By Sarah Han , Jennifer Hussein , and Annie Blackman
Cleansing is hardly the most glamorous step in a skin-care routine, but it's the most important in many ways. That's why we believe in using only the best face washes. Whether your skin-care routine consists of a basic wash-and-moisture duo or you indulge in a 10-step ritual that your younger self would find pretty impressive, starting with a fresh, healthy canvas is crucial. After all, you don't want to fall asleep with the day's grime lingering on your face and you do want your subsequent skin-care products to absorb more deeply and work more effectively. mara cleansing oil
We asked Allure editors about their fave cleansers and chatted with dermatologists about the ins and outs of washing our faces. Read on for the 15 best face washes to kick off your skin-care routine the right way.
Why It's Worth It: Brendan Camp, MD, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, is a big fan of the ever-popular Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, a foaming face wash that washes away blackhead-inducing bacteria and excess sebum while skin-soothing ingredients like cucumber extract, soy-derived proteins, and aloe vera target redness and irritation. "This soy-based wash smooths dry lines and soothes visible redness with its calming formula," Dr. Camp says.
Editor Tip: The mini, 1.6-ounce tube ($16) is a fabulous option for your travels, especially after your skin is put through the wringer—notably, moisture-sucking airplane air.
Key Ingredients: Aloe vera, cucumber extract, soy protein | Who It's For: All skin types | Fragrance-Free: Yes
SkinMedica AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: Take it from the professionals: Dermatologists love the Skinmedica AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser, and Morgan Rabach, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, previously told Allure why. "If my skin is greasy and clogged, I start with SkinMedica's AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser," she attests. "It has gentle beads that help exfoliate in addition to the acids." On the other hand, NYC-based board-certified dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD, likes to end her day with the cleanser. "It removes the dirt, oil, environmental pollutants, and debris that accumulate over the course of the day," Dr. Henry said.
Editor Tip: This resurfacing formula contains AHA (alpha hydroxy acid), which increases your skin's sensitivity to UV rays and sunburning. So, be vigilant about applying and refreshing your sunscreen when using this product (and in the week following discontinuation).
Key Ingredients: Salicylic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, citric acid, jojoba oil | Who It's For: All skin types, especially oily and combination | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Why It's Worth It: Dr. Camp says the SkinCeuticals Purifying Cleanser is a nourishing cleansing gel that contains glycolic acid, one of the best exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids that'll target clogged pores, dullness, and uneven skin tone all at once. It foams a little, but not too much, to target surface gunk and impurities, making skin feel conditioned and refreshed.
Editor Tip: This foaming gel cleanser also contains glycerin, a highly hydrating humectant that leaves skin feeling soft. This combats glycolic acid's drying effect, so your skin won't feel tight after use.
Key Ingredients: Glycolic acid, glycerin | Who It's For: Acne-prone skin, hyperpigmentation | Fragrance-Free: Yes
More SkinCeuticals cleansers to shop:
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: Looking for a no-frills cleanser that gets the job done without rubbing your skin the wrong way—literally? The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser is a creamy, soap-free formula that gently whisks away makeup and impurities without stripping your skin. It's void of common causes of irritation, like fragrance, dyes, and sulfates. Instead, it includes soothing ceramides, niacinamide, glycerin, and prebiotic thermal water to amp up hydration levels and restore your barrier.
Editor Tip: Our dermatologist friends agree that this is among the best face washes on the market. Elyse Love, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, says it's "a great go-to cleanser for colder months that cleanses skin without stripping the skin." Mamina Turegano, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a fan, too, but particularly when it comes to cleansing dry skin.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, niacinamide, glycerin, thermal water | Who It's For: Dry and sensitive skin | Fragrance-Free: Yes
More La Roche-Posay cleansers to shop:
Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: There are cleansers that cleanse and quit, and then there are cleansers that cleanse and deeply nourish and hydrate the skin barrier like a total dream. Turns out Glow Recipe's Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser is one of those. The lotion-to-foam formula is spiked with ceramide NP and anti-inflammatory colloidal oatmeal to prevent moisture loss and soothe redness—even after it's been washed off. Avocado oil removes any remaining makeup and dirt from your face, so you're well-prepped for the rest of your skin-care routine.
Editor Tip: Follow up with the editor-approved Ceramide Recovery Serum ($45) for even more avocado- and ceramide-fueled soothing. Allure contributor Marci Robin said it left her complexion "refreshed, comfortable, and noticeably hydrated."
Key Ingredients: Ceramide NP, colloidal oatmeal, avocado oil | Who It's For: Dry and sensitive skin | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Why It's Worth It: Tatcha's The Rice Wash is packed with the brand's signature ingredient: Japanese rice powder. A staple of traditional Japanese cleansing practices, rice powder contains enzymes that soften, plump, and brighten skin (shout out to vitamins A, B2, B12, and E). A blend of Okinawa algae and hyaluronic acid strengthens the skin barrier and locks in hydration—a win for people with mature skin since retaining moisture as we age is more difficult.
Editor Tip: This cream cleanser is gentle enough to be used on dry skin, but if you're looking for a clarifying face wash, we recommend The Matcha Cleanse, which decongests pores using Japanese coix seed and willow bark (two gentler alternatives to traditional BHA).
