I spent a lot of money to test 38 facial cleansers: For oily skin, dry skin, and sensitive skin, just read this article!

Everyone’s skin care steps vary greatly, but this step is definitely the same for us all - washing your face!

Don’t underestimate this step. If you don’t choose the right facial cleanser, redness, dryness, peeling...all of these will happen to you this winter!

Here we are, a week before Double 12, our highlight – facial cleanser review, it’s here!!!

Not only did we collect brands that fans are interested in on major platforms, we also asked daily chemical researchers from Dad Review to share their favorite facial cleansers.

In order to satisfy everyone as much as possible, this time we selected 38 popular facial cleansers. Just unpacking the parcels, a small mountain of them appeared:

Don't be unhappy if you don't have the one you are using.

Sample family photo here:

Sample fee 6371.7 yuan + testing fee 43380 yuan + travel expenses 4956.45 yuan = a total of 54708.15 yuan.

After 4 rounds of screening including ingredient analysis, irritation testing, efficacy testing, and real-person trials, we recommend:

In addition, we have compiled some frequently asked questions about facial cleansers: Is soap-based facial cleanser really the "root of all evil" that causes your rotten face? Can facial cleansers moisturize, remove freckles, and whiten your skin? Be sure to read to the end!

When buying facial cleansers, you can focus on whether the product contains these types of preservatives that are prone to allergies. Friends with sensitive skin should take notes:

These two preservatives are highly allergenic, and the EU has banned the use of such preservatives in leave-on body creams and lotions (such as facial creams, lotions, essences, etc.).

No. 22 Ya S Lan D and No. 23 Hai L Zhi M contain such preservatives, so people with sensitive skin should be careful.

No. 27 Big B contains a formaldehyde-releasing preservative - DMDM ​​hydantoin, which achieves its preservative effect by releasing formaldehyde and may be irritating to the skin.

Propylparaben and butylparaben are long-chain paraben preservatives, and their safety is controversial. No. 21 S*II, No. 24 po*a, No. 25 Mei L Bei F, and No. 26 Xi Y facial cleansers use this type of preservatives:

When the concept of amino acid facial cleansers first came out, there were many facial cleansers that were labeled as amino acids but were actually soap-based. Unexpectedly, this review still allowed us to discover one - No. 32 A*F:

The promotion says it is an amino acid formula, but in fact the surfactant in it is still mainly soap base (marked in green box), and it is also compounded with a little amino acid surfactant.

This kind of promotional method may mislead consumers and make those with sensitive skin choose this soap-based product. We firmly oppose this behavior!

The above 8 samples have withdrawn from this evaluation.

Because of the differences in formula, different types of facial cleansers may have slightly different levels of irritation. Before looking at the results, let's review the three most common types of facial cleansers:

Note: Specific products need to be analyzed according to their ingredients.

The above is for reference only

The pH value of human facial skin is usually between 4.5 and 6.5, which is slightly acidic.

Long-term use of cleaning products with a high pH value may damage the sebum membrane and reduce the skin barrier function, making originally healthy skin sensitive and causing dryness, tightness, itching or other inflammation.

We sent 30 samples to the laboratory and tested them according to the national standard test method for pH value of facial cleansers. The results are as follows:

Swipe right to see more

The pH value of amino acid and ordinary surfactant facial cleansers is basically between 5 and 8, which is relatively mild. The pH value of No. 7 Multi F is 8.43. We speculate that this product is compounded with soap-based surfactants. Friends who know more can leave a message to share.

The pH value of soap-based facial cleansers is generally high, exceeding 9, but there is no need to worry, as they are all within the national standard range (4~11).

Do you generally believe that amino acid cleansers are gentler than soap-based cleansers and more suitable for sensitive skin? In order to verify this statement, we selected 12 facial cleansers for irritation testing.

