The thicker and creamier the cleanser, the better. Here are my 4 favourites for very dry skin.
Very dry skin is my current skin type, so I understand this one personally. I mostly cleanse with a foam, but as we head into winter my skin wants extra moisture from every single step, and that is when I switch to my cream cleansers.
1. Vanessa Megan Petitgrain pH Balancing Cream Cleanser
My favourite cleanser of all time, and the one I am using right now. It's thick, it melts everything off, and it washes away with nothing left sitting on your skin. And the smell, it is such a pleasure to use. It says pH balancing on the label, and while I am never 100% sure what that means, my skin always feels incredibly clean and soft after I use it. It's a multi-award winner, enriched with shea butter, petitgrain and may chang, and it is lovely on dry and peri-menopausal skin.
2. Juniper Nourishing Cream Cleanser
Juniper is a practitioner-only brand, based right here in Warriewood, just near my warehouse. The only reason I can bring it to you at Clean Nectarine is Mel, our naturopath on staff, and this is the one Mel always recommends to our customers. It's made for normal to dry skin, with certified organic vitamins A, E and C plus omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, and it's great for anyone with sensitive skin or skin conditions like mild eczema.
3. LAMAV Hydra-Calm Cream Cleanser
In my late 30s I swore by La Mav's orange foaming cleanser, but my skin is too dry for it now. The Hydra-Calm gives me the same great cleanse in a creamy formulation made for dry and more mature skin. It starts from an aloe vera leaf juice base with avocado and camellia oil, chamomile to condition and calm, and an antioxidant trio of kakadu plum, mountain pepper leaf and acai oil, all Australian natives.
4. Antipodes Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser
Antipodes is a brand I really rate, and their ingredients have clinical studies behind them, but they do use a lot of essential oils, so if your skin is sensitive a lot of the range might not suit you. This one is the exception, made for sensitive skin: an organic cream base, dermatologically approved and fragrance-free, with antioxidant-rich New Zealand Pinot Noir grapes (their Vinanza Oxifend extract) to help reduce the appearance of redness. It takes off every trace of makeup, and I love that it comes in a metal tube, great for travelling or throwing into a gym or overnight bag.
My guide to choosing a cleanser by skin type goes through every option if you are not sure a cream cleanser is right for you. And if your skin is as dry as mine, cleansing is only step one. My step by step guide to supporting your skin barrier with ceramides covers what to layer on next.
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