How to Take Off Makeup Without Stripping Your Skin

We all love the confidence and edge that a full face of makeup gives us. But no one likes adding tons of steps, time, and products to their evening skincare routine. Even the no makeup makeup look (ahem, Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights) needs to be taken off to avoid blemishes, clogged pores, and help your skincare absorb optimally.

Keeping makeup on your face while you sleep is like skincare suicide. Whatever your goals are, you won’t reach them if you’re getting “beauty rest” while still wearing smeared foundation and crusty eye shadow.

That said, if you overdo the removal process, your skin can end up dry, stripped, and raw. This can work against the effort you’re putting into your routine and seriously compromise skin health.

We know, it can feel like a lose-lose battle. Thankfully, though, there’s a solution. You just need to understand how to remove your makeup the right way—keeping your skin clear, calm, and comfortable. So, let’s talk about it.

This is how you take off your makeup before you go to bed:

How to Take Off Makeup Without Stripping Your Skin

If you’re someone out there thinking, “Sleeping with makeup on isn’t that bad, is it?” We listen and we don’t judge, but… you should definitely consider stopping right now.

The first and most important step: understanding why proper makeup removal matters for healthy skin. Once you know the “why” behind things, your nightly removal routine can feel like a self-care ritual, not a chore.

So before anything, we’ll break down why it’s so important to remove makeup before you lay your head on your silk pillowcase and apply your TSC Mouth Tape every night. (Because that is what we’re all doing, right?)

Then, we’ll list the best products, tips, and tricks to get the job done right. You’re going to see a big improvement in your skin.

Why Is It Important to Remove Makeup Before Bed?

Minimizes Breakouts

Throughout the day, makeup mixes with natural oils, sweat, pollution, and bacteria. Wearing makeup while you sleep means pushing all that buildup deeper into your skin, clogging pores and causing breakouts.

Removing makeup at night clears pore-clogging debris before it has a chance to settle in. This gives your skin a clean slate and reduces the likelihood of congestion turning into active breakouts.

If you’re dealing with some extensive buildup from lots of time spent sleeping with makeup on, here’s how to deep-clean your pores for a skincare reset.

Supports Skin Repair

At night, your skin goes into repair mode. Cell turnover ramps up, inflammation eases, and actives from your products get to work.

But if makeup is still sitting on your skin, it can block the absorption of skincare ingredients and prevent dead skin cells from shedding properly. That means you miss out on the usual nighttime skin benefits. (And, honestly, you’re encouraging premature aging.)

A clean surface allows cell renewal and repair to happen as intended, helping your skin take full advantage of its natural overnight recovery cycle.

Protects the Skin Barrier

Makeup can dry out your skin and cause irritation, even if it doesn’t lead to a breakout. Over time, this can weaken the skin barrier. The result? Redness, sensitivity, and chronic dryness.

Gentle makeup removal helps preserve the integrity of your skin barrier by reducing irritation and moisture loss. When the barrier stays intact, skin is better able to retain hydration and defend itself against those environmental stressors.

Eases Inflammation

Leaving makeup on your skin can contribute to ongoing inflammation. And inflammation means a flush, reactive, acne-prone, and swollen face. Basically what we’re all trying to avoid, right?

Less exposure to irritants overnight gives your immune system a break, helpful to calm visible redness and sensitivity by morning.

Keeps Lashes and Brows Healthy

Mascara, brow gels, liners, foundation, and more can migrate from the skin’s surface into hair follicles overnight. When those follicles get clogged with product, oil, and debris, they can’t get enough oxygen and nutrients to grow properly.

Of course, this can lead to thinner, more brittle lashes and brows over time. Keeping the follicle area clear supports normal growth cycles and reduces the stress that can lead to premature shedding.

But, if you need to do some repair work, we’ve got you covered with The Skinny Confidential Brow Peptide. You can even use it on your lashes.

Prevents Eye Irritation

Eye makeup is one of the worst types of cosmetics to leave on overnight. The skin around the eyes is thinner and more delicate, making it especially sensitive to damage.

Eye shadow, mascara, and liner can migrate into the eyes, trigger inflammation along the lash line, disrupt tear production, and ramp up bacterial growth.

