39 of the Best Face Cleansers You Need in Your Skincare Routine

Best Facial Cleansers 

Best Cleansers Overall 

BEST OVERALL

BEST: Carrot & Stick The Face Wash, $40
Gentle yet potent botanicals create a wonderfully emollient cleanser that helps promote balance and never strips the skin. Expeller-pressed rosehip seed oil rejuvenates with essential fatty acids, geranium flower soothes, and red seaweed helps protect the skin.

Carrot & Stick The Gentle Hydrating Cleanser, $40
This gentle, hydrating is formulated with natural hydration, including hyaluronic acid, that won’t strip precious oils, disrupting the surface barrier. It does not contain harsh sulfates that can irritate the skin. It uses plant-based ingredients, like, coconut-based surfactants that help the product work into a luxurious lather.

FULL LIST

Formulyst Gentle Foaming Cleanser, $29
The ideal cleanser should give skin a deep clean without stripping it of too much moisture, which means your face will be squeaky clean without feeling tight and dry. Formulyst’s ultra-gentle foaming cleanser whisks away dirt, sweat, and makeup but won’t overdry the skin. Skin is left clean and feeling soft and supple, thanks to nourishing rosehip seed oil and vitamins A, C, and E.

Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Foam Cleanser/Purifying Mask, $27
Estee Lauder’s Perfectly Clean cleanser is also a purifying mask — a true multitasking wonder. It immediately works into a rich foaming lather and feels soft and calming against the skin. Simply massage the product onto dry skin and leave it on for three minutes before rinsing off.

Despite its deep cleaning characteristics, you won’t have to worry about excessive dryness because it’s formulated sodium hyaluronate — the salt of hyaluronic acid — ensuring the skin is as supple as it is clean.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser, $23
Kiehl’s gentle face wash won’t overdry or strip the skin of its natural oils. Squalane — a lipid derived from olives — helps moisturize and soften skin. It’s a non-comedogenic ingredient that can help curb oil production, making it ideal for oily or combination skin types.

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash, $25
This delightfully frothy face wash for combination skin helps balance out the dry (cheeks) and oily (T-zone) areas of the face. It’s infused with broadleaf kelp extract, wheat protein, and tourmaline to help control oil production while keeping hydration levels in check.

Skin feels refreshed and balanced without developing an uncomfortable tight feeling after washing. However, while you may love the spearmint, bergamot, and lavender scent, be aware that essential oils can cause sensitivity in some skin types.

Eve Lom Cleanser, $80
Eve Lom cleansing balm is great for all skin types, especially dry and sensitive. It’s also an effective makeup remover. Clove oil has antiseptic properties, which can help it reduce bacteria on the skin’s surface, leaving it perfectly clean and free of blemishes. Eucalyptus and hop oils remove impurities and restore the skin’s pH balance, while Egyptian chamomile oil and cocoa butter hydrate, soothe, and soften.

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, $38
Fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser harnesses the power of soy proteins to provide skin-plumping hydration while also giving skin a thorough, sparkling clean. Soy proteins help skin maintain elasticity to keep it strong, firm, and flexible. Elasticity is what allows the skin to snap back once it’s been stretched. Without it, skin becomes loose and begins to sag.

The natural rosewater and cucumber extracts in this formula help soothe and calm potential irritation, while borage seed oil is there to nourish. Borage seed oil is rich in a fatty acid known as gamma-linolenic acid that acts as an anti-inflammatory and hydrating agent. This formula is also extra-gentle and suitable for all skin types, even sensitive skin.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser, $25
Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser is the number-one-selling face wash in America. It’s also one of Philosophy’s first products. As the name suggests, this award-winning product is paraben-free.

The formula sweeps away dirt, oil, and makeup while leaving skin that feels effectively cleansed, hydrated, and balanced. It’s ideal for normal-to-dry skin types and is gentle enough for the sensitive eye area. It deep cleans pores while the meadowfoam seed oil extract helps condition the skin.

Biossance + Squalene and Jelly Cleanser, $28
This gentle yet powerful all-in-one jelly cleanser nourishes your unique microbiome while effortlessly erasing makeup, pollutants, and impurities. Antioxidant-rich elderberry extract and a nourishing prebiotic complex strengthen, protect, and promote an overall healthier-looking complexion while hydrating squalane leaves the skin clean, soft, and fully refreshed.