Key Ingredients: Amino acid, Japanese rice powder, Onikawa algae, hyaluronic acid | Who It's For: Dull, dry skin | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Beekman 1802 Milk Scrub Oat & Goat Milk Exfoliating Facial Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: People with sensitive skin may have had a rough experience or two with scrubs, but Beekman 1802's Milk Scrub Oat & Goat Milk Exfoliating Facial Cleanser is a game changer. This mild, Allure Best of Beauty Award-winning formula gently polishes away dead skin with jojoba beads while a combination of goat and oat milk soothes and conditions skin.
Editor Tip: According to the brand, this formula is so gentle that you can use it twice a day. However, to avoid over-exfoliation, people with balanced skin should refrain from using facial scrubs more than once per week. Those who have combination or oily skin can exfoliate up to three times weekly.
Key Ingredients: Jojoba beads, goat milk, oat milk, lactobacillus enzyme ferment | Who It's For: Anyone with sensitive skin who wants to enjoy a satisfying scrub-down | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Why It's Worth It: Bid adieu to your double-cleansing routine with EltaMD's Oil-in-Gel Cleanser. This formula begins as a gel that breaks down stubborn waterproof makeup and sunscreen, and as you lather, you'll feel it transform into a conditioning cream cleanser. It finishes its transforming journey as a cushiony emulsion that breaks down lingering excess oil, sweat, and dead skin.
Editor Tip: Our editors were so impressed by this skin cleanser's complexion-enhancing abilities that it nabbed an Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2023. "It's really gentle, doesn't sting my eyes, and has a pleasing consistency that melts away all of my makeup," commerce editor Sarah Han says.
Key Ingredients: Pumpkin enzyme, meadowfoam seed oil, vitamin E, turmeric | Who It's For: Anyone looking for a deep-cleansing face wash with a sensory experience for the books | Fragrance-Free: Yes
KraveBeauty Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: The editor-favorite formula stars an antioxidant-packed ingredient, matcha, which you'd be hard-pressed to find in the aisles of your local drugstore. This non-stripping face wash has a silky feel that breaks down sebum and stubborn makeup as it treats your pores to conditioning coconut-based surfactants, hemp seed oil, and a signature tone-evening ingredient, matcha. "Sometime in my mid-20s, my skin did a total 180-degree turn from slick-as-shined-marble oily to wildly dry and dehydrated," says associate director of special projects Hunter Lacey, who says Matcha Hemp has been the steadfast hero throughout his skin-care rollercoaster. "The viscous gel works into the perfect lather, which is hard to come by in gentle cleansers and is free of any obtrusive fragrance," they add.
Editor Tip: This cleanser can tackle oil, sunscreen, and light makeup, but if you have a full face of waterproof cosmetics on, we suggest double-cleansing with a cleansing oil or balm—KraveBeauty's Makeup Re-Wind is an editor favorite that has a delightful jelly-to-oil texture that melts everything away.
Key Ingredients: Matcha, hemp seed oil, coconut-based surfactants, sodium PCA | Who It's For: Anyone who wants a moisturizing, budget-friendly cleanser. | Fragrance-Free: Yes
DamDam Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: Allure commerce editor Sarah Han says the Damdam Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser is one of her go-to's in her skin-care routine. "I'm all about hydrating, no-fuss cleansers to kick off my extensive-ish nighttime routine, but the one exception is DamDam's Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser," she says. "The exfoliation, powered by an AHA found in Japanese rice and the tiniest granules of Japanese tuber plant, is supremely gentle and leaves my skin feeling so freakin' soft (and not tight, which is key)."
Editor Tip: Since this is an exfoliating formula with active ingredients, we don't recommend using it around your eyes or sensitive areas of skin.
Key Ingredients: Japanese tuber plant, phytic acid, tea tree oil | Who It's For: Those with normal, oily, and combination skin that want an acne-reducing cleanser | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Motif Abundance Plumping PhytoCeramide Facial Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: For baby-soft skin, Allure commerce writer Jennifer Hussein recommends lathering up with Motif's Abundance Plumping PhytoCeramide Facial Cleanser, which you can also use as a brightening face mask. "My skin is sensitive, so stripping cleansers are a no for me, but Motif's formula somehow gives my pores the deep cleanse that harsher washes provide without any dryness or sensitivity after rinsing off," she says. That's all thanks to the addition of conditioning and skin-calming ceramides in its formula.
Editor Tip: If you want to use it as a complexion-brightening face mask, leave its formula on your face for up to three minutes before rinsing off.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, niacinamide, licorice root extract, pineapple extract, rice ferment, | Who It's For: Anyone who wants a cleanser that also doubles as a complexion-brightening treatment | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser
Why It's Worth It: Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser sounds like a cold-pressed juice, smells like apples, and looks like dish detergent, but don't be fooled, this face wash is something worth talking about—and clearing off some counter space for. The antioxidant-heavy formula is a two-time Readers' Choice Award winner (2022 and 2023) because it's packed with everything it touts in all caps on the front of the bottle (kale, green tea, spinach, and vitamins—C, E, and K, to be exact). The ingredients work double-time to wash away daily grime, reduce inflammation, and keep skin bright and dewy.
