The Best Water Based Cleansers for Acne Prone Skin

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This post discusses the best water based cleansers for acne prone and clog prone skin. All of my water based cleanser recommendations are gentle, fragrance and essential oil free.

Best Water Based Cleansers for Acne Prone Skin

These water based cleansers are not in any particular order – when I discover new ones I just add them on to the end of the blog post, and most of them are suitable for all skin types unless stated otherwise.

These don’t contain any exfoliating actives, such as salicylic acid, because my personal philosophy is that cleansers should simply… cleanse. If you use an exfoliating cleanser twice a day, or even daily, you are exfoliating minimum 7-14x a week!

I much prefer to have a failsafe water based cleanser that you can use in any scenario, without having to worry about your skin barrier health.

1. Dermatica Balancing Glycerin Gel Cleanser

I genuinely really like Dermatica’s range of simple but effective products. I like that they’re all fragrance and essential oil free, are reasonably priced and have no-frills formulas.

This Dermatica Balancing Glycerin Gel Cleanser water based cleanser is a good option for pretty much anyone – and I really doubt it will cause breakouts for most people! It’s simple, gentle and effective which is all you need for a water based cleanser.

2. Dr Sam’s Flawless Water Based Cleanser

I’ve been using the Dr Sam’s Flawless water based cleanser for years now and I still haven’t tired of it. It’s super gentle and contains allantoin and aloe vera, plus it doesn’t foam which I love.

The texture might take a little getting used to, but I’ve come to look forward to using it. I do have a discount code (NATALIEONEIL) for Dr Sam’s as I am a long time user and recommend her range any day.

My favourite Dr Sam’s products are the Flawless Cleanser and Neutralising Gel.

3. SOS Cleanse Facial Cleanser

The SOS Cleanse Facial Cleanser is a simple gel cleanser with just eight ingredients. SOS Serum are a somewhat unknown brand who (I think) ship mostly from Amazon.

I have also gotten on pretty well with their SOS SPF, although after a while it did give me a few suspicious forehead spots – though none on my cheeks. Overall their products are right up my street – simple, without fragrance and enjoyable to use.

The only major downside of this water based cleanser is that it’s a little expensive for the amount of product you get.

4. Aveeno Calming Oat Cleanser

Aveeno is a great drugstore range, in general I get on well with the Aveeno Calm & Restore products and also recommend their Aveeno Oat Barrier Serum. This Aveeno Calm & Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser is a fan favourite for a reason – it’s cheap, cheerful, gentle and nice to use.

This one is pretty affordable and often on sale for £5! This is not really a gel cleanser, moreso it has the consistency of a very thick toner that you massage into your face.

5. Hyram Centella and Green Tea Hydrating Gel Cleanser

I don’t really watch skincare blogger Hyram on YouTube anymore (or consume much skincare content to be honest!) but I do like this water based cleanser, Hyram Centella & Green Tea cleanser, he has created.

If you know me, you’ll know centella is one of my favourite ingredients. It’s a barrier health ingredient which, as long as it doesn’t disagree with you, you can never really have too much of.

6. [Coat]s Gentle Hydrating Facial Cleanser with Ceramides

Ever since I came across the brand [Coat]s I’ve fallen in love with this water based cleanser, Coats Gentle Hydrating Cleanser. The way it makes your face feel so much softer after you use it is something I’ve not experienced before.

In general, I really love the [Coat]s range and I feel they don’t get enough airtime at all on social media.

The main downside of the brand is that they’re difficult to get outside of the UK and US. At the time of writing this, they’re primarily stocked on Amazon and in CVS in the states, and in some Boots stores.

7. Curel Foaming Gentle Cleansing Face Wash Cleanser

Japanese brand, Curel, is another skincare brand I gravitate towards. This time they’ve created a gentle foaming formula, which is perfect if you simply prefer the feel of a foaming wash without the stripping surfactants they often contain.

I think the Curel Foaming Facial Wash is a good choice if you have oily skin and want to feel refreshed.

8. Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel

Now we’re venturing into K beauty recommendations, and one brand I really like is Haruharu Wonder. Their black rice range is especially minimal, simple and gentle on the skin.

This Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Cleansing gel goes well with their matching Black Rice oil cleanser – these make a great double cleansing routine for acne prone skin. I love that they make both fragranced and non fragranced versions of their products.

9. Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3%

The Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3% is another great option for a water based cleanser for oily skin, especially if your skin responds well to niacinamide.

It is a little on the pricier side, but if you’re wanting to splurge for a more premium feeling and packaging, this is a good one.

The 3% niacinamide is a good percentage – not too high or too low. It should help with evening out skin tone without causing irritation.

10. Inkey List Glycerin Gentle Purifying Cleanser

I get the impression that the Inkey List Glycerin Gentle Purifying Cleanser is a copycat of the Dermatica Glycerin Cleanser, but hey – the more the merrier for us!

Another super simple, glycerin based cleanser, designed to cleanse but not strip the skin – exactly what we need for the second stage of cleansing in a double cleansing routine, or a first morning cleanse.

11. The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser

The Ordinary’s Glucoside Foaming Cleansing is also very simple, but offers more of a foaming feeling without being stripping. I think the Ordinary make a lot of great, simple products, but I fear their ingredients-first approach has encouraged people to use a few too many actives.

Nonetheless I think this cleanser can work well for most skin types and keep your skin feeling fresh.

11. Geek & Gorgeous Jelly Joker

The Geek & Gorgeous Jelly Joker is cult because the brand is relatively unknown, the products are cheap but really good!

Whilst I love using this cleanser I have to be honest, it started to break me out! I was really shocked and disappointed, but I don’t hold it against the product because my skin is super fussy. Also, tonnes of my followers use this after I mentioned it and it’s their holy grail cleanser.

12. Paula’s Choice CALM Ultra-Gentle Cleanser

The Paula’s Choice CALM range is great for easily upset skin, it’s just a shame the brand has become a little pricey. Even so, the Paula’s Choice CALM Ultra-Gentle Cleanser could be great for a deep cleanse that doesn’t irritate or upset your skin.

13. Prequel Gleanser

The Prequel Gleanser has gone semi viral, and for good reason. Prequel is a dermfluencer brand by Dr Sam Ellis, and I have to say the products are great. They match my philosophy on what skincare should be: simple and effective.

This cleanser has a really unique texture, a bit like snail mucin if it were in a cleanser format (but it contains no snail mucin!). Hard to get in the UK unfortunately, but one for my US readers.

Tips on how to use a water based cleanser

• Always use warm or tepid water. Hot water does not ‘clean better’ and can instead dry out your skin, cause broken capillaries and skin barrier damage.
• If you use a face cloth, make sure to change it daily or every other day. If the cloth doesn’t dry out over night (on a radiator, for example) it’s going to begin gathering bacteria. If it smells – that’s bacteria!
• Cleanse for at least one minute. If you’re cleansing for less than 30 seconds you’re probably not actually cleaning your face. Try setting a stopwatch on your phone to time yourself.

How to tell if a cleanser is water based

It’s actually really easy to see if a cleanser is water or oil based. If it’s water based, the first ingredient is almost always water or aqua, since the cleanser is made mostly of water.

Oil based cleansers usually do not list water in the first 5-6 ingredients, and often contain no water at all.

What to look for in a water based cleanser

• No fragrance (natural or artificial), often called ‘parfum’, linalool, limonene
• No essential oils (look for ____oil) after things like orange fruit oil, bergamot oil, lavender oil
• No exfoliants like salicylic acid

Your water based cleanser really doesn’t have to be expensive, just gentle, simple and does the job!

Can water based cleanser remove sunscreen?

A lot of people get confused by the double cleansing trend, because they wonder if their water based cleanser is enough to remove sunscreen.

It depends on a few factors:

• The individual cleanser – some water based cleansers are more powerful than others
• The technique – cleansing with any cleanser for 20 seconds won’t be as effective as using it for a full minute

Honestly, whilst I do think some water based cleansers can do a good job of removing sunscreen and makeup, I notice such a big difference when I double cleanse that I don’t think I’ll ever quit. So my answer is yes they can, but I think your skincare results probably won’t be as good overall – that’s just my opinion!

This post showed you the best water based cleansers for acne prone skin.

You may also like:

• How to Double Cleanse Your Face (10 Tips for an Effective Routine)
• The Best Oil Cleansers for Acne Prone Skin