The 4 Best Facial Cleansers
We tried cleansers from Rhode, Philosophy, Clinique, The Ordinary, Beauty of Joseon, and more
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When my skin care fascination began, facial cleansers were the products I spent the first 6 months obsessing over. I cycled through them more frequently than most people wash their makeup brushes. My oily, acne-prone skin reacted as you’d expect to the constant switching: angrily.
After much trial and error, I eventually found the cleanser to end all cleanser shopping—a water-based one that I still use today and that we evaluated for this article. If you, like me, have struggled to find the right cleanser and need more than a two-sentence paid review on a retailer’s site to persuade you to try a new one, this article is for you.
- Meet Our Testers
- Facial Cleansers We Evaluated: Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser Caudalie Vinoclean Daily Foaming Cleanser Cetaphil Gentle Exfoliating SA Cleanser Clinique Take the Day Off Facial Cleansing Mousse Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel First Aid Beauty Ultra Gentle Pure Skin Face Cleanser Fresh Soy Face Cleanser Innisfree Green Tea Amino Acid Cleansing Foam Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser Rhode Pineapple Refresh PGA Daily Cleanser Tatcha The Rice Wash Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser
- How We Evaluated Facial Cleansers
Meet Our Testers
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Peter Wolly has combination skin. “My nose tends to get a bit oily, while the rest of my face is generally normal to dry,” he said. He uses a bar soap at night and a water-based cleanser in the morning. His ideal cleanser cleans his skin, rinses away easily, and has a pleasant feel and scent. You can take a look at Peter’s favorite cleansers here.
Emily Schipper uses as few products as possible to keep her very sensitive skin in check. “Everything I use is fragrance-free,” she said. ”Everything I do, I do every other day.” She washes her face with a water-based cleanser. Because of her skin’s sensitivity, she prefers a cleanser that’s fragrance-free and doesn’t leave her skin feeling stripped or irritated. Emily’s favorite products for sensitive skin can be found here.
David Schipper has oily skin and cleanses it twice a day with facial wipes. Additionally, he washes his face with shampoo every time he showers, once a day. After our evaluations, he vowed to keep a separate cleanser in the shower for his face. He prefers one that makes his skin feel tight and very clean. Click here to see all of David’s top picks for oily skin.
Brian Vines said he was a “pimply teenager” but had, for the most part, grown out of it. “I’d classify my skin as normal with an oily T-zone from my forehead to my nose,” he said. He usually washes his face at night with one of two cleansing oils because they make his skin feel clean without feeling stripped or tight. Brian’s ideal product cleans his face, including removing sunscreen, and doesn’t strip his skin of all its moisture. See all of Brian’s favorites here.
Lisa Fogarty described her skin as normal to dry, with a sometimes-oily T-zone. She washes her face twice a day, once in the morning and again before bed. Her cleanser of choice is a micellar water and, if she’s wearing makeup, a second oil-based cleanser. Lisa isn’t loyal to any one cleanser and instead chooses the products she tries based on their lack of fragrance and harsh ingredients. Check out Lisa’s top facial cleansers here.
Despite not having a unanimous winner, we did find one cleanser that was chosen as the No. 1 product by three of our testers. Similarly, there was consensus among another three testers on a solid drugstore option.