Editor Tip: This gel cleanser is a fan-favorite, but it's also a skin-care staple for a few Allure staffers. "The texture and color make it look a little like dishwater detergent, and it smells like the inside of a Granny Smith apple, but as soon as it begins to lightly foam on your face, your skin cells will sigh in relief," Allure contributor Brennan Kilbane says.
Key Ingredients: Green tea extract, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, aloe vera | Who It's For: Normal and oily skin, dullness | Fragrance-Free: No
We love it so much that it's even been featured in Allure Beauty Box. Subscribe to the box here to get 6+ editor favorites (a $100+ value) every month—for just $25.
Why It's Worth It: Dr. Turegano says Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser "has been a go-to cleanser recommendation by dermatologists for years for those with sensitive skin." The ingredient list is short and sweet, with purified water and glycerin at the top, and doesn't include common irritants like dyes, fragrances, lanolin, parabens, soap, and more. "If you deal with eczema, extra dryness, or are allergy-prone to various ingredients, try this one," Dr. Turegano adds.
Editor Tip: We recommend pre-cleansing with gentle micellar water or cleansing balm if you're taking off particularly stubborn makeup.
Key Ingredients: Water, glycerin | Who It's For: Sensitive and dry skin | Fragrance-Free: Yes
Why It's Worth It: CeraVe has proven itself many times over to be a crowd favorite, at least when you ask dermatologists and skinfluencers. The Hydrating Facial Cleanser, which picked up a 2023 Allure Readers' Choice Award, wraps skin in a blanket of long-lasting moisture. Helmed by ever-reliable ingredients such as glycerin, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, our tester says this gentle formula "gets the job done and doesn't make skin feel stripped or greasy."
Editor Tip: While this is a great, no-fuss cleanser with an affordable price tag, it might not be the best-equipped to remove heavy-duty, waterproof makeup. For that, we recommend kicking off your cleansing routine with a cleansing oil or balm.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glycerin | Who It's For: Normal and dry skin | Fragrance-Free: Yes
More CeraVe cleansers to shop:
Washing one's face is the basic foundation of an effective skin-care regimen. Only after you sweep away all of the breakout-causing dirt, makeup, and excess oil on your face, can your skin properly absorb and reap the benefits of other nourishing products. "Cleansing your face removes makeup, oil, dirt, and other debris," Sejal Shah, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, previously told Allure. "Even if you don't wear makeup, the skin on your face comes into contact with residue from other skin-care products as well as pollutants, microbes, dirt, and other debris, not to mention oils, sweat, and dead skin cells."
There's more to double-cleansing than just, well, washing your face twice. "I define double-cleansing as using two separate types of cleansers to wash your face," board-certified dermatologist Rita V. Linkner, MD, previously told Allure.
We have an entire dermatologist-approved guide to double-cleansing if you want to perfect the art, but here's the gist: You start your cleansing routine with an oil-based cleanser or micellar water to break down and remove makeup and sunscreen. The genre of your second cleanser is up to you, as long as it's gentle and washes away pollutants, acne-causing bacteria, and debris.
Different face washes tackle different skin concerns, so when picking out a new cleanser, keep your skin type in mind. If you have sensitive skin, reach for a moisturizing cleanser that will go easy on your skin barrier. "You want to use gentle, hydrating cleansers that remove impurities without stripping the skin barrier of all its natural moisturizing factors," explained Washington, D.C.-based dermatologist Adam Friedman, MD. Dr. Friedman also suggests looking for humectants like hyaluronic acid and ceramides on the back of the bottle, as they "help keep water in the skin," which is essential for sensitive skin.
According to NYC-based board-certified dermatologist Brandith Irwin, MD, people with sensitive skin should seek out products with short and sweet ingredient lists. "For sensitive skin, specifically, you want products that are free of artificial fragrances, parabens, and phthalates," Dr. Irwin says.
If you have acne, choose a facial cleanser with active ingredients like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid to tackle blemishes (whiteheads/blackheads). Claire Chang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, has some handy guidelines she abides by. She always recommends gentle cleansers over harsh soaps—especially ones with physical exfoliants—to clear the skin of dirt and excess oil. She also backs the inclusion of soothing tea tree oil and green tea.
Oily skin needs—you guessed it—oil-fighting ingredients. According to cosmetic chemist Ginger King, oil-absorbing cellulose and niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) can benefit oily skin. She added that niacinamide also helps reduce the look of pores.
We always enlist a range of testers for any review, but skin-care products are another story. While some can be used across different skin types, tones, textures, and concerns, many are created with specific consumers and their needs in mind. We guarantee that these factors are considered when determining whether a skin-care product is worthy of a recommendation.
For our review of the best face washes, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, and experts we've interviewed for the piece—who all have different complexion concerns and types, desired outcomes (e.g. diminished appearance of blackheads), and whether one product was tested across multiple skin types. Testers considered performance across the following primary categories: efficacy, texture, ingredients, and value. For more on what's involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
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