This innovative cleanser transforms from a luxurious, naturally-hued jelly to a silky oil and rinses clean as a soft cleansing milk when it comes to the cleansing process.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, $14
Perhaps the best drugstore face wash is from Cetaphil, the brand that claims it’s “gentle enough for a baby’s skin.” This formulation works for all skin types, including sensitive ones, thanks to a soap-free composition that won’t strip skin’s natural oils or overdry. This face wash for sensitive skin contains a skin-conditioning agent called propylene glycol and a foaming agent called sodium lauryl sulfate.

Though the ingredient list is sparse, together, these two substances help to cleanse (with sodium lauryl sulfate) and moisturize (with propylene glycol). One thing going for this cleanser is the fact that it only has eight ingredients. This may account for its gentleness. If you don’t like too many ingredients in your cosmetics, this may be just the right cleanser for you.

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser, $13.99
This non-foaming face wash removes dirt, oil, and makeup, while quenching thirsty, dry skin with hyaluronic acid and ceramides. Hyaluronic acid is a popular ingredient in skincare products because it can retain a lot of water (1,000 times its weight), enabling it to hydrate skin deeply. As with all CeraVe skincare products, this face wash contains essential ceramides to help restore and maintain your skin’s natural barrier, resulting in a hydrated, soft, and smooth complexion.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, $36
Despite the cheeky name, this face wash effectively removes all traces of makeup, excess oil, and impurities. The balm-like formula transforms into an oil when applied to dry skin. it has a rather short ingredient list with safflower oil near the top. Safflower oil contains linolenic acid, a fatty acid that is essentially a skin-conditioning agent that also protects and improves skin barrier function.

Your skin barrier may be compromised if you’re experiencing redness, peeling or flakiness, or itching. Despite containing oil, this formula is non-greasy, won’t clog pores, and won’t dry out the skin.

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel, $24
While all skin types can benefit from this foaming face wash, it’s especially great for oily skin because it removes excess oil and reduces shine. Fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids cleanse and gently remove dead skin cells. This exfoliating action is beneficial for acne, rough texture, or dullness. However, unlike strong peels and exfoliators, these AHAs won’t cause the skin to flake. Rather, you’ll achieve a fresh, natural glow — something we all want from a cleanser.

EltaMD Foaming Facial Cleanser, $28
This is a great face wash for oily skin prone to breakouts. It cleanses and helps reduce blemishes without overdrying, a common concern with many cleansers that promise to treat pimples. Key ingredients include bromelain and apple amino acids. Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory enzyme found in pineapples, so it helps calm red, angry blemishes — it also causes the face wash to foam.

Apple amino acids also contribute to the lather while hydrating and conditioning skin to avoid overdrying or becoming unbearably taut.

First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser, $24
If you’re looking for a face wash for sensitive skin, this formula is a sure bet. Key ingredients include aloe, allantoin, and glycerin, with an antioxidant boost courtesy of feverfew, licorice root, and white tea extracts. Aloe has several benefits, including the ability to calm redness and inflammation. Allantoin acts as an emollient that keeps your skin moisturized and prevents dryness, while glycerin — a humectant — helps the skin retain water, keeping it soft and fresh.

Shiseido Benefiance Extra Creamy Cleansing Foam, $36
Thanks to sodium hyaluronate (the salt of hyaluronic acid), this luxurious cleanser helps promote a soft, hydrated complexion. Like HA, it can retain 1,000 times its weight in water, locking in moisture.

This face wash can also potentially lighten and brighten skin, as it contains sophora Angustifolia root extract. This ingredient has been shown to reduce melanin transfer as effectively as other melanin-inhibiting ingredients like hydroquinone and niacinamide. If you have acne scars, melasma, or another form of discoloration, regular use of this cleanser may be able to give you a more even tone.

La Mer Cleansing Foam, $95
There are few skincare lines as luxurious as La Mer. This high-end cleanser contains the brand’s trademarked Miracle Broth as one of its main ingredients. Miracle Broth contains sea kelp, copper, calcium, magnesium, potassium, lecithin, iron, vitamins C, E, and B12, citrus, eucalyptus, wheat germ, alfalfa, and sunflower oils.

