My Favourite 5 Cleansers for February 2016

Here are my current 5 favourite cleanser that I've been using the most for the past few months.

How I cleanse

First I wet my face. Use about a tea spoon of water all over the face, you want to feel damp rather than wet to give slip when you use the cleanser. Apply cleanser to face and massage for a minute as this gives time for the active ingredients to work and get the blood flowing. Massage upwards along the cheek and jaw and in circles on the forehead and middle of the face to follow the muscles. I often use a muslin cloth in the evening but you can use a flannel or just water. Pat dry with a towel. Do this twice a day.

Nip + Fab Glycolic Cleanser

This is a good light cleanser, one I often use in the morning. It has a refreshing citrus scent and includes olive oil to leave skin balanced and hydrated but greasy or oily,  a great no nonsense cleanser with a pinch of glycolic acid. 

 

Id recormend this for any skin type. £8 but you can often find it half price.

Vichy Normaderm Deep cleansing purifying gel

Another light cleanser that I mostly use in the morning. I can't describe the scent, its not offensive or bad but its not my favourite. It contains salicylic and glycolic acid although it won't be anywhere as affective as a leave on product. Its a stronger cleanser but its not necessarily drying.

It recormend this for normal to oily. £11

Super Facialist By Una Brennan Anti Blemish Cleansing Wash

This is a great brand that feels and looks more expensive then it is. Its a great not drying and non irritating face wash. It contains both salicylic acid and vitamin B3. It leaves skin feeling clean and is wonderful and great for a relaxing facial massage, a cleanser I wouldn't want to take off. One of my favourite all time cleansers I couldn't recormend this more.

It recormend this for normal to oily. £8 and its more than worth it.

Dr. Organic Tea Tree Face Wash

Containing organic tea tree this is a great and affordable way to invest in organic skincare. Its one I use when I break out. It smells of tea tree and is gentle on the skin.

I recormend it for normal to oily skin. £7.

Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser

Another wonderful smelling thick cleanser. I use it whenever my skin is dry or irritated and it very gentle and leaves the skin feeling perfectly moisturised. The cloth is a bit harsh the first time you use it but its leaves the skin feeling incredibly smooth. After the first use I knew that I was hooked. It does contain cocoa butter but in a cleanser its awful for acne although I find I do have to limit my use of it thought. 

Id recommend for dry skin. £6 but often half price in Superdrug, again: more than worth it.

Goodbye Hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation (PIH) is often a part of scarring. For example when acne leaves a scar it leaves a dent and a red or discoloured mark. These products help over time to reduce and after 2 maybe 3 months can remove these discolourations.

Eucerin: Even brighter day cream SPF 30
As a day cream Id recommend this to anyone with or without active acne. It leaves skin feeling moisturised without feeling very greasy. Its free from thick moisturisers like cocoa or shea butter so is unlikely to cause breakouts. 

For Hyperpigmentation (PIH) it contains B-Resorcinol and Glycyrrhetinic Acid. Eucerin claims that these can repair the skin and help protect it. It also contains SPF 30 which is vitally important if you're going to spend any amount of money on skincare. This is because, epically when using glycolic acid,  any amount of sun can make PIH much worse and can undo any effects these products have had on you.

Reviva 10% Glycolic acid Cream
Glycolic acid is the number one thing I recommend for PIH. At 10% its very effective although first time users should  try 5% or less first as it can irritate skin and you want to build up tolerance. I use this as a night cream although its not very moisturising, if you have dry skin id recommend putting a thicker moistener over the top. It does sting a bit when I use it, but its only for a short while (as to be expected wit some acids).

I find my skins always at its brightest the day after I use it, and its really effective on PIH.

Non of the products mentioned are tested on animals.

Natural vs Chemical

Often the word natural is used to make a product more appealing but is it really better? The answer to that is complicated so I shall first go over each product in your routine then go over some specific ingredients.

Chemical means something made in a lab.

Organic vs Natural: what's the difference? Products that say they're natural most of the time don't mean they're 100% natural. In fact very few are. To be called natural they don't even have to contain much of a natural ingredient. Some products show what percentage of something is natural. Organic on the other hand means 100% natural unless its referring to a specific ingredient. Be careful when reading packaging. I will be using the word natural to refer to products that use natural ingredients for their main purpose such as active ingredients.

Cleanser

I don't often recommend using an acne cleanser unless you can pay a bit more to get something better formulated. In this case it doesn't matter whether its chemical or natural.

Moisturizer

This one can be controversial. Personally I use natural moisturizers as they break down on the skin unlike chemical ingredients although shea butter is best avoided as it takes longer to break down. A natural moisturizer is also good for supplying nutrition to the skin.

Treatment

In this category I'm grouping toner/liquids and serums/gels. Here are some ingredients that I like. Most natural and some chemical . I like them not because of their source but because of how well they work.

• Salicylic acid sometimes called Beta hydroxy (BHA) acid is natural as it come from willow tree bark. This is best as a leave on as will have a minimal amount of affect in a cleanser, especially a cheap one.
• Glycolic acid and Lactic acid sometimes called Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) are natural. The most important one for acne is Glycolic. They both help to fade and eventually can  remove acne scarring. This is also best in a leave on.
• Benzyl Peroxide is chemical. It work much better than Tea Tree and leaves your skin less drying. 2.5-5% works best. Not great for a cleanser as it can bleach clothing.

Nip + Fab pads are great as they contain Glycolic, lactic and salicylic acid.

Not sure where to start when looking for products? Follow my Blog for great tips that actually work.

Acids on the Cheap

If you're new to the concept, acids may sound scary but they're not. The right kind of acid can do great for your kind and they are a much better exfoliant than sand or plastic beads.

Glycolic acid

This is a great ingredient for acne and acne scaring. It smooths out complexation and can make you look more radiant. The main problem with budget skincare is that it can contain smaller amounts of glycolic acid and the amount often isn't specified. Also many cheaper products contain alcohol.

B. Revealed: Glycolic Cleansing Peel £7.99

Despite the name this product is neither much of a peel or great a cleansing. Despite that I still really like this product. It recommends using it for 3 minutes 2-3 evenings a week although I use it more as a mask every other night for about 10 minutes. I find that's enough to prevent a breakout the next day. Don't worry about using it too much as its a small dose of glycolic acid. I would go on how your skins feels, if it irritates your skin use it less. I would recommend this.

Naturally Radiant: Glycolic Overnight Peel £5.99

Again this is not much of a peel. As you can probably see this comes in a small 30ml tube. I bought this in the home that it meant it had good ingredients and lots of glycolic acid. I was a bit disappointed to find it contain alcohol can be drying. With constant and continued use I'm sure this will fade marks but I feel if you just spent more money you'd get a longer lasting more effective product. So I don't really recommend this.

Salicylic acid

This is a great ingredient for acne and is a must have to any acne skincare routine. Its the best acid for acne as it gets deep into the pores. Can be more irritating in cheaper products.

Deep Action: Pore Cleansing Pads x 40 £2.68

First of all don't use these to cleanse with. Much like wipes it doesn't properly emulsify and remove oil like a cleanser and water. I use these in the toning stage and these are greater for acne. I guarantee your will see at least a reduction. The down side is the amount of alcohol which will the skin and make it irritated easier. Always use a moisturiser after this. I would recommend this.