Clearing Skin Wash

This water-soluble cleanser for acne-prone skin makes the same mistake as most anti-acne products: It contains drying and irritating ingredients that make acne and its resulting redness worse instead of better.

Of chief concern here are the numerous irritating plant extracts in this product, plus the menthol and camphor. All of these can cause your skin extra problems such as redness and increased oil production, because that’s what irritating ingredients do to skin. Plus, irritation hurts your skin’s healing process (which won’t help acne; see More Info for details). In addition, the numerous irritants in this cleanser are a distinct problem to use around the eyes. Dermalogica included some soothing plant extracts, too, but they’re of little use to your skin when joined by potent irritants and a drying cleansing agent.

The amount of salicylic acid (also known as BHA) is wasted in a cleanser. When used in a well formulated leave-on product, BHA can work beautifully to gently exfoliate skin. However, BHA is far less effective for exfoliation, if at all, in a cleanser or scrub. That’s because it's rinsed off before they it begins to work. If you are hoping for this cleanser to provide exfoliating benefits, think again. A leave-on product with salicylic acid is the best way to go if you’re struggling with breakouts.

Pros:

Contains some soothing plant extracts.

Cons:

Contains a number of potentially skin-sensitizing ingredients.

Formula includes a drying cleansing agent.

The salicylic acid included won't be able to exfoliate skin as claimed.

More Info:

Skin-Sensitizing Ingredients: We cannot stress this enough: Sensitizing, harsh, abrasive, or fragrant ingredients are bad for all skin types. Daily application of skincare products that contain these types of skin-aggravating ingredients is a major way we unknowingly do our skin a disservice!  

Sensitizing ingredients are a problem because they can lead to visible problems that include redness, rough skin, dull skin, dryness, increases in oil production, clogged pores, and contribute to making signs of aging worse.

Switching to non-irritating, gentle skincare products can make all the difference in the world. Non-irritating skincare products are those packed with beneficial ingredients that also replenish and soothe skin without any volatility, including those present in natural fragrant ingredients.

A surprising fact: Even though you might not see the negative influence of using products that contain sensitizing ingredients, skin the damage will still be taking place. It doesn’t need to be evident on the surface! Research has demonstrated that you don’t always need to see or feel the effects on your skin for your skin to be suffering the impact and the visible damage may not become apparent for a long time.

For this reason, it’s best to eliminate, or minimize as much as possible, your exposure to ingredients that can be sensitizing on skin. There are many products that contain effective ingredients that are also completely non-irritating so there’s no reason to put your skin at risk with products that include ingredients research has shown can be a problem.

References for this information

Journal of Dermatological Sciences, January 2015, issue 1, pages 28-36. 

International Journal of Cosmetic Science, August 2014, issue 4, pages 379-385

Journal of Clinical Dermatology, November 2014, issue 5, online access

Clinical Dermatology, May-June 2012, issue 3, pages 257-262

Food and Chemical Toxicology, February 2008, pages 446—475

American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2003, issue 11, pages 789-798

Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008, issue 4, pages 191-202

Aging, March 2012, pages 166-175

Chemical Immunology and Allergy, March 2012, pages 77-80