How To Select the Best Face Wash for Your Skin Type

Facial cleansing is essential to realizing a lifetime of beautiful skin. Skin cleansers are emulsifiers designed to dissolve makeup, remove pollutants, debris and grime, unblock pores or follicles, exfoliate the surface skin cells, and prepare the skin for beneficial ingredients.

Many skin cleansing formulations are unique in that they contain ingredients such as emollients that soften dry skin or are specialized blends designed to address an array of skin conditions. Poor and ineffective cleansing habits in conjunction with inappropriate and ineffectual cleansers, such as regular soap, dry the skin and make healthy, attractive skin harder to achieve. This approach to cleansing often introduces harsh chemicals and detergents that strip away essential moisture, leaving our skin prone to sensitivity, excessive oil production and acne, dryness and cracking, inching, flaking, infection and premature aging. Fortunately, our skin can be cleansed without using harsh soaps and detergents through the application other methods that allow our skin to breathe and attain essential nourishment.

Properly functioning skin leaves us with a healthy, clear, and glowing complexion, but it doesn't end there. We also benefit from understanding how critical healthy skin is to our overall well-being, and that we should learn to work with our skin, not against it. Our skin is our body’s first line of defense against environmental stimuli such as pollutants, bacteria, viruses, potential contaminants, and oxidative damage. In turn, this leads us to the skin’s acid mantle and its function...the acid mantle works to waterproof hair and lubricate our skin and by doing so protects skin from dehydration and behaves as a “shield” of sorts to the underlying tissues.

This natural barrier is a very fine, slightly acidic coating that is a mixture of sebum (oily fats) and perspiration. This film is continuously secreted over the skin's surface making a protective layer that it essential to keeping skin healthy. The acidic pH of the acid mantle inhibits bacterial and fungal growth with a normal pH that is fairly acidic - in the range of 4.2 to 5.6. When this protective barrier is stripped away, allergens, irritants, bacteria and viruses are able to penetrate the skin, and ultimately our internal body systems.

There are many schools of thought about proper facial cleansing, but most facialists agree that soap and water is not among them. In particular, those with skin irritations are prone to havaing a more alkaline pH, and washing with soap can increase this alkaline condition causing the skin to be more vulnerable to irritation and infection. Acne, skin allergies and other skin problems become more acute and difficult to manage.

Many skin care specialists recommend cleansing the skin twice daily. Yet some specialists believe there is no need for cleansing in the morning if the skin was deeply cleansed the night before, particularly for those with dry, sensitive and mature skin types - one can simply rinse and tone the skin - followed by a proactive skin care regimen.

Cleansers come in various forms and should rinse clean with water so as not to strip away the skin’s natural acid mantle. Conversely, some argue that these water-based cleansers may leave behind oil-soluble substances. We all agree, however, that it is necessary to remove accumulated dirt, excess oils, and makeup from the skin to keep it looking its best. A facial cleanser should not contain harsh chemicals or detergents that strip away essential moisture and should successfully leave the skin’s natural acidic barrier intact.

Our diverse skin types require different ingredients and fortunately facial washes come in all sorts of blends and formulations to accommodate us:

Cleansing lotions are water-based emulsions for normal and combination skin types and milky lotion cleansers are best suited for dry skin, as they contain more oils or emollients to soften the skin. Normal skin is soft and translucent and requires a simple cleansing routine, whereas combination skin is best treated as two skin types, usually as oily/normal or as oily/dry. Cleansing lotions won’t strip the skin of its natural oils and provide soothing comfort to calm sensitive, combination skin while dissolving makeup, dirt and impurities. Lotion and milky formulas wash away cleanly without leaving an oily residue and don’t over dry the skin, leaving it soft and supple.

Cleansing gels are mostly “foaming” cleansers and are formulated to dissolve more oil and leave skin feeling “squeaky clean”. Foaming cleansers do do a good job of cleaning the skin but often leave the skin feeling taught and dry. Gel cleansers are best for oily and combination-oily skin types to unblock pores and remove contaminants, excess oil, and makeup. It is important to find a cleanser that is thorough yet gentle to avoid stimulating the sebaceous (oil) glands further.

