DHC Deep Cleansing Oil: a Guru Score of 87% from 10 experts

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

Skin barrier support1 expert

“without stripping your skin barrier, but also does not leave a lot of residue behind.”

Dr. Jenny Liu, watch at 4:37

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr. Jenny Liu

324k subs

✓Yay

"DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is a cult classic and very affordable, and a little bit goes a long way. It's olive oil based, so it's really nice and rich but [...] very effective at removing everything without leaving a residue. [...] I even use it to rub around my eyelid and break down my water-resistant eyeliner and makeup, and I don't find it irritating on my eyes at all. It rinses off easily with water, and it's a great one if you're new to cleansing oil."

Top Pick: cleansing oil

All 5 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu

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"I do find that [...] with one pass it's able to effectively remove all of my eye makeup, at least for me personally. It's great at hydrating and softening the skin without leaving residue. Ingredient wise, it contains an antioxidant rich olive oil that's great at emulsifying, removing all of the makeup and debris, along with vitamin E and rosemary leaf oil. It's just another great, relatively affordable one. It comes in a pretty large bottle, so one pump, a little bit goes a long way."

Oct Amazon Prime Day Asian Skincare must buys | Dr. Jenny Liu

"This is like the OG cleansing oil it's been around for a long time and honestly for me it's probably like the first cleansing oil that comes to my mind when I think of cleansing oils. [...] It's just such a wonderful product and works so well. It does not leave much residue on your skin. [...] It can suit all skin types in a sense whether you're just looking for a good one-stop shop product that effectively cleanses without leaving residue on your skin or a good first step for double cleansing."

Derm reviews viral Japanese skincare products | Dr. Jenny Liu

"The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is a great cleansing oil that is able to effectively remove makeup, sebum, debris, and sunscreen without stripping your skin barrier, but also does not leave a lot of residue behind. As far as ingredients, it is rich in organic olive oil along with vitamin E as well as rosemary leaf oil, which are all great for helping to nourish your skin barrier at the same time while helping to remove residue."

A Dermatologist’s Prime Day Cart: Skin + Hair Edition | Dr. Jenny Liu

"This is again a very lovely product that emulsifies everything, and one that I am also recommending because it doesn't irritate my eyes when I'm trying to remove my waterproof mascara. It is a great alternative if you don't like balm and prefer the oil in a pump. And like I said, it also rinses very nicely just like the Banila Co without minimal without leaving any residue. It can be used alone or as a part of your first step in double cleansing at night."

What a Dermatologist Actually Buys at a Japanese Drugstore | Dr. Jenny Liu

"DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is a cult classic and very affordable, and a little bit goes a long way. It's olive oil based, so it's really nice and rich but [...] very effective at removing everything without leaving a residue. [...] I even use it to rub around my eyelid and break down my water-resistant eyeliner and makeup, and I don't find it irritating on my eyes at all. It rinses off easily with water, and it's a great one if you're new to cleansing oil."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"This is my repurchase of their Deep Cleansing Oil. [...] It's got olive fruit oil in it and that does have a little bit of rosemary oil, so it does have a herbal scent. It rinses off, so for most people won't be a big concern, but I do want to mention that."

All 8 takes from No BS Beauty

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"It's actually just a pretty simple formula. So it's got a little bit of scent from the rosemary oil and then it's got basically olive fruit oil and vitamin E, very short ingredient list but it really does a nice job for super stubborn makeup and things like that. So I really enjoy it."

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"It does have rosemary oil in there. So if you're sensitive to that, just FYI. I've gone [...] through multiple bottles of this. When I first got into skin care, DHC was one of my favorites. [...] This one's really wonderful. [...] This will be my next oil cleanser once I'm finished with my current one."

Best Cleansing Oils to Remove Sunscreen & Makeup - Top First Cleanse Skincare Products

"It's got a nice ingredient list. Got olive oil, vitamin E, very short ingredient list. It's really nice. It is on the pricier side. [...] It's a pretty simple formula, so I think people with super sensitive skin have good luck with it because it is pretty simple formula."

Best J-Beauty Skincare Favorites - Top Japanese Products - Sunscreen, Cleansers, Moisturizers & More

"This is my third or fourth bottle, well, it's a lot. I've been through a lot of them. [...] This stuff's really nice. It's got a really short ingredient list. It does have a slight scent from rosemary in there. But otherwise, it's basically an olive oil cleansing oil. It's really nice for winter or for dry skin. When your skin gets so dry, this stuff does the trick. Cleanses it really nicely. Removes makeup great."

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"DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, which is expensive at $31.50, so for a K Beauty brand this one's kind of expensive, but this is my second or third bottle of it. It's really nice, it's pretty gentle, but it does a really good job removing makeup, and I typically use another cleanser afterwards and it does a nice job."

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"DHC Deep Cleansing Oil. They're all great. Cleanse on dry skin first and then after you rinse off the oil, then just use a gentle cleanser."

Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Fall Sale ✨🤗💗 Skincare Picks & Recommendations for Last Half of the Sale

"This is my repurchase of their Deep Cleansing Oil. [...] It's got olive fruit oil in it and that does have a little bit of rosemary oil, so it does have a herbal scent. It rinses off, so for most people won't be a big concern, but I do want to mention that."

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"I got my DHC cleansing oil for cleansing my skin before the treatment."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

✓Yay

"My top recommendation for a cleansing oil is the one from DHC. The brand had some drama in their past, but they removed the problematic person from the company, and their cleansing oil is a great cleansing option."

Top Pick: cleansing oil

All 5 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole

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"DHC gets my star. The standard Deep Cleansing Oil is kind of a thick cleansing oil. I had stopped buying DHC for a while over comments the CEO made against Korean people, but he has since stepped down, so DHC gets my star again."

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"The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is a much heavier feeling cleansing oil. I absolutely understand why a lot of drier skin types like that one."

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"We're back to DHC now that they've removed the CEO who said terrible things about Korean people. That [...] is a nice cleansing oil."

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"I didn't buy from this brand for a while because their former CEO had said some really terrible things about Korean people, and I'm happy to now tell you that he has stepped down. [...] I have tried that cleansing oil, it's a heavier cleansing oil, definitely heavier, but I do see the appeal in that one as well. It's been a while since I've used it, [...] but I do remember it being very effective at removing makeup."

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"My top recommendation for a cleansing oil is the one from DHC. The brand had some drama in their past, but they removed the problematic person from the company, and their cleansing oil is a great cleansing option."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"I start off with the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil that helps to just break up a lot. I'd say probably about 60 to 70% of the oil on my face. So then I'd wash that off and then I would go in with another cleanser."

All 3 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan

BRIDAL SKINCARE MISTAKES

"I like the DHC oil"

BEST & WORST OIL CLEANSERS

"It's got a very simple ingredient list, it's 27 pounds for 200 mils. The first ingredient is chia fruit oil which is 2 out of 5 on the comedogenic scale, so it's effective but really no other major benefits with this product. It's NAEFW safe. I like it for dry skin and I would recommend it for dry skin."

HOW TO LAYER SKINCARE FOR BEGINNERS

"I start off with the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil that helps to just break up a lot. I'd say probably about 60 to 70% of the oil on my face. So then I'd wash that off and then I would go in with another cleanser."

Doctorly

3.59M subs

✓Yay

"I like the DHC cleansing oil."

Skin Obsessed Mary

33k subs

✓Yay

"I've used DHC on and off for years I find it reliable it's a nice little easy completely affordable option. [...] It's something I've used for years chances are I will repurchase it at some stage. I actually have a teeny tiny one that I'm using at the moment when I travel and that's what I think this size is great for. [...] For me it's sort of one of those old reliables."

All 2 takes from Skin Obsessed Mary

⭐️ SKINCARE Empties | Trash Talking | Skin Obsessed Mary

"This is the Deep Cleansing Oil. I've used this many times, it's made it into many empties videos. [...] I do like a cleansing oil for that first cleanse and I love the DHC. I'm sure I'm going to repurchase it."

🌟 Winter SKINCARE Empties | Trash Talking

"I've used DHC on and off for years I find it reliable it's a nice little easy completely affordable option. [...] It's something I've used for years chances are I will repurchase it at some stage. I actually have a teeny tiny one that I'm using at the moment when I travel and that's what I think this size is great for. [...] For me it's sort of one of those old reliables."

Tea with MD

115k subs

✓Yay

"She has told me and also in videos that we've made together that one of her biggest skin issues is dryness and eczema and she's had this her entire life ever since she was a little girl. She has struggled with dry skin especially during the winters so she swears by this oil. I personally was able to try a little bit of it and I think it's really awesome. I know it's a much more affordable yet still very effective cleansing oil if you like oils more than balms."

Dr. Sam Ellis

902k subs

✓Yay

"I still love this product so so much. It's such an effective cleanser. I mean, the breakouts are on full display. I do get a little film over my eyes that I need to rinse out when I'm done using it, but that is a small price to pay. [...] It retails for $15."

Tina Tanaka Harris

277k subs

✓Nay

"Honestly, it was not my absolute favorite. It is a thicker texture, felt a little heavy, and needed more work to massage evenly across the face. It does remove even really stubborn waterproof eye makeup, but I already use a different product for that, and I don't need something that strong. The other thing is you cannot use it on wet hands and face, which for me is one of the prerequisites of a cleansing oil nowadays."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is DHC Deep Cleansing Oil?

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is an olive oil-based facial cleansing oil designed to dissolve makeup, sunscreen and surface oil as a first cleanse, and it is also used on its own.

Is DHC Deep Cleansing Oil worth it?

Mostly yes. 9 of the 10 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 87%.

What is DHC Deep Cleansing Oil's Guru Score?

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil holds a Guru Score of 87%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 10 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.