To oil cleanse and then use tallow, massage a light oil such as jojoba over dry skin and lift it off with a warm, damp cloth. Then press a pea of balm onto your face while it's still damp. That's the whole evening ritual.
I run the wear tests here, which means every recipe goes on my skin and the family's for weeks before it gets a label. So I'm as careful about what comes off at night as what goes on. After an oil cleanse, the jar I reach for is Bare Silk ($34), five ingredients with grass-fed suet tallow first, priced as of October 5, 2026.
Why can a foaming cleanser leave your skin tight?
Foaming cleansers work with surfactants, molecules with one end that grabs oil and another that holds on to water, so a rinse carries the oil away. They can't sort the day's grime from the lipids your skin keeps on purpose. A 2022 review in Molecules by Mijaljica and colleagues lists after-wash tightness among the effects of harsh soaps, next to dryness and roughness. Repeated soap washes can damage both protein and lipids in the skin's outer layer, it adds.
Syndets, the synthetic detergents in many foaming gels, are gentler than soap, and the same review calls that mildness well accepted. Gentler isn't zero, though. Some surfactants dissolve skin lipids more readily than others, the review notes, so even a mild gel can take some with it.
How does an oil cleanse work?
Oil dissolves oil, which is the whole trick behind the oil cleansing method. Sebum, the oil your skin makes through the day, is full of hydrophobic compounds, the chemist's word for things that won't mix with water. Sunscreen and makeup are built to hold on, too. A 2026 paper in Cosmetics by Suttimas and colleagues says water-resistant sunscreens and foundations typically carry silicone esters and polymers that help them last.
In earlier studies, they write, cleansing oils removed both waterproof and regular cosmetics better than water-based or foam cleansers. They also tend to leave less irritation and dryness behind. A plain oil like jojoba won't rinse clean, so the method lifts it away with a warm, damp cloth. Don't scrub with it, though. The American Academy of Dermatology warns that a washcloth can irritate skin, so lay it on, then lift it off.
Which oil should you cleanse with?
Jojoba is where I'd start, because it's light on skin and easy to find unscented. It's also one of the five ingredients in Bare Silk, so on the nights you use both, your face meets it twice. Our post on jojoba and meadowfoam goes deeper on what it is. Any light plant oil your skin already tolerates will do, though I'd skip scented ones, since you'll be massaging them over your whole face for a minute.
On dry skin, the balm can do the cleanse itself. Warm a pea or two of Bare Silk in your palms until it turns clear, then massage it over a dry face. The warm cloth takes it off the same way. What's left is a thin film of the fats you're about to press on anyway.
What does the two-step evening ritual look like?
- Cleanse with oil. On a dry face, massage about a teaspoon of jojoba in with your fingertips for a minute, gently around the eyes. Lay a warm, damp cloth on for a few breaths, then lift it off. Do it twice. Pat dry, stopping while your skin's still damp.
- Finish with balm. Warm a pea of Bare Silk between two fingertips until it turns clear, then press it onto your face, driest spots first.
Step two comes fast for a reason. The American Academy of Dermatology's advice for dry skin is to put moisturizer on while skin is still damp, and a balm with no water of its own can only hold what's already there. Tallow doesn't screen UV, so by day, sunscreen still goes on last.
Who should skip an oil cleanse?
If your skin's very oily or breaks out easily, a gentle wash may suit you better. For acne-prone skin, the American Academy of Dermatology suggests washing up to twice a day and after sweating, with a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser. Our post on whether tallow is comedogenic covers the pore question.
Patch test either way. Try the oil and the balm on a small spot along your jaw for a couple of weeks, and stop if it breaks out or turns red. If you react to essential oils, keep both steps unscented: plain jojoba to cleanse and Bare Silk Unscented to finish. If a dermatologist already guides your skincare, follow their lead on cleansing. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment. Your provider's plan comes first.
Which balm should you press on after an oil cleanse?
For most faces after an oil cleanse, it's Bare Silk, five ingredients with no essential oils in the Unscented original. The suet underneath is nearly scentless, so the Unscented jar smells like nothing. If your cheeks run warm and red by evening, the jar I'd hand you is Moonlight Calm ($69), built for redness-prone skin and the wind-down. Its blue tansy sits at a studied dose next to blue chamomile CO2, and the scent softens as it settles. Both are poured dense and sold by weight, so a pea goes a long way. Whichever you pick, the 60-Day Skin Test covers it: sixty days with any jar, and if your skin disagrees, we refund it.
Start with Bare Silk ($34), five ingredients and sixty days to disagree.
Questions we hear
Can you use a tallow balm as both your oil cleanser and your moisturizer?
Yes, on dry skin. Warm a pea or two of a plain tallow balm in your palms until it turns clear, then massage it over a dry face. Lift it away with a warm, damp cloth. Pat dry so your skin's faintly damp, then press on a fresh pea of balm to finish the night. On oily skin, a gentle cleanser alone may suit you better than any oil.
Should you double cleanse after an oil cleanse?
Usually not, if the warm cloth leaves dry or normal skin feeling clean. After a long day in water-resistant sunscreen or long-wear makeup, a second pass with a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser is fine. Notice how your face feels ten minutes later. If it's tight, skip the second wash, since surfactants can take some of your skin's own lipids along with the day's grime.
Should your face be wet or dry for an oil cleanse?
Keep your face dry for the oil, then leave it faintly damp for the balm that follows. Water on your skin can get in the oil's way. Once the warm cloth lifts it off, pat dry and stop while your skin's faintly damp. The American Academy of Dermatology advises putting moisturizer on damp skin, and a tallow balm works the same way, holding the water that's already there.
What's the difference between a cleansing balm and a tallow balm?
A cleansing balm is made to come off: you melt it over your face, then rinse or wipe it away. A tallow balm like Bare Silk is made to stay on overnight. On dry skin, a plain tallow balm can do both jobs, first as the cleanse and then as the finish. On oily skin, I'd keep the two jobs apart.
Go deeper
Our guide to using a tallow balm gives amounts for every part of you. Slugging with tallow picks up where this ritual ends. If you're new to tallow on skin, start with the beef tallow for skin guide. Tallow shampoo, body wash and face wash covers why a wash is not a balm and what tallow does in each. Tallow shaving soap and aftershave covers the shave as its own cleanse and the balm after it.
Sources
- The American Academy of Dermatology (2026). Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin, page last updated January 2, 2026. AAD.
- The American Academy of Dermatology (2022). Acne: tips for managing, the academy's page last updated November 16, 2022. AAD.
- The American Academy of Dermatology (undated). Face washing 101, the academy's six tips for washing your face, read October 5, 2026. The American Academy of Dermatology's public education site, aad.org.
- Suttimas and colleagues (2026). Development of microemulsion-based makeup remover from hemp seed oil. Cosmetics 13(4):199.
- Mijaljica D, Spada F and Harrison IP (2022). Skin cleansing without or with compromise: soaps and syndets. Molecules 27(6):2010.
Aspen is the co-founder of Craft Tallow and runs the wear tests: every recipe goes on her skin and the family's for weeks before it gets a label. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with one of us.