Skin-care routines can be serious rituals — how you prep your skin before bed can be the stuff of total skin-care exaltation. Whether it's a quick wash and moisturize or a full 10-step routine, it's pure "me time." One particularly peaceful skin ritual? The art of double cleansing.

What is double cleansing?

Double cleansing has become revered — both with pros in the aesthetic world and as the backbone of many K-beauty skin-care routines — since cleansing your skin at the end of the day is so important. "It is extremely important to remove makeup, dirt, and pollutants that have accumulated on your skin during the day, before heading to bed," Shari Marchbein, a dermatologist in New York City, tells Allure. "Sleeping with makeup on or forgetting to rinse your face before bed is a big no-no as it can cause major acne breakouts including painful cysts."

Double cleansing then, is theoretically, twice as nice. "I recommend a double-cleansing ritual to my patients to first lift dirt and grime and then to wash them away," Dendy Engelman, a New York City-based dermatologist, tells Allure.

Here's how it works:

STEP 1:

First, you use an oil-based cleanser (like Savor Beauty Coconut Jasmine Pre-Cleanse Oil) or micellar water (like Bioderma Sensibio H20) to wipe off makeup and oil buildup. "Using a micellar water, which is a neutral non-lathering emulsion, or an oil-based cleanser, will gently remove the makeup and oils and gently wipe them off leaving the natural hydrating oils behind," Lily Talakoub, a dermatologist in McLean, Virginia, tells Allure. "These products break down the sebum of the skin and makeup, which are both also oil-based."

STEP 2:

After the first step has removed any makeup and impurities, step two involves a good old-fashioned lathering cleanser and water. "To get deeper into the pores, I like a gentle cleanser from Pai," says Talakoub.

Pro tip: "Because of the way the follicles are oriented on the face, it's best to wash upwards and outwards in order to get a deeper cleanse," explains Engelman. The reverse is true when you're applying makeup, which ideally, you don't want to drive into your pores.