After having dabbled in skincare for maybe 20 years, it’ll maybe surprise you when I tell you that having a great cleanser and a sunscreen you like to use are the basics of a good skincare routine.
Especially skincare newbies who start with actives and serums and whatnot might overlook those basics: but in fact, those two products can make a world of a difference to your skin. Cleansing is an astonishingly complex topic, so grab a cookie and delve into the skincare basics: face cleansers. (This might be the longest post I’ve written, so you’re warned.)
Cleansers, how hard can it be? We usually start with a drugstore product or even a bar of soap and wonder why that makes our skin feel awful. That’s because regular drugstore foaming face washes or bar soaps are alkaline as hell, comes with sensitising fragrance, dry out and aggravate all but the most robust of skins. Or you’re choosing a cleansing toner à la Clearasil, full of alcohol. Bad. Just don’t.
But products for face cleansing as numerous as fish in the sea. To make it easier for you to choose, let’s divide them roughly into four groups: foaming face washes, oil-based face cleansers, and face cleansers that don’t have to be washed off.
(To my surprise, there seems to be a distinction between face washes and face cleansers in the English speaking world. For the purpose of this post, if it’s foaming, it gets lobbed into the ‘foaming face washes’ category.)
Skincare basics: face cleansers
To double cleanse, or not to double cleanse?
A classic double cleanse is usually done with a first cleanse, an oil-based cleanser, followed by a second cleanse (a foaming cleanser of some kind). The philosophy behind that: the first cleanse actually removes everything sitting on your skin’s surface (sunscreen, foundation etc.), while the second cleanse then is able to clean the surface of your skin.
Is it non-negotionable that you double cleanse when wearing makeup or sunscreen? No. Cleanse properly (here’s an how-to, because there’s a proper way to wash your face) and then wipe your face with a clean cotton round. If there’s still remnants of product on your skin you should try a double cleanse. I usually just use an oil-based cleanser when I don’t wear any makeup, but will use the double cleanse method when I do.
Cleansers with active ingredients/ extra goodies
Some cleansers come with additional goodies like salicylic acid for acne-prone skin. Because of the short time those ingredients stay on the skin’s surface, I’d rather go for a treatment that stays on your skin instead. I treat those kind of cleansers with a ‘maybe it doesn’t help much, but it can’t hurt’ philosophy. Your mileage may vary. (I’d be unwilling to pay extra for those, though.)
How do cleansers work, actually?
Let’s go back to Chemistry 101 (because I know you love that) and recap quickly how cleansers work generally.
This is the important bit, put succinctly by the good people at the NYT (do go and read the whole article, which also covers why soap is great for fighting viruses and bacteria):
“Soap is made of pin-shaped molecules, each of which has a hydrophilic head — it readily bonds with water — and a hydrophobic tail, which shuns water and prefers to link up with oils and fats.”
NYT
In short, what soap does is solubilising and emulsifying dirt, grime and oil and lifting it from the surface it’s attached to. (I’ve explained that in my post on soaps here.) The ingredient that does all that is called a surfactant, a compound that lowers the surface tension between liquids or a liquid and a solid.
Surfactants will diffuse in water and adsorb at interfaces between oil and water, thus solubilising them. Very popular surfactants are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (slightly gentler) that have been under fire for a while from skincare people, because they can potentially dry out and irritate skin.
Foaming face cleansers
It can be a gel, a cream, even a powder or it can have a whipped texture: it’ll have either SLS or some other Sulfate in it to foam and, consequently, cleanse. The gentler the Sulfate is, the less foam, and consequently, you’ll very likely not feel as clean as you’re used to. (Just think of a shampoo or a toothpaste that doesn’t foam and the strange feeling that gives you – you know what I mean.)
How do they work?
Surfactants, as mentioned above, act as ‘degreasers’. They solubilise oils sitting on your skin and leaving it squeaky clean – literally sometimes. They can be stripping and rather harsh.
How to use?
Start with a wet face. Apply a small amount to your hands and work up a lather. Apply to your face and disperse diligently, then massage into your skin (more on skin cleansing methods here.)
For which skin types
Usually, foaming cleansers work best for people whose skin is on the oilier side and rather uncomplicated. There’re, though, also face washes that are quite gentle: Astrid, for example, really likes Tatcha’s Cleansing Powder.
Favourite products
I don’t dig foaming face washes that much: I usually find them too stripping for my sensitive combination skin. There’s an exception to that rule: I always have a face wash product in my shower to use after exercising, and to remove sunscreen and grime after an especially hot and humid day.