Refer to SN/T 2329-2009 "Chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane test for eye irritation/corrosion of cosmetics"

According to the different properties of the products (paste/transparent liquid), the laboratory adopted two evaluation methods. We selected the irritation test results of 7 cream facial cleansers as a demonstration:

In general, amino acid facial cleansers are indeed milder than soap-based ones, but this is not absolute. For example, amino acid B, perhaps because of the addition of salicylic acid, is even more irritating than soap-based facial cleansers.

Therefore, when buying a facial cleanser, in addition to paying attention to the type of surfactants, you should also pay attention to whether it contains some irritating ingredients, such as ethanol, salicylic acid, etc.

In order to summarize the purchase suggestions for reference within the scope of Dad's evaluation, we grabbed 15 friends and went to a certain efficacy laboratory in Shanghai... (Yes, you read that right: liquid foundation evaluation, lipstick evaluation, children's face cream evaluation... one business trip per month√)

As a "rinse-off product", the most important function of facial cleansers is cleaning power. As for those facial cleansers that promote removing spots, acne, and shrinking pores, you should just take a look (don't buy them!)

At present, there is no national standard for reference for the cleansing power test of facial cleansers.

After consultation with the laboratory, we used the German CK MPA-580 multi-probe skin testing system to test the amount of oil on the skin surface of volunteers before and after using the samples.

By measuring the change in the amount of oil on the volunteers' skin surface before and 20 minutes after washing their faces, the "oil removal rate" of the sample, that is, its cleaning ability, was finally calculated.

Swipe right to see more

Judging from the test results, most products have good cleaning power. Friends who pursue cleaning effects can choose the following products:

After reading this, I wonder if you are wondering why many amino acid facial cleansers have stronger cleansing power than soap-based ones?

This may be because many amino acid facial cleansers are also compounded with other surfactants, such as cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, etc., which ensure the mildness of the product while improving its cleaning ability.

Therefore, the “mildness” of amino acid facial cleansers is not due to their “weak” cleaning power.

"Rinse-off products" are, as the name suggests, products that stay on the skin for a short time. So if facial cleansers can hydrate the skin, then what are the uses of lotions, essences, and creams?

After seeing this, some friends will definitely say, "I use xx facial cleanser and it really doesn't make my skin dry or tight?" Well, you are right!

As proven in the previous section, facial cleansers will more or less remove oil from the skin. When there is less oil, the skin will naturally feel dry.

The cleansing power of products is different, and the degree of "drying out" is also different; some products also add glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, etc. as moisturizers, which can also reduce skin moisture loss to a certain extent.

Therefore, we used the CK MPA-580 multi-probe skin testing system to test the changes in transepidermal water loss on the skin surface before and after using facial cleanser.

According to the test results, we think the following samples have good "moisturizing power" and can be considered by people with dry skin and sensitive skin:

On a sunny afternoon, we caught 30 friends who came to the company bathroom to use the toilet and asked them to wash their faces "on the way". Everyone was "very happy"!

Everyone washed their face according to their usual habits, left it for 5 minutes, then applied skin care products, and finally filled out this "Facial Cleanser Trial Questionnaire."

Due to limited space, we have summarized the "pitfalls" of some samples in the article, mainly focusing on odor, rinsing and fake slippery feeling; but since everyone's feelings are different, we hope that everyone can refer to them selectively.

The full trial report of 30 samples can be found at the end of the article.

There are also surprise benefits!

Actually, there are two main reasons for doing this facial cleanser review: first, it has been 4 years since the last facial cleanser review, and during this period, many excellent domestic brands have emerged and are worth recommending;

Secondly, the "soap base harmfulness theory" has been gaining more and more attention in recent years, so we feel it is very necessary to let everyone know through actual testing whether it is the product or the people with "ulterior motives" that are harmful.

Finally, we have also summarized the "Facial Cleanser Purchase and Use Suggestions" for everyone as usual, please check it out -

Editor | Yuanyuan, Caicai

Design | Suansuan, Damao

Source: Dad Review