Properly removing eye makeup before bed helps protect this fragile area. As a result, you wake up with eyes that feel clear, comfortable, and calm.

What Removes Makeup?

Oil-Based Cleansers

Cleansing oils are great makeup removers. Why? Because oils dissolve oil, and most makeup products are oil or wax-based. This makes it easy for the cleanser to bind with and break down makeup.

Recommendations: Cleansing oils from Biossance, Agent Nateur, and House of Preservation.

Cleansing Balms

Cleansing balms work the same way. The oil-based balm warms against your skin and dissolves makeup, sunscreen, and other buildup. And since balms are thicker than usual cleansers, they work particularly well for breaking down long-wear makeup.

Recommendations: Cleansing balms from Elemis, Kora and Lux Unfiltered.

Micellar Water

Micellar water is full of cleansing molecules called “micelles.” One end of the micelle attracts oil, while the other attracts water, allowing it to lift pretty much any product off your skin with minimal scrubbing.

Natural Oils

Natural oils like jojoba or rose hip work like a cleanser, dissolving oil-based cosmetics from your skin surface. That said, natural oils don’t add surfactants or other potentially irritating chemicals. They offer a super gentle way to remove makeup, which is great for sensitive or dry skin.

It’s another reason why Lauryn always orders olive oil to her hotel room when she travels.

How to Properly Take Off Makeup (For Any Skin Type)

Step One: Gently massage natural oil into the skin.

Natural oils are our favorite all-natural makeup removers. They’re gentle, effective, and obviously natural—honestly, a win all around.

To use them, put a few drops on your fingertips, then massage them into your skin. You shouldn’t need a cotton pad or towel that adds friction. The oils will get right to work dissolving whatever’s sitting on your face.

Step Two: Wet your hands and massage again.

Once the oil is on your skin, get your hands a little wet. Continue to wash your face by massaging with gentle circular motions. You’ll notice the oil turn a milky color and start lifting makeup off your skin.

What you’re actually doing is emulsifying the oil. This helps it break everything down and rinse away clean without scrubbing, tugging, or leaving behind heavy residue.

Step Three: Rinse the oil off your face.

Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water until the oil and loosened makeup are completely gone. This clears everything away and leaves your skin ready for the next step of your routine. You might choose to use a TSC Face Towel here. It will help gently remove the residue.

Step Four: Remove residue with a water-based cleanser.

Yes, we’re going in with another remover. This is called double cleansing, and it’s currently one of our favorite skincare trends. It’s the best way to completely cleanse your skin of product and makeup residue as well as dirty, sweat, and other gunk.

For your second cleanse, apply a water-based cleanser with your fingers, using the same massaging motion. Still, keep it completely gentle. Friction is not our friend here.

Once the cleanser has been worked into your skin, rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

For water-based cleansers, we like OSEA Ocean Cleanser. And, if you’re not familiar with this clean brand, here’s Lauryn and Micahel interviewing the OSEA founders on The Him & Her Show.

Step Five: Pat your face dry again with a disposable towel.

Now, pat your face dry with a face towel. Not the gross, crusty hand towel or wash cloth hanging in your bathroom. We mean a single-use towel because it’s more hygienic, gentler, and more effective.

Just make sure you’re using a high-quality bamboo face towel like The Skinny Confidential Face Towel. They’re soft, ultra-absorbent, and durable enough to hold all that water without tearing.

They’re non-toxic, preserves your skin barrier and actually helps clean your skin.

Let’s be done with the rags and washcloths. We’ve all known it’s gross for a while, and single-use face towels are the perfect solution.

Step Six: Carry on with your evening skincare routine.

Once your face is makeup-free, carry on with the rest of your evening skincare routine as usual. With a clean base, you get better product absorption and overnight skin recovery.

Maintain healthy skin by removing makeup with a gentle double cleanse.

Removing your makeup doesn’t need to be aggressive, complicated, or time-consuming. With the right products and a gentle approach, it can actually support your skin.

Think of makeup removal as the foundation of your nighttime routine. When your skin starts clean and calm, everything that follows works better. And, you wake up looking like you actually got that beauty rest.

x, The Skinny Confidential team

+ Wake up looking and feeling completely energized.

++ Stalk Lauryn’s products on reorder.