might get a few small breakouts, but it shouldn’t be anything major.

Can you use a cleansing oil for oily skin?

It can feel controversial to use a cleansing oil for oily acne-prone skin, because everything you’ve ever read has probably said not to.

But in reality, the best cleansing oil for oily skin doesn’t depend on skin type.

Unlike a water-based cleanser, oil based cleansers are typically not more or less stripping than one another.

In other words, the right oil cleanser for oily skin is just the one that feels best to you when you use it.

You don’t need one with specific key ingredients, like salicylic acid, for example.

Actually, oil cleansers can be more effective for cleansing away excess oil than some water-based cleansers, because oil dissolves oil.

​Acne-prone skin types are prone to acne due to many kinds of ingredients, not just oils.

This means that oils have been unnecessarily villainised, and with a little trial and error you should definitely be able to find one that agrees with your skin.

Olive oil vs oil-based cleansers

Lots of regular oils are popular on Reddit to use during a double cleansing routine.

Aside from olive oil, you’ll find lots of information about these online:

• Jojoba oil
• Castor oil
• Avocado oil
• Mineral oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Coconut oil
• Rice bran oil
• Sunflower seed oil

Whilst it’s true that lots of these ‘natural oils’ are used in oil cleansers, there is actually quite a big difference between oil cleansers and natural oils.

​It might seem like a great way to save money, and it may work for some, but I recommend using a real oil cleanser.

Oil cleansers contain surfactants (also known as emulsifiers) which help the oily residue wash away more effectively.

I created a recent video explainer on this.

A pure natural oil, without surfactants, may struggle to rinse away oil-based makeup and SPF as well as a real facial cleanser.

If the oily residue isn’t washed off correctly, it’s easy to get more breakouts and clogged pores as a result.

What makes an acne safe cleansing oil?

The term ‘acne safe’ is problematic in general, simply because it creates the idea that a product is 100% guaranteed not to cause breakouts.

Unfortunately, no such certainty exists.

There are definitely ways to pick safer products, but the idea that something is entirely acne safe is false.

This is my personal basic criteria when picking any products:

• Fragrance and essential oil fre
• Free from denatured alcohol
• I personally avoid coconut oil, since it’s pretty well known to be unfriendly to acne skins in general
• I like to avoid ethylhexyl palmitate in general, it’s very common in cleansing balms and oils

Aside from this, most things are fair game. You might have heard of avoiding pore clogging ingredients, but this is unfortunately falsely advertised.

I recommend reading my blog on pore clogging ingredients in skincare.

How to emulsify your oil based face cleanser

Here’s my full oil cleansing method, step by step tutorial.

1. Apply to your oil based cleanser to a dry face

First step, always apply your facial oil cleanser to a dry face. If you apply it to damp skin it’ll immediately emulsify and you won’t be able to use it properly! This part is easy to mess up because traditional cleansers like to be applied to wet skin to create a lather, whereas an oil based face wash never really lathers.

2. Cleanse for one minute

Use circular motions to massage the oil cleanser into your dry skin. Set a timer for one minute so you don’t rush this step. Makeup remover is optional, I personally quite like to remove eye makeup before I oil cleanse but you can remove mascara etc with any facial cleansing oil.

3. Always emulsify your oil based cleanser

After one minute, add a little water to emulsify the oil cleanser. The cleanser should turn milky white and feel more watery. Make sure to use warm water and not hot water! Hot water can be really damaging to the skin.

4. Massage and rinse

Massage the emulsified oil cleanser around the whole face for 10-15 seconds, rinse off and you’re good to move onto the next step of the double-cleansing method. Don’t worry about rinsing all of the milky residue off super thoroughly, it can just be quite rough.

5. Apply your water based cleanser

Now apply a small dollop of your water based cleanser to your palms, add a little water and apply to your face. Make sure it’s a gentle cleanser, check out my list of recommended water based cleansers for acne prone skin. Massage that in for a minute, too, rinse off and you’re good to go!

Benefits of double cleansing for acne prone skin

There are so many well known benefits of double cleansing, which has probably what started your hunt for the best oil cleanser for acne prone skin.

Here’s a quick refresher on double cleansing benefits:

• The right cleansing oil for acne prone skin provides a deeper cleanse, and prevents clogged pores from forming more effectively than single cleansing does.
• Over time, less clogged pores and better cleansed skin helps us to achieve a closer texture to glass skin.
• Cleansing more deeply at night means we don’t need to cleanse in the morning if we don’t want to.
• Double cleansing reduces acne breakouts when done correctly and with the right product.
• Double cleansing can work for dry skin, oily skin and any kind of skin type – it’s all about picking the right products.
• Skincare serums may become more effective because they’re applied to fully cleansed skin.

This is a post on oil cleansers for acne and how to double cleanse for acne prone skin, so I will be logging in to update the post and add more cleansers as time goes on!

You may also like:

• The Best Sunscreens for Clog Prone Skin (For Fewer Breakouts!)
• The Best Water Based Cleansers for Acne Prone Skin
• Retinol vs Retinoid: the Best Retinoids for Clogged Pores