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It is late. There is SPF 50 sunscreen, foundation plus a coat of waterproof mascara on your face. The Japanese answer is not a harder scrub. It is a pump of cleansing oil.
Two names dominate that shelf in Japan. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is the olive-oil original that has sold since 1995. Kose Softymo is the drugstore workhorse that costs about a third as much per bottle, sold in a Speedy version for wet hands plus a Deep version for pores.
We compared three current Amazon.com listings on the manufacturers’ published information, the Japanese product pages plus Amazon listing details and ratings. This is a desk comparison of public information, not a hands-on test.
Our Pick: Which Japanese Cleansing Oil Should You Buy
All three showed a live U.S. price with stock available when we checked Amazon.com in October 2026. Prices move often, so treat the figures below as rough.
- DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, 6.7 oz plus a 1 oz mini — about $33, 4.6 out of 5 from more than 24,000 ratings. The pick if you wear foundation plus waterproof mascara daily. Olive-oil formula, rosemary scent, sold by DHC’s own Amazon store.
- Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil, 240 ml pump — about $20, 4.9 out of 5 from a small base of about 24 ratings. The pick for people who wash their face in the shower: it works with wet hands, needs no second cleanser, fragrance-free. The 200 ml refill pouch sells for about $12 with about 3,000 ratings at 4.7.
- Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil, 230 ml pump — about $17, 4.6 out of 5 from about 160 ratings. The pick for clogged pores plus heavier makeup days. Same fragrance-free base as Speedy, with a formula Kose markets for loosening blackheads.
Oil Cleansing, the Japanese Way
A cleansing oil removes what water cannot. Sunscreen filters, long-wear foundation plus sebum are all oil-soluble, so an oil binds to them on contact. When you add water the oil turns milky, which is the emulsifier doing its job, then the whole mix rinses off.
The classic method is dry hands on a dry face, one minute of massage, then water. This is how DHC instructs its oil to be used. Kose built Softymo Speedy for the opposite situation: hands already wet, face already in the shower, no patience for a second foam wash.
Whether you follow the oil with a foaming cleanser is a routine choice. Most Japanese skincare routines do, a habit known as double cleansing. Kose says Speedy makes that second step optional. DHC leaves the choice to you.
The Two Brands in Japan
DHC began in 1972 as a translation agency in Tokyo, which is what its initials stand for. Olive oil was its first skincare product in 1980, then the Deep Cleansing Oil arrived in December 1995. Japanese retail reviews on @cosme rate it 4.8 out of 7 across roughly 18,000 posts, which is a very large base for a single cleanser. In Japan it is classified as a quasi-drug, a regulated category one step above ordinary cosmetics.
Softymo belongs to Kose Cosmeport, the self-select arm that Kose set up in July 1988 to sell through drugstores rather than department store counters. Speedy Cleansing Oil launched in October 2006 in a 230 ml bottle. Today’s Japanese version is 240 ml at a shelf price of around 800 yen, roughly $5. That price point is the whole point of the brand: a full-size cleansing oil for less than a lunch set.
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, 6.7 oz plus 1 oz Mini (Around $33 on Amazon)
Two to three pumps go onto dry palms. The oil is thick, naturally golden plus faintly herbal from rosemary leaf oil. You massage it over a dry face, the foundation loosens under your fingers, then water turns it into a thin white milk that rinses clean.
DHC builds the formula on organic olive oil, including what it calls Flor de Aceite, the essence collected from the first crush before pressing. Vitamin E is in there for the skin barrier. DHC says the result dissolves waterproof mascara plus sunscreen without clogging pores, then rinses with no oily film.
The Amazon listing is DHC’s own, with 4.6 out of 5 from more than 24,000 ratings. Japanese reviewers on @cosme most often praise how completely it lifts heavy makeup plus the absence of a tight feeling afterward. Value is also a common theme in Japan, where the 150 ml size retails for about 2,000 yen.
The honest downside is price outside Japan. At about $33 for 6.7 oz plus a mini, you pay about $4.30 per ounce, roughly double the Softymo oils. It is also scented, so if you want a fragrance-free cleanser look at the two Kose bottles below.
It suits people who wear real makeup every day plus anyone who wants the brand that defined this category. The included mini is handy for travel or for trying it before committing to the big bottle.
Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil, 240 ml Pump (Around $20 on Amazon)
Picture the end of a long day. You are already in the shower, hair wet, hands wet, mascara still on. Speedy is the oil Kose designed for exactly this: it emulsifies even when your hands are wet, so there is no need to dry off first.
The oil is thinner than DHC’s, with no fragrance, no colorant, no alcohol plus no parabens. The current Japanese formula blends five organic-certified botanical oils with three botanical seed oils for moisture. Kose claims waterproof mascara comes off, that lash extensions are fine, plus that a second face wash is not required.
On @cosme, Japanese buyers across roughly 1,800 reviews repeatedly praise how fast it rinses, the convenience of the pump plus the price. The most common complaint is that a little mascara can linger on the lashes, so heavy eye makeup may want a second pass.
On Amazon.com the 240 ml pump bottle is a newer listing with a 4.9 rating from only about 24 reviews, so the base is thin. The 200 ml refill pouch has the long track record, 4.7 from about 3,000 ratings at about $12, which works out to the cheapest oil per ounce in this comparison. The pouch needs a bottle to live in, so many buyers pair the two.
It suits anyone who wants a cheap, scent-free, no-fuss oil they can use in the shower. If your evenings run on autopilot, this is the one you will actually use.
Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil, 230 ml Pump (Around $17 on Amazon)
Deep is the orange bottle next to Speedy’s pink one on every Japanese drugstore shelf. The two share the same fragrance-free, alcohol-free base plus the same botanical oil blend. The difference is the job: Deep is tuned for pores.
Kose describes a clog-clearing formula meant to loosen the hardened plugs of sebum that show up as blackheads on the nose. The directions ask for dry hands, a slower massage over the rough spots, then a rinse with warm water. Lash extensions are listed as fine here too.
Japanese reviewers tend to split the pair by occasion: Speedy for tired nights, Deep for heavier makeup days or when the nose feels rough. The Amazon.com listing is a third-party import at 4.6 out of 5 from about 160 ratings, with the bottle described as 230 ml.
The downside is that it is not the wet-hands oil. Use it in the shower with dripping hands plus it emulsifies too early, which is exactly the problem Speedy exists to solve. Keep it at the sink.
It suits people with an oily T-zone or visible blackheads who want a fragrance-free oil at a drugstore price. Many Japanese buyers keep both bottles plus switch depending on the night.
Compare the Three
| DHC Deep Cleansing Oil | Softymo Speedy | Softymo Deep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approx. price | $33 (6.7 oz + 1 oz mini) | $20 (240 ml pump) / $12 (200 ml refill) | $17 (230 ml pump) |
| Approx. cost per oz | $4.30 | $2.50 pump / $1.80 refill | $2.20 |
| Amazon rating | 4.6 (24,000+) | 4.9 (24) / refill 4.7 (3,000) | 4.6 (160) |
| Base oil | Organic olive oil, vitamin E | 5 organic botanical oils + 3 seed oils | 5 organic botanical oils + 3 seed oils |
| Wet hands | No, dry hands | Yes | No, dry hands |
| Fragrance | Rosemary leaf oil scent | None | None |
| Second cleanser | Your choice | Not required, per Kose | Your choice |
| Best for | Daily full makeup | Shower routines, light makeup | Pores, blackheads |
| Seller on Amazon | DHC official store | Third-party import | Third-party import |
If you wear a full face most days, DHC is the safer buy. The rating base is enormous, the seller is the brand itself, plus the olive-oil formula is the one every other Japanese cleansing oil gets compared to. You pay for that in dollars per ounce.
If you want the cheapest reliable oil plus you cleanse in the shower, buy Softymo Speedy. Start with the refill pouch if you already own a pump bottle, or the 240 ml pump if you do not. Its thin rating base on Amazon reflects a new listing, not a new product.
If blackheads are the reason you are reading this, pick Softymo Deep. It costs about the same as Speedy, drops the fragrance like Speedy, but asks for dry hands plus a slower massage.
Buyer’s Considerations
Check the volume in the listing title before you buy. Kose has moved the Japanese Speedy bottle from 230 ml to 240 ml, so both sizes circulate on Amazon depending on the importer’s stock. The refill pouch is 200 ml in older stock plus 210 ml in the renewed version.
Imports from Japan carry Japanese-language labels. The Softymo bottles have a small English panel, but the directions are mostly in Japanese: dry hands for Deep, wet or dry for Speedy, rinse with lukewarm water for both.
Hard water changes the rinse. In soft-water Japan the milky emulsion rinses away in seconds. In hard-water regions some people notice a faint film plus prefer to follow with a gentle foam wash, which puts you back in the classic double cleanse. Our comparison of Japanese face washes from Hada Labo, Senka plus DHC covers that second step.
What goes on in the morning has to come off at night. If you use a high-SPF Japanese sunscreen, our guide to Anessa, Biore UV plus Skin Aqua explains why those formulas cling, which is exactly the job a cleansing oil exists for.
Summary
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil for daily full makeup, with the biggest rating base plus the brand’s own store behind it. Softymo Speedy for wet hands, no scent plus the lowest cost per ounce. Softymo Deep for pores at the same drugstore price. Prices on Amazon change often, so check the current price before you buy.
FAQ
Is DHC Deep Cleansing Oil better than Kose Softymo?
They solve different problems. DHC is the richer olive-oil formula with a huge review base plus a rosemary scent, sold at about twice the price per ounce. Softymo Speedy is fragrance-free, works with wet hands plus costs less. For heavy daily makeup most buyers lean DHC; for convenience plus price, Softymo.
Can I use Softymo Speedy with wet hands?
Yes. Wet-hand use is the headline feature Kose designed Speedy around. Softymo Deep plus DHC both ask for dry hands on a dry face so the oil can bind to makeup before water is added.
Do I need a second face wash after a cleansing oil?
Kose states that Speedy does not require a follow-up wash. DHC does not make that claim, so many users follow it with a foam cleanser, the classic Japanese double cleanse. If your skin feels fine after the oil alone, a second wash is optional.
Are these cleansing oils safe for eyelash extensions?
Kose lists both Softymo Speedy plus Softymo Deep as fine for lash extensions. DHC does not state a position on extensions, so check with your lash technician before using an olive-oil cleanser near the glue line.
Why is the DHC price on Amazon higher than in Japan?
The U.S. listing is sold by DHC’s own store at roughly its U.S. retail price, where 6.7 oz lists for about $31.50. In Japan the 150 ml size sells for about 2,000 yen. Import duty, shipping plus U.S. distribution explain most of the gap. Prices on Amazon change often, so check the current price before you buy.