We assume the three-month fermentation technique is used to get all of these ingredients to unlock their proverbial magic powers. Although several types of seaweed go into this “broth,” the brand claims Macrosys pyrifera is of the best quality. It has an anti-inflammatory action that can prevent inflammation and soothe skin overall. Other key moisturizing and soothing ingredients include aloe leaf water and sodium hyaluronate.

BeautyCounter Cleansing Balm, $79
This moisture-rich cleansing balm doubles as an overnight face mask. Raspberry and cranberry seed oils provide deep hydration while vitamin C inhibits tyrosinase, an enzyme that stimulates melanin production. Over time, it can help even out the skin tone for an overall brighter complexion. Other superbly hydrating ingredients include apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, and avocado oil.

Avene XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil, $32
Avene’s XeraCalm Cleansing Oil is exactly what inflamed, itchy skin needs. This face wash for sensitive skin is specially formulated to treat those suffering from eczema or atopic dermatitis. It contains patented I-Modulia, a complex derived from Avene’s proprietary thermal spring water, to soothe itching and irritation.

Cer-omega, derived from evening primrose, hydrates,  restores the skin’s barrier and prevents transepidermal water loss. TEWL refers to the loss of moisture through the epidermis. It can aggravate inflammation and lead to even more dryness.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, $15
A cult favorite, this cleansing oil removes dirt, oil, and makeup in one fell swoop. The very first ingredient is olive oil. Phenolic compounds in olive oil serve as effective antioxidants. This repairing oil has also demonstrated wound healing and anti-inflammatory effects, possibly positively affecting skin aging. Olive oil is mainly made up of oleic acid, a fatty acid that is deeply hydrating and non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores).

DHC’s formulation also contains vitamin E, another formidable antioxidant that reverses free radical damage. A third key ingredient, rosemary oil, has been shown to increase hydration and have a moderate effect on increasing skin elasticity.

SkinMedica Facial Cleanser, $38
Like any good face wash, SkinMedica’s best-selling facial cleanser removes dirt and oil while also being highly moisturizing. The two key ingredients are panthenol (vitamin B5) and camellia oleifera leaf extract. Panthenol is the ingredient that accounts for the superb moisturizing ability of this cleanser. Studies have shown a propensity for binding moisture to the skin to keep it hydrated for a long time.

Camellia oleifera leaf extract, on the other hand, is an antioxidant that helps counter free radical damage. It is also an anti-inflammatory and astringent that can help calm and soothe while also dealing with excess oil production.

SkinCeuticals Gentle Cleanser, $45
SkinCeuticals face wash for sensitive skin also addresses dry or post-procedure skin that has undergone some type of in-office treatment. This non-foaming cream cleanser contains orange oil, allantoin, and glycerin to soothe, moisturize, and balance oil production. These three key ingredients can address heightened sensitivity, aging, and dehydration.

Best Face Wash for Dry Skin

Carrot & Stick The Gentle Hydrating Cleanser, $40
This gentle, hydrating is formulated with natural hydration, including hyaluronic acid, that won’t strip precious oils, disrupting the surface barrier. It does not contain harsh sulfates that can irritate the skin. It uses plant-based ingredients, like, coconut-based surfactants that help the product work into a luxurious lather.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser, $14.99
Ceramides, glycerin, and niacinamide team up to bring a burst of hydration to dry skin in this formula. Prebiotic thermal water is added to soothe and calm dehydrated skin that may also be red and irritated. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleanser Gel, $8.27
Neutrogena’s popular Hydro Boost Cleanser Gel is paraben-free, soap-free, oil-free, and hypoallergenic. It also won’t clog pores. Hyaluronic acid is the key ingredient that helps draw in moisture to keep skin plump and soft.

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micellar Water, $9.99
Bioderma’s micellar water cleanser is free of sulfates, parabens, fragrances, oil, soap, and alcohol. It is very gentle and thoroughly cleanses skin of grime and makeup without stripping away the skin’s natural oils.

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser & Makeup Remover, $11.50
This formula will give you clear and clean skin without overdrying it. It also contains calming feverfew extract to help ease symptoms of irritation like redness and itchiness, which can often accompany dehydrated skin.

