Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil Review

I purchased this

I've been making more of an effort to try more liquid foundations on my skin because I'm a little over powder foundations (with the exception of one which I'm currently testing out), but I started to really break out on my skin as a result of it. It turns out that my usual Epiele wipe + cleansing wash wasn't doing enough to remove foundation, thus breaking me out. In an effort to save my skin, I decided to get the Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil, a product so often touted by Arabelle and Chi-Chi on Powderdoom that I thought it'd be remiss for me not to purchase it. It's apparently a good substitute for the DHC Cleansing Oil but I haven't tried that.

I know, it might seem strange to use an oil to cleanse your skin, especially in light of the fact that I have acne-prone skin. Cleansing oil however (the right ones at least) break down foundation and other products on your skin for a better clean without drying out your skin. The oil cleansing method (OCM) has been and still is a very popular skincare routine and though you can use just straight up olive or another oil to clean your face, I think it's worth investing in a premade cleansing oil.

Why? The reason is that you want something more than just straight up oil in your mix, especially if you want to try to remove a little bit of eye makeup too. 

If you've ever used just olive oil to remove eye makeup and you splashed water on your face to remove the oil, you might have experienced that weird fuzzy eye feeling from the oil seeping into your eyes. The reason you get that fuzzy eye feeling is that the oil lacks any emulsifiers, or ingredients that help the oil bind to the water, and continuing to rinse your face doesn't readily get the oil out. Cleansing oil contains emulsifiers so when water hits the oil, the two will start binding and create a water soluble mixture that you can wash away.

Product Information

Where to purchase: It used to be difficult to find but thankfully you can find it readily on Amazon or Pretty and Cute (a US based online vendor of Asian beauty products). I personally haven't shopped at Pretty and Cute yet but I have heard good things about their shop. I purchased mine at a Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle store. You could try Marukai or Mitsuwa but I don't know 100% if they are available there. Ebay has a few sellers but since Kose sells other formulas, be sure to specify "deep cleansing oil".

Price: This will vary depending on where you get it. It's $16.50 on Amazon for the bottle. I bought my refill for $12.00. Pretty and Cute are selling the bottle for $12.99.
Do they test on animals?  Unfortunately it does appear that they test on animals. I'm not entirely sure whether they're phasing it out like Shiseido or Mandom (another Japanese brand) but I'll update this with more information as I get it. 

Packaging: I purchased a refill packet from a local Japanese shop since I already had a spare container but it is normally sold in a bottle with a pump. If you use the bottle, one pump is enough for your whole face. It is nice that you can get refill packets to fill your bottle so it's a more environmentally friendly method to get your skincare fix.

My Thoughts

My review isn't a very long one since there's not much to say other than that it works and it's going to become a real staple for me. The weather in Southern California is starting to mellow out into coldness so I find that the cleansing oil is great to use at night as a gentle way to clean my face. I've been using it for maybe a month (at least two weeks) so I can speak with some authority about my results. A side effect of this method is that it forces me to not wash my face in the shower like I normally do which helps me to not dry out my skin that way. My skin has readily cleared up because it's been doing a great job at removing all traces of makeup on my face and this does not cause more acne on my skin. I've also found that my skin as a whole feels so much softer and the texture much smoother.

How to use:

Start with a dry face. If your face is wet, the oil will just emulsify with the water and it won't do a good job at breaking down your makeup or cleansing your skin. It does feel a bit weird at first but you get used to it. After about a minute or two of rubbing to break down the makeup, wet your hands and start rubbing your face and you'll see the oil start emulsifying with the water to create an opaque whiteish mixture. If you're wearing heavy foundation, you'll know the oil has removed it because the mixture will start becoming skin toned from the foundation it's breaking down. After about a minute of that or once your face doesn't feel oily anymore and is covered in the oil/water mixture, you can rinse that away while still rubbing at your skin.

While it technically says "Avoid contact with the eyes", I don't find it irritating to use to remove my eye makeup as long as my eyes are closed. I usually rub a little onto my eyelid then use a little cotton pad with water to gently remove it (while keeping my eyes closed to avoid any issues with getting the product into my eyes). 

Ingredients

Mineral oil is the 2nd ingredient but it has been shown that mineral oil does not cause acne. This formula does contain a little bit of silicone (in the form of cyclomethicone) so if you're sensitive, stay away. 

Final Thoughts

I'm super duper happy and I feel more comfortable wearing heavier foundation without the worry of not being able to rinse it off properly. It's not as cheap as creating your own cleansing oil (there are a few recipes out there if you are interested) but I really like the effects.

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Have you tried a cleansing oil before? How did you like it? Are you thinking about trying one out?

*Disclaimer: I purchased this product myself, I'm not being compensated for this review and all opinions are my own. None of the links in this post are affiliate links.