Best Cleansers of 2022 for Men and Woman

Ballin' on a Budget Cause Skincare is Mostly Marketing Anyways

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, just a cartoon deer on the internet with a background in chemistry and a hyperfixation on skin. This is not medical advice.

If you haven’t already, go read Understanding Your Skin Type to figure out your category.

Then, come back here to find a cleanser that will work for your needs.

Generally, I wouldn’t recommend using active ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide more than once per day unless you are particularly acne prone.

My preference is to time a cleanser with an active ingredient around the sweatiest part of my day and to rinse with just water or a gentle cleanser otherwise.

People with drier skin can may be able to get away with cleansing just once a day, but others with oily skin will do better cleansing twice per day. The best course of action is to test a few different cadences and figure out what works best for you.

Further, I’ve bucketed these cleansers into separate categories for easy referencing.

If you have oily skin but end up liking a cleanser in a different category, that’s fine.

These are just my preferences - if you prefer something else that’s fine too.

I really don’t see a point to spending a lot of money on a cleanser because it only comes into contact with your face for a minute at max.

Therefore, I’ve only listed affordable cleansers (<$20) where I think the price is justified.

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Normal or Dry Skin

• Vanicream Gentle Cleanser (my favorite, we’ll discuss below)

• CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser

• LaRoche Posay Hydrating Cleanser

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Oily Skin

• CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

• Cetaphil Cleanser (not my favorite - I don’t like Cetaphil but some people love it!)

• LaRoche Posay Foaming Facial Cleanser

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Acne-Prone Skin: 2% Salicylic Acid Cleansers

• CeraVe Renewing Cleanser

• LaRoche Posay Medicated Cleanser

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Acne-Prone Skin: Benzoyl Peroxide Cleansers

• Face: 2.5% Benxoyl Peroxide or 4% Benzoyl Peroxide

• Body: 10% Benzoyl Peroxide

Note: go read this so you understand how BP works before putting it on your skin. You are responsible for your own well-being!

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Removing Makeup

• Oil-based cleanser: The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser

• Micellar water: Garnier

Note: if you’re going to use an oil-based cleanser to remove your makeup, I’d also recommend you follow up with a regular gentle cleanser, especially if you are acne-prone.

Actually, if you’re acne prone, I’d recommend you opt towards the micellar water.

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Cleansers I Like if You Want Something a Little Fancier:

• Stratia Velvet Cleansing Milk

• Youth to the People Superfood

Of all of these, my absolute favorite cleanser is Vanicream.

It’s affordable and effective.

For those of you that prefer to avoid parabens and sulfates, this is likely your best option.

It’s the most gentle cleanser I’ve come across and is unlikely to irritate your skin as it’s formulated with zero harsh active ingredients.

That being said, Vanicream may not be enough for someone with oily or acne-prone skin.

Finally, please note that if you are cleansing, you should be replenishing your skin with a moisturizer.

This is my preference.

I optimize for convenience, and it’s gentle enough to use on both my face and body without breaking me out.

If you prefer to avoid parabens, Vanicream also makes a great lotion.

For what it’s worth, I’m familiar with the research on parabens and am not at all convinced of endocrine disruptive activity.

That being said, I’d change my mind if new evidence was presented to me, and I think think everyone should optimize for their own individual risk and comfort levels.

Cheers,

@BowTiedFawn

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