How to choose a cleanser — the five formats and which skin they suit.

The cleanser is the most consequential step in a skincare routine. It is used twice daily on most skin — more often than any serum, moisturiser, or treatment. A cleanser that strips the barrier or disrupts the skin's pH starts every subsequent step from a compromised position. Getting the cleanser right is the single most reliable way to reduce reactivity, improve moisturiser performance, and make the rest of the routine more effective.

What a cleanser should do

A cleanser's function is to remove the day's accumulation: oxidised sebum, sunscreen, environmental pollution, and topically applied products that have served their purpose. It should not disturb the skin's pH, strip the lipid components of the stratum corneum, or leave the skin feeling tight and dry.

The sensation of "squeaky clean" skin is a reliable indicator that a cleanser is too harsh. The skin barrier's lipid matrix — ceramides, fatty acids, cholesterol — has been disrupted. The skin compensates by increasing sebum production, which is why harsh cleansers often produce worse oil control outcomes than gentle ones.

The five cleanser formats

Foam cleansers produce a lathering foam on contact with water and are typically formulated with sulphate-based surfactants (sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium laureth sulphate) or gentler alternatives (sodium cocoyl isethionate, decyl glucoside). They provide the deepest clean of the five formats and are most appropriate for oily or acne-prone skin that needs effective sebum removal. For dry or sensitive skin, most foam cleansers are too aggressive — the high lather correlates with higher surfactant concentration and greater barrier disruption.

Gel cleansers are water-based, low-lather formulations that rinse cleanly. They balance effective cleansing with reduced stripping potential. Gel cleansers are a practical choice for combination, balanced, and mild-to-moderately oily skin types. They remove the day's buildup without the barrier disruption associated with high-foam products.

Cream and lotion cleansers are emollient-rich and low-surfactant. They cleanse through a combination of mild emulsifying agents and oils that bind to sebum and particulates, which are then rinsed away. They are appropriate for dry, sensitive, or mature skin where barrier preservation is the priority. They may leave a slight residue on oilier skin types.

Balm and oil cleansers are applied to dry skin and emulsify on contact with water. The oil base dissolves oil-soluble debris — sunscreen, makeup, sebum — without the water requirement that creates the surfactant problem. Balm and oil cleansers are an effective first step in a double-cleanse (followed by a water-based cleanser) for skin that wears sunscreen or makeup. They are also excellent standalone cleansers for dry, barrier-compromised, or eczema-prone skin that cannot tolerate any surfactant exposure. They are not appropriate for oily skin used as a standalone — they can leave residue that contributes to congestion.

Micellar water is a no-rinse cleanser using micelles — tiny spherical surfactant structures that attract and capture oil and impurities on a cotton pad. It is not a primary cleanser. It removes light surface debris and is most useful as a travel format, a first-pass remover for sensitive skin, or a low-water option when rinsing is impractical. Used as the sole cleanser on skin that wears SPF or makeup, it leaves residue.

The pH question

Skin has a naturally acidic pH — approximately 4.7 to 5.5. Many cleansers, particularly bar soaps and high-pH foaming formulations, have a pH of 8 to 10. This alkaline exposure temporarily disrupts the acid mantle and creates conditions less hostile to pathogens and more hostile to the skin's resident microbiome. The skin re-acidifies over time, but repeated disruption is cumulatively damaging to the barrier.

A well-formulated cleanser should have a pH of approximately 5 to 6. This information is not always on the label, but lower-surfactant, cream, and oil-based formats tend to be closer to this range than high-foaming products.

Matching format to skin type

Skin type	Best format	Avoid
Oily, acne-prone	Gel, foam	Balm/oil (standalone)
Combination	Gel, low-foam	High-lather foam
Dry	Cream, balm/oil	Foam, high-surfactant gel
Sensitive / reactive	Cream, balm/oil, low-surfactant gel	Foam, sulphate-containing
Normal, balanced	Gel, cream	No strong exclusions

One reliable principle

The cleanser should leave the skin comfortable, not tight. After rinsing and patting dry, the skin should feel soft and slightly supple — not immediately requiring a moisturiser to feel tolerable. If the cleanser requires a moisturiser to counteract its effect, the cleanser is the problem.

The Lux & Glo position

The foundational ritual begins with oil cleansing. The cleansing oil removes the day's SPF, sebum, and surface debris without surfactant disruption — functioning as the first step in a double cleanse for skin that wears sunscreen, or as a standalone for dry and sensitive skin that needs barrier-first care. This is a deliberate choice: the ritual is designed to start from a prepared, barrier-intact surface, not a stripped one.