Best Face Wash for Oily Skin

Formulyst Clarifying AHA Cleanser, $29
Formulyst’s AHA Foaming Cleanser helps refine pores, control excess oil and smooth away any surface-level roughness. Enriched with Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) for an intense clean and a complex blend of soothing citrus and botanical extracts, this profoundly purifying formulation actively dissolves dead surface cells, draws out pore-clogging impurities, and removes excess oil.

Renée Rouleau AHA/BHA Blemish Control Cleanser, $37.50
AHAs and BHAs are acids that help combat acne and oiliness. If your oily skin is acne-prone, this is an excellent choice because it will reduce pimples and blackheads by helping to unclog blocked pores. It features salicylic, lactic, and glycolic acids to effectively cut through excess oil without leaving skin feeling too dry or tight.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser, $14.99
Featuring salicylic acid, this foaming face wash for oily skin exfoliates without overdrying. It also includes lipo-hydroxy acid to unclog pores further.

Avene Cleansing Foam, $20
A lightweight, gentle foaming cleanser for oily skin, this offering from Avene face wash has been clinically shown to reduce oiliness by 54% after only one use. It is soap-free, oil-free, and non-comedogenic.

NeoCutis Exfoliating Skin Cleanser, $38
Glycolic acid and glycerin team up to provide exfoliation and hydration in this cleanser from NeoCutis. It’s formulated without harsh sulfates, dyes, and fragrances.

Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser, $39
Kaolin and green clay are among the key ingredients in this cleanser, and they are great at wiping away excess oil and giving skin a matte complexion. These clays also help unclog pores to prevent acne formation.

Tatcha The Deep Cleanse Exfoliating Cleanser, $39
This gel cleanser is mildly exfoliating with ground fibers from the Japanese Luffa fruit. It provides a deep clean without causing over-drying or that uncomfortable tight feeling.

Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser,$35
Here’s another excellent clay cleanser with the superb ability to cut through oil, This formula from Sunday Riley is great for unclogging and tightening pores to minimize their appearance.

Ole Henriksen Find Your Balance Oil Control Cleanser, $30
This is one of Sephora’s top reviewed cleansers for oily skin. It’s tortured for its ability to deeply clean pores, reduce blackheads, and mattify the T-zone area.

Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser, $16
Glycolic acid is a great ingredient for oily skin because it helps mattify the skin while gently exfoliating to reduce the appearance of blackheads and large pores. This cleanser will fight acne without disrupting the skin’s natural pH balance.

Best Face Wash for Sensitive Skin

Carrot & Stick The Face Wash, $40
Gentle yet potent botanicals create a wonderfully emollient cleanser that helps promote balance and never strips the skin. Expeller-pressed rosehip seed oil rejuvenates with essential fatty acids, geranium flower soothes, and red seaweed helps protect the skin.

Formulyst Gentle Foaming Cleanser, $29
Formulyst’s gentle cleanser turns into a lovely foam upon application, giving you a luxurious cleansing experience. Regenerative ingredients like rosehip seed oil and vitamins A, C, and E provide hydration while protecting from free radical damage.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser, $13.99
This best drugstore face wash from Cetaphil is a popular choice for sensitive skin. It’s unscented, non-comedogenic, and the brand claims it’s gentle enough for a baby’s skin. 

This formulation works for all skin types, thanks to a soap-free composition that won’t strip skin’s natural oils or overdry

Avène Antirougeurs CLEAN Redness-Relief Refreshing Cleansing Lotion, $24
This is one of the gentlest cleansers available on the market to help reduce redness and irritation. It is paraben-fragrance- and soap-free to boot.

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, $39.50
Thanks to soap bark extract, this face wash removes impurities without disturbing the skin’s natural moisture balance. It’s soap-free, lightweight, and is suitable for all skin types and conditions. 

Face Wash: The Bottom Line

What’s the Best Facial Cleanser on the market? Overall, we suggest Carrot & Stick The Face Wash and Carrot & Stick The Gentle Hydrating Cleanser. 

Talk to any dermatologist or esthetician, and they’ll likely tell you that cleansing is the cornerstone of any skincare regimen. After all, a face wash is a catalyst for a clean canvas that enables all of your other products to work effectively. Facial cleansers sweep away excess oil, makeup, and other impurities that accumulate throughout the day.

Sources:
‘Study: Many Americans Are Washing Their Face Wrong,” Reviewed.
“Acne Mechanica,” National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information.