A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated on Apr. 10, 2024
Choosing the best face wash for your skin type should be the first—and most important—step in any skin care routine. Our experts make it easy for you to get it right with their top picks.
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There’s little we won’t do (or try at least once) for glowing, dewy skin, including using the best moisturizers, anti-aging creams, anti-aging eye creams, facial scrubs, makeup removers, toners, masks, and at-home chemical peels, to name a few. But here’s the glitch: No matter how many products you try, if you don’t start off with the best face wash for your skin type, all these efforts will be for naught, experts say.
Choosing the best face cleanser starts with knowing your skin type. In general,
If you’re not sure where you fit in, ask your dermatologist or aesthetician. Second, it’s also important to consider your goals, as many cleansers do double duty as brighteners, anti-agers, and moisturizers.
Some basic rules apply to everyone. For the first step in your skin care routine, the American Academy of Dermatology suggests using a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser that doesn’t contain alcohol to protect your skin. That means no regular soap. Technique matters too: Start by wetting your face with lukewarm water and use your fingertips to apply your cleanser, but don’t scrub, since this irritates the skin. Then rinse your face with lukewarm water, and pat your skin dry with a soft towel.
Our picks for the best face washes are based on expert recommendations from top dermatologists, aestheticians and plastic surgeons. We combined their know-how with online user reviews and experiences as well as star ratings to develop a comprehensive list of the best face cleansers for every skin type and need.
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The best face wash for oily skin is a foaming or gel cleanser like La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser, says Ava Shamban, MD, a dermatologist in California. This wallet-friendly cleanser contains antioxidant-rich spring water that may help calm inflammation, plus other heavy hitters like niacinamide and ceramide-3. Follow up with moisturizers for oily skin.
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This is the best face wash for dry skin, Dr. Shamban says. “It works to lift impurities, cleanses while hydrating, and leaves skin smooth, soft, supple, protected and balanced.” Actives include retinol to refine skin texture, hyaluronic acid to improve your skin’s moisture and elasticity, and vitamin E, provitamin B5 and allantoin to calm skin and strengthen your skin barrier, she says. Apply to a dry face first; then apply water to turn the cleanser into an emulsion.
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Rich in alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), part of your perfect skin-care routine, this jelly-based cleanser gets rid of dead skin cells, revealing a brighter complexion. Other actives soothe skin and preserve moisture. “I love this product! My skin/texture looks brighter and healthier! It has also evened out my skin tone. Definitely appears more hydrated as well,” says an Ulta reviewer.
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DefenAge 1-Step Multi-Cleanse is a great cleanser for women and men of all skin types, says New York City dermatologist Jessica Weiser, MD. “It contains natural prebiotics that help to support a healthy microbiome and strengthen the skin barrier,” she says. This formula does double duty to reduce debris and the effects of pollution on the skin’s surface, while dissolving all traces of makeup, even waterproof mascara.
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You hoped you would outgrow acne as the teen years fade into your rearview mirror, but fate had different plans for your skin. It’s La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser to the rescue: This cleanser contains two percent salicylic acid, which helps get rid of blackheads, whiteheads and acne blemishes, Dr. Shamban says. It works gently and won’t further irritate your inflamed skin.
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This top-selling cleanser does triple duty: It nourishes, removes makeup and hydrates, says Taylor Worden, a New York City esthetician and founder of Taylor Worden Skin. Rich in essential oils including lavender, chamomile and eucalyptus, Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm can be used daily as a cleanser or weekly as a mask. Its pro-collagen formula benefits aging skin as well.
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Even as we take off our Covid-prevention masks, the effects of “maskne” breakouts can linger. SkinMedica AHA/BHA Cleanser has got your back, says Mona Gohara, MD, a Connecticut-based dermatologist. “Beta hydroxy acids (BHA) like salicylic acid help combat any existing active lesions, while alpha hydroxy acids (AHA) gently exfoliate the skin to prevent future breakouts,” she explains. Try those other kind of face masks—the skin-care kind—to soothe your skin as well.
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Cetaphil’s Gentle Skin is the best face cleanser from the drugstore, and is packed with niacinamide, Vitamin B5 and glycerin, says New York City dermatologist Lian Mack, MD. The gentle formulation helps to clean the skin while actively soothing it, and that means less itch and irritation if you are one of the millions of people who live with eczema. Other perks? This best-selling face cleanser is hypo-allergenic, non-comedogenic (it won’t block pores), fragrance-free, paraben-free and sulfate-free. It’s a drugstore beauty product dermatologists swear by.
