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Water-resistant sunscreens---do I need a cleansing oil to remove?
  • darkeyes
    I have been using Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion for Face & Body, SPF 60 and it says that since it is so water resistant, that you need to remove with a cleaning oil. But I have been using Neutrogena Grapefruit Facial Cleanser (which is water soluble) and I feel like I have been getting it all off. Maybe because my skin is already so oily, my natural oils help with the removal of the sunscreen? I do get some breakouts but I'm not sure if I would get them even if I didn't use this sunscreen and the proper oil cleanser removal of it. Can anyone help? Do i need a oil cleanser? 
  • Ally E.Ally E.
    my sunscreen is waterproof too and has to be removed with oil cleanser... not sure how well it gets removed without cleansing oil, but my skin feel quite clean by the time i'm done with my cleansing routine: wash with a good cleanser, rinse, foam up the cleanser put on the face and use clarisonic. seems to remove my sunscreen. but i have noticed that after I apply sunscreen and wash my hands - even if i wash twice - you can still feel the sunscreen. i guess the sebum theory is quite correct, must break down the sunscreen by the end of the day. but make sure to thoroughly wash your face every night. wash twice and for at least 20sec each time, just like washing hands.

    i once used very strong waterproof sunscreen and it was very hard to wash off my body, any body wash would just stop foaming... took 3 washed and a lot of scrubbing
  • lindygirl1960
    You probably have extra virgin olive oil in your kitchen. Try that to remove your sunscreen and makeup. It rates a 2 on the comedogenic scale. http://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html

    I have oily sensitive skin and that is ALL I use to clean my face.

  • sarahf
    I can attest that the olive oil works, even though I have trouble using on a regular basis because I have OCD texture issues lol, and using the olive oil makes me feel as though my entire bathroom (and face) is becoming a salad.  It works great for waterproof eye makeup, too (so yes, I do still keep a bottle of olive oil in my medicine cabinet--I just have to wipe around the nozzle of it very carefully and clean any drips off the bottle before I put it away for fear of leaving salad oil rings on the shelf of my medicine chest...I have issues).  In general, the compromise I strike is to use a creamy cleanser that contains oils and purports to remove makeup--I think it gets most of my daily sunscreen off, but the sunscreen I have for daily use isn't highly waterproof.
  • lindygirl1960
    Maybe plain old cold cream would be a good choice for removing it if you have issues with the olive oil?
  • sarahf
    Probably so--or mineral oil (which might be the same texture, though)--hope I don't come across as rude about your suggestion, I meant to be humorous.  The olive oil truly works, and I don't have quite as much of an issue with it as I make out--just enough that I haven't made it a daily thing at this point.
  • lindygirl1960
    @ Sarah - Olive oil can be messy. I seem to constantly clean up little rings of oil from the sink countertop. And if you forget to double bag the little travel bottle of oil when you take it along on a trip? Oh my. As for me I don't mind the feeling of making salad dressing on my face!  


    ;;)
  • sarahf
    The truth is, I actually hate cleaning.  I don't have the kind of OC tendencies that make you clean a lot.  I hate cleaning, so I just try to avoid anything that will force me to do it.  Take out meals have to go in the trunk inside plastic bags, etc.  Heaven forbid I should have to shampoo the interior of my car...
  • lindygirl1960
    I always have wanted a self cleaning house myself, but so far no luck in getting one!
  • sarahf
    lol!
  • Ally E.Ally E.
    i was just thinking that a good pump container will take away most of the messy aspects of olive oil cleansing. like the one shu uemura comes in, worth checking on ebay, some people sell empty stuff :)
  • lindygirl1960
    I use a 4 oz flip top nalgene bottle like this one:  http://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Round-Leakproof-Travel-Bottle/dp/B00636NZMK

    It works for day to day use and for travel as well. Not if you are flying and have to get through security, of course, because it is a 4 oz. bottle.

    The bottle can leak if turned upside down. I found that out the hard way. (It leaks though the actual flip top part.) If you take plastic wrap and put it across the top of the bottle and then put the lid on it seems to solve the problem.
  • sarahf

    lol Lindygirl--that is EXACTLY what I used to put my olive oil in.  Great minds.  But yes, it isn't leakproof and after dispensing the oil it tends to leave a film over the lid.  Nalgene also makes a squeeze dropper bottle with a flip cap that might work better.

  • lindygirl1960
    I have this one (in both sizes). http://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Travel-Eye-Dropper-Set/dp/B000FEO5W0/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1334927283&sr=8-26

    I am none too fond of the dropper one for use with the olive oil. It means what it says when it says one-drop-at-a-time. It takes f o r e v e r to dispense enough to clean my face with and I have to squeeze the bottle REALLY hard. It will also leak if that little cap thing comes loose in transit.

    Can you tell there have been some trial and error runs and (sometimes more than) a little frustration along the way to try to find a travel bottle for travel that actually works to suit my purposes?  

    Drat the rule about a 3 oz. bottle for carry-on. The 4 oz. bottle I use for everyday is about as close to truly useable as I have found but that particular bottle doesn't come in a 3 oz. size. Leastways when I was shopping for them it didn't. Thank goodness the 4 oz. works just fine for at home!
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