I learned this lesson the hard way: The quickest way to ask for a nasty-ass breakout is to leave on your skincare for a prolonged period of time. Or in some cases, to not thoroughly remove it. That’s why today, we’re talking about the best way to remove zinc oxide sunblock.

As someone who swears by mineral blocks—I find they’re much less irritating on my skin, plus aren’t proven to absorb as readily into the bloodstream as some chemical screens—I have developed a great two-step (but still gentle!) way of removing all traces of sunblock, to prevent any breakouts from happening.

The Best Way to Remove Zinc Oxide Sunblock

Here’s Why You Need to thoroughly cleanse your skin when you Wear Sunblock

Sunblocks work by creating a layer on your skin of zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that reflect the sun’s rays off the surface of your skin. It’s a physical barrier between you and the sun.

You don’t have to have been a child who lived through the neon zinc oxide trend of 80s to know that this sh** is thick, lays on the skin and really sticks around.

So you can imagine why, at the end of the day, it’s so important to cleanse your skin thoroughly. All of that product can sit on top of, and get into, your pores, creating breakouts.

The Best Way to Get Rid of Zinc Oxide? The Double Cleanse

When you double cleanse, you’re ensuring a deeper cleanse that truly clears off your skin and allows for active ingredients to better penetrate. And even though it sounds harsh—like, two cleanings, really??—it absolutely doesn’t have to be. And for me, it’s actually a routine that leaves my skin quite hydrated.

A typical double cleansing routine will start off with either an oil or balm cleanser, and will be followed with a more traditional lathering, sudsing, or even a milk cleanser.

How Do you Double cleanse to remove all traces of sunblock and makeup?

Pick an oil or balm cleanser—I have used every single one of the cleansers listed in the collage above, and can vouch for their performance—and apply it to a dry face.

NOTE: THIS WILL FEEL WEIRD. You will be all, “This is disgusting. I’m rubbing my caked-on makeup and skincare all over my face!!” And you are! But!!! After a good 30 seconds of gentle rubbing (you should even gently cleanse your eye area—you will rinse it with 5-10 splashes of warm water, and follow up with your second, more traditional (i.e. foaming) cleanser, and all will be right in the world. And your skin.

Follow up with a toner or toning pads, and a product with an active ingredient of your choice, and voila! Your skin is cleaned up, cleared out, and ready to rejuvenate overnight. Without pimples.

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