If you have sensitive, dry or blemish-prone skin, or you’re simply just looking for a new product to add to your daily skincare routine, cleansing balms could be the product for you. Here, we look at the best cleansing balms to use depending on your skin type, the best ingredients we think you should be looking out for and how to apply and remove cleansing balms for the greatest effect.
Is a cleansing balm good for oily skin?
If your skin tends to be quite oily, you might spend your life looking for skincare products that are going to help reduce shine in any problem areas, typically your “T-zone” area, across your forehead and down to your nose and chin.
Cleansing balms are most often an oil-based product, which might instinctively put off those of us with oily skin. You could be forgiven for thinking that putting an oil-based cleanser on top of already oily skin could only work to worsen the problem, not solve it.
RELATED: What Are The Best Products For My Skin Type?
However, just because your skin is oily does not mean that it’s not important to moisturise. Neglecting to hydrate oily skin can actually cause your skin more problems; you just may not need to use as much product as someone with a drier skin type.
As a cleansing product, you will want to gently massage your cleansing balm into oilier areas. This will remove your skin’s excess sebum whilst leaving your skin lightly moisturised and refreshed.
Are cleansing balms drying for the skin?
As cleansing balms are efficient at removing excess oil from the skin, some of us might presume that they actually dry out your skin. If your skin is particularly prone to dryness, this is obviously an effect you may wish to avoid.
Fortunately, the moisturising ingredients of most cleansing balms will help prevent your skin from feeling dry. Our Anew Clean Transforming Cleansing Balm contains natural moisturising ingredients including mango, shea butter and cocoa butter. These ingredients help your skin retain its natural oils whilst removing any excess sebum which could give you an oily appearance.
RELATED: Which Type of Face Mask Is for Me?
Rather than being “drying”, cleansing balms can be a soothing, moisturising solution for anyone with a dry skin condition. If you happen to have a severe dry skin condition, however, we do recommend reaching out to your general health practitioner for advice before applying any new product to your face. They should be able to advise you on ingredients that might be aggravating for your particular skin type. If you notice any of these being used in a cleansing balm you’re interested in trying, we’d highly recommend finding an alternative product.
Cleansing balm: is it good for blemished skin?
One of the added bonuses of using a cleansing balm is that it can help blemished skin, and even has preventative properties when it comes to spots and acne.
Cleansers like our Distillery Clean Break Cleanser are highly effective at removing make-up. In doing so, you are removing the dirt and impurities that could otherwise clog your pores and cause spots and blemishes to appear. When you efficiently remove the dirt and make-up from your face, you remove these particles that could otherwise get caught in your skin and cause a small infection that will then appear as a spot.
Cleansing balms make great make-up removers and can aid any other acne treatments you might be taking. In turn, this will not only limit your acne and other blemishes but even limit any acne scarring you might otherwise have suffered.
Other tips for ensuring your skin remains blemish-free all focus around excellent hygiene routines. As well as developing your own skincare routine, try avoiding hairstyles where your hair is in your face; sebum from your hair can get onto your skin and cause breakouts.
RELATED: Maskne: How to Keep Your Skin Blemish-Free
You may also wish to avoid touching your face as much as possible, as dirt from your hands can similarly act to clog up your pores and cause dark spots and blemishes. If you do need to touch your face, for example, to apply make-up, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly beforehand.
If you apply your make-up with sponges or brushes, it’s also a good idea to make sure you keep these as clean as possible. You may even be interested in our guide on how to clean your make-up brushes.
How should I apply my cleansing balm?
Whatever product you are applying to your skin, we always recommend that you wash your hands first, and apply using gentle motions only. Scrubbing product hard into your skin might only aggravate it, and may even push dirt deeper into your pores, causing breakouts.
To start, you will want to take no more than a grape-sized amount of product and rub it together in your fingertips. This will turn the butter-like cleanser into more of an oily texture as it warms up.
Next, gently massage the warmed product into the skin on your face. We recommend focusing on your neck, décolletage and eye area as well, as these are the areas that can often show the first signs of ageing. Rub the product in using circular motions, and remove it using warm water and a muslin cloth.
If you’re going for a double cleanse (and that’s always a good idea), follow this up with a wash for about a minute with lukewarm water, then pat your face dry with a soft towel.
Taking good care of your skin is part of any good self-care regimen. Read more ideas on how to care for your own wellbeing with these self-care tips.