Skin Cleansing

If you want your skin to look and feel good, careful cleansing is important. But how do you choose the right cleanser for you from the many different types of cosmetic cleanser stacked on shelves in every cosmetics hall, supermarket and chemist? There are tissue-off cleansing milks, wash-off gels, AHA rinse-away liqui-gels and soap-free soap bars. The choice can be paralysing but getting the right one is the cornerstone of successful skincare.

How to Cleanse Your Skin

It’s easy to think of cleansing as a necessary evil, the boring precursor to the really exciting business of applying your moisturizing, cellular regenerating, anti-ageing serum. In many respects, however, cleansing is one of the most important steps in your skincare regime. If you experience spots, dry or sensitive skin, it is worth looking closely at your cleansing regime. If you aren’t washing thoroughly enough, dirt can clog pores and cause spots. On the other hand, if you are constantly stripping away essential skin oils which your skin isn’t capable of replacing you will dry out your stratum corneum and make your skin less able hold its own moisture (which after all, is better for it than anything you can buy). If your chosen cleanser is wrong for your skin, it won’t matter what anti-spot treatments, moisturizers or skin calmers you use because the root of your skin-ills will lie elsewhere.

The soap and water debate For many skins, there’s little wrong with soap and water face washing. However, this is provided you don’t normally wear make-up, you have normal to oily skin, and you live in an area where the water is normal to soft. Otherwise, you will find three main problems with soap.

Soap isn’t very good at removing make-up, because unlike cosmetic cleansers it does not have enough oils to dissolve make-up, which cosmetic scientists have created to have great staying power.

Soap can be very drying on the skin as it can dissolve and wash away skin oils and/or lipids which act as a sealant to the stratum corneum. Normal skin should be able to make up this lipid deficiency within a few hours, but a dry skin often won’t generate enough lipids to make up the shortfall within 24 hours — that is, before you next wash your face.

Skin is naturally acidic with a pH balance of around 5.5, but soap is generally alkaline or pH 8 or higher. If you use alkaline soap with hard water you will find that it’s hard to rinse off or you will get some scum residue. If some of this remains on your skin, it can upset its natural acid balance and may continue to ‘dissolve’ skin lipids long after the washing process is over.


Choosing your cosmetic cleanser

Cosmetic cleansers are carefully formulated to dissolve the most tenacious of make-up formulations, excess skin oils and dirt. The very best cleanser is one that quickly and efficiently does so and rinses cleanly away. It is also one which leaves enough skin lipids in place so that you skin is comfortably supple but not so many that your pores are clogged with them. It’s a fine balancing act that can mean the difference between dry, spotty or fabulously clear skin. The formulating chemist will have spent weeks in the laboratory making sure that his or her product fills the above criteria. You will have to rely on yourself, or a sales consultant to ensure you’re getting the one that is right for your skin.

In the past, those with dry skin were ordered to use cleansing milks or lotions while oilier types were prescribed foaming washes or non-soap bar cleansers. Today, there are no such hard and fast rules, not least because cosmetics companies are now reluctant to be patronizingly dictatorial towards their increasingly knowledgeable customers. But how, then, to choose between the myriad of pink gel washes and creamy cleansing lotions available? As long as the product cleanses efficiently, your skin is clear and comfortable afterwards and you like using it, you’ve got the right product. The only stipulation we have is to look for formulations that wash away with water. The rinsing action is extremely gentle — tissuing can be harsh on frail skins and may not remove enough to keep oily skins spot free. The water will also help to soothe and hydrate the skin.


Soap or cleansers — the pros and cons

Type of cleanser

+ plus

- minus
Household soap Efficient cleanser Tends to leave alkaline residue if used in hard water. Can be excessively drying to all but very oily skins.
Superfatted soap Contains more fatty substances such as moisturizing cream, lanolin and cocoa butter so is less drying. Less efficient cleansing because the fatty residue left on the skin probably also contains some dirt – it’s very difficult for a soap to do the two very different jobs of washing and moisturizing.
Transparent or glycerine soap Contains more fats and glycerin, known for its humectant, or water-attracting properties. Lathers less well and is used up more quickly than regular soap. It is more expensive to make and therefore to buy.
Liquid or gel cleansers Contains detergents made from petroleum products. Detergent often frightens off skincare consumers because it makes them think of their dishwashing liquid, but the synthetic detergents in liquid cleansers are developed specifically for gentle facial cleansing. The detergents do not interact with hard water salts so soap scum residue isn’t a problem. If you are concerned about the effects of the petroleum industry on the environment, you may prefer to use a more ‘natural’ soap product.
Non-soap bar cleanser This is the solid version of the above, and is often aimed at oilier skins. It may contain more detergents, and cleanses more efficiently. More expensive than traditional soap and may be drying to sensitive skins.
Cleansing milks or lotions Essentially oil and water emulsions. The oil picks up the make-up so that it can be wiped or rinsed away. These formulations for dry skins limit the oil which is removed from the skin. May not remove enough sebum to keep oily skin clean and prevent spots.
Cleansing Oils Normally vegetable oils with some emulsifiers so that they rinse well with water. Good for dry skins; rapidly melts make-up. May not remove enough oil, or indeed may contribute too much oil to greasy skins.