Beauty Reviews : Facial Wash

Everyone knows that you wash your face when you get up and before you  go to bed. *What's the point?* If you've ever gone for any length of time with out scrubbing up you  probably know the answer. A cleanser's purpose is to remove dirt, oil, pollution and dead skin cells that have built up on the superficial layers of the skin during the day.

 A cleanser can come in a varitety of forms:

Cream/oil based cleanser: Thick and based on long chain hydrocarbons 
and/or vegetable oils.
While it is true that cream cleansers dissolve sebum ( the fatty 
substance produced by skin to keep it soft and supple ) they do not dissolve in 
water so need to be removed by a warm facecloth or cotton wool.
This is the best option for dry/mature/sensitive skin.

Foaming Cleanser: These are an amazing group of cleansers based on 
compounds called surface active agents or surfactants, for short.
They have only been around for 60 years and have a multitude of uses.
One part of each molecule dissolves in organic substances such as oil, 
the other end of the molecule dissolves in water, that's why they can sweep 
dirt and oil right off your skin and down the drain.
The problem is many foaming facial washes on the market are too 
concentrated or harsh for most skin types and leave your face feeling dry and tight.

People with eczema and dry, flaky skins are generally advised to avoid 
surfactants whether they are dish washing detergent, shampoo or laundry 
powder.

Surfactants like Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Lauryl Glucoside are quite 
gentle and suitable for use on Babies' skin, Sodium Laureth/Lauryl Sulfate and 
similar detergents are very harsh and not wise to use on fragile or 
delicate skin.

Foaming cleansers can contain a variety of ingredients like salicylic 
acid, AHAs and BHAs, essential oils, etc... they are of course, of little use 
as they will only end up being washed down the sink after a few seconds 
contact with the skin.

Facial Wipes: A relatively new appearance on the cosmetic scene, touted 
as being the one step solution to every beauty ritual.
Be careful with these, they often contain alcohol as their second or 
third ingredient, why cosmetic companies still put this irritating, drying 
agent in their products is beyond me.
If you use alcohol based cosmetics you will only end up with red, dry 
skin.

If you suffer from acne or have oily skin, avoid any cleanser with any 
amount of paraffinium liquidium ( liquid paraffin ) this is a waxy long chain 
hydrocarbon that blocks pores and leads to blackheads and possibly 
breakouts.

For your skin to be at its best you should only use the gentlest 
cleanser possible.
    

Some of my favorites are:
	Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Wash Pond's Sensitive Skin Facial Wash Johnson's pH 5.5 3 in 1 Cleansing Lotion RoC Enydrial Vichy Demaquillage Integrale Lancome Clarifiance Almay TimeOff Cleansing Lotion.

Article by Dominick - 2001
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