Finding the Best Cleansers for Your Skin Type

Washing your face is a daily activity, so it’s only right that you’re using the best products to maintain a healthy glow or improve the condition of your skin. If you’re not quite sure which face wash is best for your skin, want to get rid of acne flare-ups, or don’t really know what your skin type is, this quick guide can help you find the products that your complexion needs.

Sensitive Skin

You can use a cleanser with a milky consistency to thoroughly remove dirt and oil if your skin is sensitive. This type of face wash gets into the layers of your skin without irritating your pores or drying out the skin. Milky cleansers also contain ceramides and less water than gel cleansers to reduce dryness and redness.

Cleansing water is a suitable choice if you have very sensitive skin that is prone to redness. This infused water has been popular in Asia for centuries and cleanses your face without the suds that come from facial washes that are more common in the West. Cleansing waters often contain selenium, an anti-inflammatory mineral that helps to get rid of swelling and redness associated with rosacea. These waters also include micellar technology, which keeps the ingredients in the water from settling on one part of the face. The minerals are distributed all over the face, which also reduces irritation. A number of popular beauty brands are now making micellar cleansing water that you can purchase at your local grocery or drug store. The cleansing water should be applied as a toner, and there’s no need to rinse it off.

A gentle cleansing bar with a gel-like feel can also work well for sensitive skin. These bars often work well acne-prone skin, since they remove impurities without stripping the skin of natural oils.

A Brighter Complexion

When you want to add radiance to your skin, a cleansing powder is a great option. The powder is made from grains and minerals that have been pulverized, and the mixture will either foam or form a paste when you add water to it. The small particles in the powder exfoliate the skin and reveal a brighter complexion with less irritation that traditional exfoliants. Dr. Joshua Zeichner of NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital confirms this, and asserts that you should use more water for a gentler scrub, or less water if prefer a more intense cleanse. Ingredients like rice bran are pretty common in these types of scrubs, since it is both gentle and effective.

Oily Skin

If your skin is naturally oily, you’ll be less likely to get wrinkles. However, you’ll also need to bring extra blotting cloths with you when you attend events or meetings to keep your complexion from being too shiny. To naturally balance the oil in your skin, you can use a face wash for oily acne prone skin or wash with cleansing mud. The “mud” contains ingredients like bentonite clay and charcoal to dry out impurities and eliminate excess oil. This will make your complexion clearer and help to even your skin tones. Dr. Zeichner recommends these types of cleansers for women who experience hormonal acne. Mud cleansers are also great for people who live in urban areas and are exposed to smog and toxins throughout the day, since the ingredients combat the free radicals in the environment that can speed up the aging process.

Dry Skin

A cleansing balm or cream-based wash is the best choice for dry skin. If you have combination skin and your skin gets dry during the colder months of the year, a cream cleanser will keep your skin from drying and peeling. These types of cleansers contain emollients that shield your skin from harsh weather conditions and help you maintain a youthful glow. To ensure that your skin retains as much moisture as possible, apply these cleansers to dry skin and remove with a damp cloth instead of rinsing. Cleansers formulated for dry skin that include oils like lavender and eucalyptus are especially beneficial for dry skin and will nourish the complexion while calming redness and shielding the skin from breakouts.

Combination Skin

If you’ve got skin that is dry sometimes and oily at other times, a cleansing gel infused with oils like coconut or tea tree can help you maintain a healthy complexion. Gels can dry the skin while still lightly hydrating the skin without clogging the pores. A gel cleanser with argan oil is also ideal for conditioning the skin and fading dark marks and blemishes.

Keeping this information in mind next time you’re shopping for a facial cleanser will help you find a product that will provide the right balance of moisture, protection and deep cleansing for your pores to get the skin you’ve always wanted.