Skin Care | Gel Cleansers

Gel cleansers seem to be a bit of a marmite product. Some people swear by them, others avoid like the plague! I think the stigma around them is that a lot of versions are incredibly harsh, contain alcohol so strip the skin, whereas other cleansers such as cream and balms don't seem to do this.

I have tried a multitude of cleansers, really a lot, most of which hasn't done a thing to my skin, but the one cleanser that's really made a difference has been a gel cleanser - so for me this was a major thumbs up in terms of this form of cleansing. I have oily skin and I find that cream cleansers can be a bit too gentle in that they don't take way the oil and grease from my face that the gels seem to do. So for me, the fact that gels are a tad harsher works well in my favour. They help to really strip the excess oil from my face to get to the dirt underneath and give it a really good clean. 

My personal favourite is definitely Origins Zero Oil cleanser - a gel cleanser through and through this is the one I always go back to. With most skin products I usually notice my skin getting worse before it gets better, with this is got better almost instantly and hand on heart it is the only cleanser I can say this about. It's incredibly fresh and doesn't dry out my skin. There is no stiffness afterwards, which is definitely another result of some gel cleansers, and my skin still feels soft. Want to know why - no alcohol, big thumbs up all around.

I'm not going to lie, I have used some gel cleansers that aren't my cup of tea. The most recent being this offering from Nip + Fab, their Clean Gel Fix. I was incredibly excited to use this, however I used this before checking the ingredients and it had a very chemically smell to it and left my face feeling overly stripped and stiff afterwards. When checking the ingredients I found the main difference between this and the Origins offering was that this contained alcohol. Don't get me wrong, it does clean my skin, however this does fall into the harsh gel cleanser stereotype for me. I had to use a ridiculous amount of moisturiser after using this - which we all know is not great for a foundation base (can anyone say slippery base!)

I think you have to be of a certain skin type to appreciate gel cleansers. I've used many and  there are some I hate and others I like. My pick would definitely be the above from Origins. If you have oily skin like me it is definitely worth looking into a gel cleanser - but do your research on the ingredients. My skin appears to love Salicyclic Acid (which is in the Origins cleanser) so if you are like me definitely look for that. But do avoid those with alcohol contained as it can be incredibly harsh for you skin.

If you have dry or sensitive skin I wouldn't go for a gel as it will irritate and be way to harsh for you- definitely go from something like a cream cleanser as it will be more gentle on your skin.

What type of cleansers suit your face? Are you pro or anti gel?