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Choosing a Facial Cleanser

A cleanser's only job is to remove what is on the skin without taking too much of the skin's own oil with it. Almost every cleanser complaint, tightness, breakouts, flaking, oiliness by noon, comes from a cleanser that is either too strong or too weak for the skin it is being used on.

By skin type

Oily and acne-prone skin usually does well with a foaming gel cleanser, which cuts oil effectively. Dry or mature skin does better with a cream or milk cleanser, which cleans without foam and leaves some moisture behind. Combination skin often wants a gentle gel that does not strip. Sensitive skin wants fragrance-free, low-foam formulas with as short an ingredient list as possible. If your face feels tight and squeaky after washing, the cleanser is too strong, whatever your skin type.

Foaming, cream and oil

Foaming cleansers use surfactants to lift oil and dirt and rinse clean, and they range from harsh to mild. Cream cleansers are gentler and leave a light film that suits dry skin. Oil cleansers and balms dissolve makeup, sunscreen and sebum on the principle that like dissolves like, and they rinse away when emulsified with water. None is universally better. The oil-and-foam combination has become popular because it covers both jobs.

Double cleansing

An oil-based cleanse first to dissolve makeup and sunscreen, then a water-based cleanse to remove what is left. It is worth doing in the evening if you wear makeup or sunscreen daily, and it is unnecessary in the morning. People with very dry skin often find one gentle cleanse is enough at night as well, and that a second wash strips them.

How often

Twice a day is the standard advice and once a day suits a good number of people, particularly those with dry or sensitive skin who can rinse with water in the morning. Washing more than twice a day is rarely useful and often the cause of the oiliness it is trying to fix, because stripped skin produces more oil to compensate.

How to use it

Lukewarm water, not hot. A small amount worked over the face for thirty to sixty seconds, since most people wash for ten and wonder why their cleanser does nothing. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry with a clean towel, and apply moisturizer while the skin is still slightly damp.