I like cosrx’s Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser (review) that has a pH very close to that our skin has, and is appropriately gentle. It foams a lot (if you need that feeling), and my skin doesn’t immediately scream for moisture after using it.
For a very gentle product that still cleans my face, I’ve started to look on drugstore shelves for ‘intimate washes’. Yes, indeed. And that’s because those products usually have a pH of around 5, are low in fragrance and use very gentle surfactants. Obviously. But that’s what makes them great for sensitive skin, and for me, it’s the best face wash I’ve ever used.
Oil-based cleansers
While foaming face cleansers rely on surfactants to remove dirt and oil from your skin, the surfactants in oil-based cleansers only have an accompanying role.
How do they work?
Oils can act as moisturisers, but also as solvents, because they’re lipophilic (oil-loving: they attract and can bind other oils to them). When you use your cooking olive or coconut oil, it will definitely bind oils from sunscreen, makeup and sebum to them, but they’re a bitch to remove, because they’re not soluble. Store bought oil cleansers include an emulsifier that finally dissolves oil and can be washed away with water.
How to use?
Apply a generous amount on your dry face. (It doesn’t matter if the oil is liquid or comes in the form of a cleansing balm.) Massage into skin for at least 30 seconds, the oil needs a bit of time to bind and remove the things that need removing. Use your wet hands to emulsify the mix on your face, then rinse off thoroughly.
For a greater cleansing action you can use a wash cloth or konjac sponge to remove the emulsified oil.
For which skin types
Generally, all skin types can use oil based cleansers. It mostly comes down to preference, though: very sensitive skin types might find it stripping, because it definitely is possible for oil based cleansers to remove the oils your skin needs from its surface. Some people might find that oil cleansing don’t give them the clean feeling they crave. I personally find it to be the most gentle cleansing method.
Favourite products
I’ve mentioned both products here many, many times, so nobody will be surprised: Clinique’s Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm (for heavier eye and lip makeup – review) and balea’s cleansing oil (review) are my holy grail products. Also good: banila co’s cleansing balm (review), and DHC’s cleansing oil (review). All are formulated without fragrance; remove makeup and sunscreen beautifully and gently without any traces AND without drying out my skin.
No-rinse products
They come either in a bottle and are called ‘micellar water’, or come as pre-soaked wipes. We don’t do wipes here as twindly, not only because there’re oodles of products that work better than wipes, but also because of sustainability issues. They produce a horrifying amount of waste, and generally take decades to decompose in landfills.
How do they work?
Micellar water contains a mild surfactant that forms tiny balls called micelles. When you apply it to a cotton pad, the micelles arrange themselves so that the lipophilic part of them points upwards, so allowing optimal cleansing. (Look at Michelle’s awesome graphics, and you’ll understand).
How to use?
Apply to a cotton pad. Wipe your face gently. I personally then rinse my face, because I don’t think it’s optimal that surfactants stay on my skin, but in areas with hard/bad water, it might be preferable not to rinse. If you want to remove a full face of makeup, you might need more than one pad.
For which skin types
Because micellar waters usually use very mild surfactants, I feel they’re suitable for all skintypes. Make sure, though, that they don’t contain essential oils or fragrance high on the ingredient list.
Favourite products
Wipes are the devil’s work and I’m prepared to die on that hill. I also find them horrible to use, because they never give me the feeling that my skin is actually clean. Ugh.
Much better: my HG L’Oreal Micellar Water that I like better than Bioderma’s famous one. It’s super gentle, doesn’t contain fragrance and removes the last traces of makeup and sunscreen I might have overlooked (here).
Microfibre cleansing cloths
How do they work?
Microfiber is usually made from 100% polyester, or a blend of polyester and polyamide. The fibres are super thin, and will absorb oils easily. There’re also excellent for cleaning up bacteria, much better than a simple cotton cloth. They aren’t, though, very sustainable: they’re one of the culprits responsible for microplastics entering the water cycle.
How to use?
Wet a microfiber cloth or pad with warm water, and wipe your face gently. Rinse, and don’t forget to wash regularly in a washing machine, using the hot cycle.
For which skin types
Because microfiber absorbs oils excellently, a lot of people find this kind of cleanse stripping. But I guess it’s more a question of taste: some people might like this, while others might find it icky. And then there’s me: I never use microfiber cloths, not even for dusting furniture, after I once got very strictly admonished for wanting to dust my lacquered cupboard with a microfibre cloth. They can be responsible for fine scratches on those surfaces, because dust and grit gets caught in the fibres. And this is when I decided never to use something on my face that I wouldn’t use on my furniture.
Everything clear? Shoot me a message (here or on FB/IG) if not!
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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