The best facial cleansers clean without stripping, a lesson that goes back to cold cream in 1846. Here are gentle daily washes, jellies and foams, and cleansers from doctors, facialists and a Florentine apothecary.
The Best Facial Cleansers, From Cold Cream to the Rice Wash
Theron T. Pond introduced cold cream in 1846, a mix of water, beeswax and mineral oil often called the original cosmetic-removing facial cleanser. A century later, Unilever launched a mild, pH-neutral bar in America in 1957, pitched as one-quarter cleansing cream, and its later ads made the gap between alkaline soap, at roughly pH 9 to 10, and gentle cleansers near pH 7 famous. That is still the test for the best facial cleansers: clean skin that does not feel tight. Fresh started in Boston in 1991 with a hand-wrapped soap from Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, and the Soy cleanser is its gentle daily wash. Youth To The People was founded by cousins inspired by their grandmother Eva's skincare line, and the Superfood cleanser is pH-balanced and non-drying. Origins opened its first store in Harvard Square in 1991, and Checks and Balances is its bestselling frothy wash. Clinique, launched at Saks in 1968 as the first allergy-tested, fragrance-free, dermatologist-developed beauty brand, makes a liquid facial soap with a soft lather.
Jellies, creams and foams
Belif takes its inspiration from Duncan Napier, a 19th-century Edinburgh herbalist, and its Aqua Bomb jelly turns to foam with the same burst of hydration as the cream. Glow Recipe began when Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, who met as new hires at a big beauty company in Korea, pooled their savings to sell Korean beauty online, and Blueberry Bounce doubles as a makeup remover. Vicky Tsai left Wall Street, sold her engagement ring and car to buy 10,000 Japanese blotting papers, and founded Tatcha; The Rice Wash is a cream cleanser built on the rice at the heart of her formulas. Caudalie, from a Bordeaux vineyard, makes Vinoclean, a gentle foam with no drying soap or sulfates.
From doctors and facialists, and the skip
Dr. Barbara Sturm started in orthopedics and created a plasma-based facial in 2002 before launching her own line in 2014 because patients wanted a full routine. Augustinus Bader's foaming cleanser comes from the Leipzig stem-cell scientist whose brand grew out of a wound gel. Santa Maria Novella, the Florentine pharmacy with roots in 1221, makes a delicate cleanser, first made for babies' sensitive skin, that washes body and hair. Eve Lom learned plant remedies from her herbalist grandmother, became a facialist in London, and launched her balm cleanser in 1985 to be used with a muslin cloth; the brand says the formula has not changed since. What I would skip is anything that leaves skin squeaky. That feeling means the barrier has been stripped.
Four from doctors, facialists and apothecaries
Finding yours
Oily skin likes gel or foam, and dry skin likes cream or balm. Wash for 30 seconds with lukewarm water and pat dry. Double cleanse at night only if you wear sunscreen or makeup. Change one product at a time so you can tell what works, and stop using anything that stings. A good cleanser should be the least noticeable step in your routine. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Cream Bronzer for Cold-Weather Skin and Fresh Cream Body Wash, Amazing Grace And Philosophy Scents.