The downside to these foaming cleansers is that they tend to deplete the skin of its natural oils, which can aggravate existing skin conditions. A cleansing gel containing alpha hydroxy acids will effectively lift away impurities, dirt, makeup, and dead skin cells, leaving skin prepped for other beneficial applications. Facial cleansers containing natural ingredients such as fennel and nettle purify oily skin, while sage tightens pores. Not sure if you have oily skin - typically oily skin has a definite shine and is supple with visible pores and may appear coarse and sallow. Under magnification, the texture of the skin looks much like the peel of an orange.

Acne prone skins benefit from cleansers that have antimicrobial agents that work to kill harmful bacteria. Some cleansing lotions are effective acne cleansers, and are an alternative to harsh, drying gel cleansers. Foaming cleansers may leave acneic skin too dry, leading to irritation, and excessive sebum or oil production as the skin compensates for the loss. Each time we strip these beneficial oils away, our skin over-compensates for the lack of its natural moisture by creating more oil.

Cleansing lotions intended for acne reduce breakouts while effectively removing makeup, bacteria and impurities, leaving skin feeling clean and fresh without stripping it. When salicylic acid is included in the active ingredients, it helps to clear trapped oils and bacteria and assists in preventing future breakouts. Added botanical extracts such as thyme, sage and lemon can help regulate oil production and revive, energize and refresh skin.

Cleansers and cleansing creams have dramatically different results when applied to the skin and are suitable for very dry and mature skin types. Dry skin is taut and dry with no shine and requires moisturizers at an earlier age, whereas mature skin no longer produces enough of its natural oils and appears dull and drab.

Cleansing creams can attach themselves to residual dirt and debris while still providing beneficial oils to the skin. Facial cleansing creams are heavier than lotions and are easily removed with a soft cloth or a cotton pad and may be followed by a water-based face wash, or mild toner. Some cleansing lotions are also creamy and contain oil-based ingredients to attract dirt and debris at the skin's surface, plus mild surfactants to gently wash away grime. Creams typically contain cocoa butter and lanolin to soften and nourish skin and act as a barrier to retain moisture.

My personal favorite method of facial cleansing is with facial oils. Cleansing oils dissolve dirt, excess oil, makeup - including waterproof mascara - and other pollutants that clog the pores. It is imperative to keep in mind that oil dissolves oil. These unique water-soluble formulas rinse completely, leaving behind no greasy residue. This cleansing method is done by massaging the oil into the skin in order to attract and dissolve oils and impurities that have become solidified, blocking pores or follicles. When used in conjunction with steam, the steam opens the pores, allowing the oil to be easily removed. Better yet, the smallest drop of the same oil formula lightly applied over damp skin will provide essential lubrication, thus dissuading our skin from over-compensating with more oil. Beneficial formulations contain one or more of the following oils and are especially skin-enriching to ensure you won’t have any dryness; olive oil and vitamin E, rosemary leaf oil, grapeseed, almond, avocado, apricot, wheat-germ, carrot, jojoba, coconut, castor and nut kernel oils.

Cream and oil cleansers each works well for those of you who are using heavier oil-based moisturizers and more water-resistant makeup and sunscreens that are not effectively removed by water-based cleansers alone.

To cleanse, use your fingertips to massage the cleanser all over your face focusing on problem areas to remove accumulated dirt and oil. Take 30 seconds or so, working your way from the hairline to around the "T-zone"; forehead, nose and nasal area, cheeks, then around to the mouth and chin.

During cleansing, take time to work the ingredients into the skin using upward strokes, and remember not to neglect the neck and décolleté. Upward massage movements lift the fine hairs at the surface of the skin and deliver the cleansing product to the follicle where built-up sebum and debris can be dissolved.

Water-soluble, oil-based cleansers do a good job of this since, as previously mentioned, oil attracts oil and is able to wash away grime, makeup, environmental hydrocarbons, and sunscreens. Follow -up with a toner or freshener that does not require alcohol to remove any residual cleanser. For those areas prone to large, visible pores, astringent can be used to help tighten lax follicles.

A moisturizer will help further lock in hydration at the skin's surface to promote a more youthful look, followed by a sunscreen lotion or cream with an SPF of 25-30.

All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except for brief excerpts for review or reference purposes, without permission in writing from the author.