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If you are mid-breakout, don’t panic: Reach for Cetaphil’s Gentle Clear Clarifying Acne Cream Cleanser, says Dr. Mack. The key ingredients include two percent salicylic acid and an antioxidant-infused white tea with aloe. You might have heard spearmint tea cures acne—this cleanser uses a similar ingredient, white tea. “The salicylic acid combats whiteheads and blackheads, preventing new breakouts,” Mack says. “The white tea and aloe soothe and nourish sensitive skin to minimize the risk of irritation.”
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Harsher soaps and detergents strip moisture from the skin, King explains. Not the iconic beauty product Dove Beauty Bar Sensitive Skin, the best face wash that does extra duty to clean your whole body. “The Sensitive Skin Dove Beauty Bar is fragrance-free and hypoallergenic,” she says. “It effectively cleanses without drying out the skin, and there aren’t added ingredients that could irritate sensitive skin.”
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Foam and gel cleansers like Caudalie’s Vinopure Pore Purifying Gel Cleanser go deep to kill acne, remove excess oil and excavate clogged pores, says Worden. This cleanser contains natural salicylic acid and hydrating grape water to purify skin and absorb any excess oil. Bonus: This cleanser can be used on all skin types, but works particularly well for oily skin.
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Double cleansing is on trend and involves using two different cleansers—one with oil, followed by one with water—to get your face as clean as possible. Environ‘s pre-cleanse oil is perfect for step one, says Worden. “Oils are lipophilic, so they are attracted to other oils, which means cleansing oils can actually remove oil from the skin,” she explains.
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This fan-favorite face cleanser is packed with vitamin C and other plant-based powerhouse ingredients for a brighter complexion. “One of my favorite cleansers, it’s like liquid gold and sunshine in a bottle! The scent is so invigorating and leaves skin clear and glowing without the harsh chemicals,” says New York City-based men’s groomer Amy Komorowski.
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This gel-based face cleanser is formulated with malachite and fruit acids that take on pores, blemishes and oiliness. Malachite extract is rich in copper to cleanse pores, and Brazilian fruit extracts from mango, banana and yellow mombin are natural exfoliators that help slough off dead skin cells. A full 97 percent of women agreed their skin felt smooth, and 90 percent of women said their skin felt soft, after using this face cleanser.
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“This cleansing balm can lift sebum [oil] buildup, dirt, grime and dissolve any makeup,” says Dendy Engelman, MD, director of dermatology, Mohs surgery and laser medicine at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York City. “This balm keeps skin hydrated, which is important for those with oily skin, and uses papaya extract, sunflower and ginger root oils to remove impurities and nourish the skin.” Follow up with the best moisturizers for oily skin.
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This Replenix cleanser earns four and a half stars from many verified Amazon buyers. “This product works wonders to ‘de-gunk’ your skin, leaving it so smooth after cleansing. I also do not get oily again soon after cleansing,” says one happy Amazon customer. It contains salicylic and glycolic acid to exfoliate skin and unclog pores, along with proprietary green tea polyphenol technology to calm and soothe your skin.
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This gentle cleanser from Obagi won’t aggravate the skin, Dr. Engelman says. “It is a dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic cleanser made without synthetic fragrance or parabens,” she says. The thick, foaming product removes oil buildup and environmental impurities while still being gentle on sensitive skin. “It contains aloe, which acts as a water-binding agent that has soothing, antioxidant and antibacterial qualities,” she says. For those prone to redness, follow up with a redness-reducing concealer.
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There’s lots of buzz lately about the beauty innovation micellar water. It comprises tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules called micelles that are suspended in water. These micelles are attracted to dirt and oil, and draw out impurities without drying out the skin. “I like ISDIN Micellar Solution to tone and hydrate the skin before bed,” Dr. Engelman says. “If the patient has dryer sensitive skin, I suggest not fully cleansing in the morning and just lightly dabbing ISDIN Micellar Solution to prep the skin for a morning routine.”
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The best face wash for blackheads boasts two percent salicylic acid, which helps clean out pores and prevent them from becoming clogged. “This is a great ingredient for people with oily and acne-prone skin, and particularly for treating and preventing blackheads and whiteheads,” says Dr. King. In addition to exfoliating salicylic acid, this face cleanser also contains tea tree extract, which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, both of which can be helpful for acne, she says. Tea tree oil is one of the natural remedies that really work for your skin.
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You are what you eat, and all the nutrients you need to stay healthy and strong are also beneficial for your skin. This green juice cleanser contains cold-pressed antioxidants from plant-based diet nutrients like kale and spinach and green tea for a powerful cleanse.
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