Facial cleansing: what kind of cleanser your skin really needs

ROUTINE

Why is facial cleansing the most underrated step?

Facial cleansing is the underrated step because it is the only one that takes something away from the skin, while every other step adds something. A serum cannot make up for an unsuitable cleanser, and the way serum and cream work together depends on skin that has not been stripped beforehand. If your skin feels tight, stings or stays red after washing, the cause is more often the product before than the skincare after. The top layer of the skin is slightly acidic, and it is precisely this environment that keeps the barrier working. Traditional soaps raise the pH considerably, dissolve the skin’s own lipids in the process and make the barrier more permeable. Because this effect builds up slowly, over weeks, it is rarely linked to cleansing and is blamed on the new serum instead. That makes cleansing your face the one step that can quietly sabotage an entire routine without anyone suspecting it.

How often a day should you cleanse your face?

Once a day with a cleansing product is enough for most skin conditions, and that means in the evening. Over the course of the day, the things that genuinely need removing build up on the skin: sunscreen, make-up, sebum, fine dust. By the morning, none of that is left on the skin apart from what it has produced itself overnight, and lukewarm water removes that reliably. Cleansing twice a day makes sense if your skin wakes up visibly oily or if you exercise in the evening and cannot get to a basin afterwards. Dry and sensitive skin almost always does better with just water in the morning. Cleansing more than twice a day brings no advantage for any skin condition, not even for very shiny skin. The real question is not how clean your skin can get, but how little cleansing is enough to keep it clean while the barrier stays intact.

How can you tell your cleanser is too harsh?

You can tell a cleanser is too harsh by the squeaky-clean feeling: after drying, your skin feels clean, taut and slightly rough, and that feeling stays until you apply something. Clean does not mean squeaky. Other signs are redness that only appears after washing, sudden sensitivity to products that were fine before, fine flakes around the sides of the nose and on the chin, and skin that becomes oilier over the course of the day than it used to. That last point is often misread. Oily skin after harsh cleansing is not proof that the cleansing was necessary; it is often a reaction to it. If several of these signs come together, the cleanser is the first candidate to drop, not the serum. A simple test for this needs no product at all: for one evening, wash your face with lukewarm water only and notice how your skin feels before you apply your skincare. A persistent feeling of tightness also points to a disrupted barrier rather than a lack of moisture.

One customer wrote to us because, since switching to a strongly foaming cleansing gel, her skin had felt tight after every wash. At first she suspected the serum and wanted to know whether she should stop using it. We advised her to do the opposite and drop the morning cleanse first. From then on, she washed with lukewarm water only in the morning and was able to keep using the gel in the evening without the tightness coming back. It was not the serum.

Is water alone enough to cleanse your face?

Water alone is enough in the morning for most skin conditions, but not in the evening once sunscreen, make-up or a lot of sebum is involved. Water removes water-soluble dirt and sweat, but not oily films – and those are exactly what sits on the skin in the evening. There is also a detail that is rarely mentioned: tap water in Europe often has a pH of around 8, while, according to a study in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, the skin’s surface averages around 4.7. So even washing with plain water briefly raises the skin’s pH before it returns to its natural level. That is not an argument against water, but against the idea that cleansing is a neutral process. If you had nothing oily on your face during the day, you can easily stick to water on some evenings. Every cleanse has an effect, and your skin barrier remembers how strong it was.

What we recommend, even though we do not sell a cleanser

We recommend a mild, slightly acidic cleanser without traditional soap, fragrance or scrub particles – and we earn nothing from it. In concrete terms, that means a product that works with your skin’s environment rather than against it, rinses off completely with lukewarm water and does not leave your skin squeaky. Whether it is a gel, a milk or a balm depends more on your preference than on your skin. A review in the journal Molecules identifies traditional soaps as the product group that changes the barrier, skin lipids and pH the most, while synthetic surfactants can be formulated closer to the skin’s own environment. What comes afterwards also plays a part: the 5% niacinamide and 2% hyaluronic acid in The Duo work differently on an intact barrier than on a stripped one. All percentages apply to the Duo as a whole and are listed openly in the overview of ingredients.

When a professional is the better choice

As soon as redness, pustules, itching or flaking persist and do not respond to a milder cleanser, the issue belongs with a dermatologist rather than in a cosmetic routine. Cosmetics care for the skin’s surface and support the barrier, but they do not replace a diagnosis or treatment. This applies in particular if the symptoms always appear in the same places, if they spread despite gentle skincare, or if stinging and weeping are added to the picture. Skin that suddenly reacts to almost everything also deserves to be looked at properly rather than subjected to yet another product change. Until then, less really is more. A mild cleanser in the evening, followed by something soothing and hydrating, and nothing else. Put exfoliants, brushes and new active ingredients on hold until then. This break also helps the professional, because skin without constant product changes is much easier to assess. We have described separately what a pared-back routine for sensitive skin looks like.

Frequently asked questions