A Facial Cleanser Should Leave Your Face Alone

Cold cream is credited to Galen, the second-century Greek physician, whose original mix was rose water, beeswax and almond or olive oil. Pond's, the pharmacist Theron T. Pond's company founded in 1846, turned it into a household jar in the early 1900s. And a Pond's campaign around 1914 told women that every normal skin needed two creams, one to cleanse and one to protect. Cleansing was always meant to be a gentle job.

That is still my whole rule for a facial cleanser. It should remove the day and leave the skin alone. I tried every cleanser below, and the same complaints kept coming up: tight, squeaky, dry an hour later. So did the praise. Gentle, rinses clean, no film.

The first grid is for dry and sensitive skin, mostly creams and low-foam gels, plus one oil for the days you wear stubborn makeup. The second is for oily and combination skin, where the gels do a little more work on pores and shine.

Here is a test I like: wash your face at night, then wait ten minutes with nothing on it. If your cheeks pull or your forehead is already shiny again, your cleanser is working against you. Comfortable and calm is the answer you want.

fresh's Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser is a lightweight gel with soy proteins, aloe and cucumber extract. It felt gentle and never dried me out, and it is the one I would hand to anyone whose skin reacts to most cleansers. The scent splits people, and it will not take off heavy or waterproof makeup on its own.

First Aid Beauty's Ultra Gentle Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Cleanser has colloidal oatmeal and glycerin, and the brand keeps artificial fragrance out. I rate it best for sensitive and dry skin, though it can still leave some faces a little dry. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Barrier-Hydrating Cleanser is another cream-to-foam, with squalane, glycerin and an amino acid base. The foam is soft, and I found it was not made for heavy makeup or sunscreen days.

Tatcha's Rice Wash is creamy and foaming, with Japanese rice powder, hyaluronic acid and red algae. I loved it on normal to dry skin. The fine rice grains felt too scrubby around my eyes. LANEIGE's Water Bank is a gel with blue hyaluronic acid, allantoin and a low pH of 5.0. The Ordinary's Glycolipid Cream Cleanser is described as creamy, non-drying and pH-preserving, and it removes makeup.

That leaves two outliers. Dermalogica's PreCleanse is an oil that melts waterproof makeup and SPF, which is exactly the gap the gentle washes leave. Youth To The People's Supershroom Calm Cleanser is built on adaptogens, snow mushroom and oat oil lipids, from a California brand founded in 2015.

Here is a pairing I like: oil first on makeup days, then one of the creams.

What I would skip: working Tatcha's rice grains around your eyes.

The INKEY List's Salicylic Acid Acne + Blackhead Cleanser is the most targeted here, a gel with 2% salicylic acid and a zinc compound. It was my favorite for oily, blackhead-prone skin. Dry or very sensitive skin should stay away. Caudalie's Vinopure is also salicylic, with grape water, and is soap and sulfate-free. Tatcha's Matcha Foam is a gel with matcha, prebiotic inulin and green clay, inspired by Awa Sengan, the Japanese method of whisking water into a soft cushion of foam.

Glow Recipe's Blueberry Bounce is a jelly with hyaluronic acid and lactic and glycolic acids. I liked the bounce and the residue-free rinse. Because of the AHAs, I would keep it away from dry skin. Dieux's Baptism is glycerin-rich, with a gentle cleansing complex and betaine, and is made to unclog pores and remove sunscreen without disrupting the barrier. Origins' Checks and Balances is a frothy gel with kelp, wheat protein and mint that leaves dry and oily zones comfortably clean, the brand says.

The Ordinary's Glucoside Gentle Foaming Cleanser keeps the moisture barrier in mind and little else is claimed, so I will say little too. Clinique's All About Clean Liquid Facial Soap is dermatologist-developed and comes in three versions by skin type, one of them made for combination oily to very oily skin. I liked it, but makeup removal is its weak spot.

Here is a pairing I like: a salicylic wash three evenings a week, and something soft on the others.

What I would skip: a daily acid wash if your skin turns tight or flaky by week two.

After trying all sixteen, I think most people own one cleanser too strong for their skin and none for their makeup. My picks: fresh's Soy for sensitive skin, Tatcha's Rice Wash for dry, The INKEY List's salicylic gel for oily and blackhead-prone, and Tatcha's Matcha Foam for combination.

The rule I use: if your face feels squeaky, it is too clean. Comfortable is the goal, and Galen would agree. Give any new one two weeks before you decide, and add an oil on heavy makeup days.