A Tale of Two Cleansers

If you're in the know with the latest cleansing trend, it seems there's been a transition from the traditional foaming cleansers to those with a more oily or balmy consistency. And that goes for all skin types. Out with the old belief that a cleanser's job is to clean with the skin with a thick foamy lather and in with the new that natural oils should be included to nourish.

As someone with a normal skin that suffers from dehydration, nourishment is key. I am not a fan of foaming cleansers, personally, even if the foaming agent is naturally-derived. I tend to swing towards balms, oils and milks. With a million and one options on the market today, it's so hard to know what to go for. I've tried a good handful from all different price points and thought I'd share two of my favourites.
1. Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser: This was about $10 for 120g, obviously purchased in the States. Burt's Bees products are much more expensive over here in the UK, but I still pay the price because I adore the products - this being one of them. This was (tube finished now) a 100% natural balm/gel cleanser, fantastic for massaging into the skin and removing with a flannel. It removed make-up, dirt and grime and really left the skin soft and nourished but without any kind of greasy film. It smells, as you would imagine of orange and feels really luxurious on the skin.

INGREDIENTS: Glycerin, olive fruit oil, limonene, oat kernel flour, orange oil, oat kernel oil, lanolin, aloe leaf juice, quillaja bark extract, sunflower seed oil, beta-carotene, tocopherol (vitamin e), rosemary leaf extract, soybean oil, canola oil, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate

2. NUXE Melting Cleansing Gel: I purchased this in the M&S Beauty Hall for about £12 (125ml). It wont be to everyone's taste because of the very strong rose scent, but it doesn't really bother me or cause any irritation. It is creamier than the Burt's Bees cleanser and feels rather akin to slapping a thick moisturiser on your face to cleanse with. Again, I remove with a flannel. I find that this leaves my skin feeling really clean and fresh and bright. After having used it for the past 3 weeks I absolutely adore it and would recommend in a heart beat to someone who isn't bothered by the fragrance.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Rosa damascena flower water, macadamia seed oil, parfum/fragrance, coco-glucoside, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, glycerin, benzyl alcohol, capryloyl glycine, sodium hydroxide, citric acid, allantoin, tetrasodium EDTA, dehydroacetic acid, soybean oil, beta-carotene, carrot root extract, tocopherol

Note - I almost always do a double cleanse in the evenings. For both of these cleansers, I use them by themselves in the AM (with a flannel still) and in the PM use as the second step on my routine after my Origins Clean Energy Gentle Cleansing Oil. That's just personal preference as I find an oil cleanser breaks down make-up and SPF best and then I can follow with these to cleanse and nourish my actual skin.

If you've got any recommendations, I'd love to hear about them! I hope some of you find this helpful.



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