The boring cleanser people keep searching for: why a face wash should do less, and what this one leaves out

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Researched. We have not used this one long enough to give you a verdict, and we would rather say so than invent one. What follows is how it works, who it suits, and what it will not do. When we have used it properly, this page carries the verdict and the date.

Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser

This is about as plain as a face wash gets, and searches for it are rising. That is not a contradiction. More and more people have found out the hard way that their skin problems started with a cleanser that was doing too much.

What a cleanser is for

A cleanser has one job: remove sunscreen, makeup, oil and grime, and leave the skin's own barrier — the layer of fats that keeps water in and irritants out — intact. Harsh cleansers do the first part brilliantly and wreck the second. That shows up as tightness after washing, stinging when you apply anything else, and redness.

A gentle cleanser does a little less cleaning, and leaves the barrier alone. For most skin, that is the better trade.

What this one leaves out

According to the listing, it is free of dyes, fragrance and masking fragrance, lanolin, parabens and formaldehyde, as well as oil, soap, botanical extracts, essential oils and harsh cleansing agents. That list is the point. Fragrance and essential oils are among the most common reasons for skin reactions, and botanical extracts, however natural they sound, are another.

The listing also says it is pH-balanced, closer to the skin's own slightly acidic surface than traditional soap, and dermatologist tested, and that it is suitable for children.

Who it suits

Sensitive, reactive or dry skin. Anyone using strong active ingredients — retinoids, exfoliating acids, prescription creams — who needs the rest of the routine to stay out of the way. And anyone trying to work out what is irritating their skin, since a cleanser with almost nothing in it removes one suspect.

We covered the same thinking for a damaged barrier in a ceramide cream for a barrier that has had enough.

How to use it

Lukewarm water, a small amount massaged over damp skin for thirty seconds or so, rinsed off, and pat dry. Follow quickly with your next step — a hyaluronic serum on damp skin, or moisturizer. For heavy makeup or water-resistant sunscreen, an oil cleanser or balm first, then this, works better than scrubbing harder.

What it will not do

It will not remove heavy, long-wear makeup or water-resistant sunscreen on its own. It will not exfoliate or deep-clean pores. And it will not fix skin conditions that need a doctor; it simply avoids adding to the problem.

The product

A plain, fragrance-free, pH-balanced face wash for sensitive skin, with an unusually long list of things left out. Sold by Amazon when we checked.

The one people are searching for is the Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser, 8 fl oz.

Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser

We do not print prices here, because a price we typed last month is a price that is wrong today.

Written by JamieG in Garner Town, Tennessee.