MILK AND CREAM CLEANSERS ARE UNDERRATED.

Cream cleanser kind of had a bad reputation for me. The first time I have ever tried it, I was living in Oman and I was in my heavy foundation, heavy eyeliner phase. I can still remember it vividly, I was looking in the mirror in horror because I have washed my face two times already and my mascara is still smeared under my eyes. I looked like somebody has punched me in both eyes. I thought to myself, "Why do they even formulate this thing? It doesn't lather, it doesn't remove anything. It doesn't work at all."

Fast-forward to now, I'm sitting in front of my computer trying to write about my newly found fondness of milk and cream cleansers.

Now, I will say that these non-foaming cleansers are the perfect cleanser for all types of skin. It is not too drying for dry skin, the perfect balance for normal skin, and not too oil stripping for oily and even acne-prone skin. 

As a person with oily and acne prone skin, I found that milk and cream cleansers are great for my skin. They do not make my skin super dry and tight after washing. If anything, they even add back moisture into my skin. This has been particularly helpful for me during the drier months when I needed to preserve as much skin moisture as possible.

Some people might have an issue with their cleansing ability since they don't lather and don't give that squeaky clean feeling. I guess we have been used to the idea that a good cleaning agent is something that foams up and lathers very well. 

Throughout the process of getting to know my skin, I found that my skin does not like that squeaky clean feeling at all. Yes, foaming cleansers do remove all the dirt and grime on the skin but at the same time, they also remove necessary oils our skin needs to keep hydration in. They cannot recognize what to take off and what to leave behind so our skin ends up stripped of moisture after cleansing. Non-foaming cleansers, on the other hand, removes dirt and grime gently without stripping the oils and leaves our skin closer to a normal state.

HOW I USE IT.

I am a fan of double cleansing and I found that the secret to making this type of cleanser works for my skin is by pairing them with a good make-up remover. 

- 1st step: I do my double cleansing only at night so what I would normally do is remove my make-up with the make-up remover on a cotton disc. (I'm currently using the Garnier 2-in-1 Make-Up Remover.) This removes my make-up and all the dirt and grime I have accumulated on my face throughout the day through emulsification and physical friction as well. I do this step once or twice depending on how much make-up I wore that day.

- 2nd step: I'll rinse my face with water and pat it dry.

- 3rd step: Then, I'll use the milk cleanser on a dry face as my second cleanser. I'll then rinse it with warm water and pat it to dry.  

My rationale: Most make-up remover is rich in surfactants which makes it very effective in removing make-up and dirt on the skin. But similar to foaming cleansers, they do not also recognize what to remove and what to leave behind. So, using a milk cleanser after does not only make sure that my skin is cleansed, it also gives back some moisture that the surfactant from the micellar water might have taken away. I have tried pairing my milk/cream cleansers with an oil make-up remover to avoid surfactant use but the milk cleanser just ended up mixing with the leftover oil on my face and there was little product left to actually clean my face.

I've been using three different milk/cream cleansers interchangeably for five months now and I am really happy with the results I'm getting. I've experienced no breakouts from it and my skin feels plumper.

THINGS TO TAKE NOTE OF.

- Make sure you are not allergic or sensitive to any ingredients used in the formulation.

- ALWAYS rinse the cleanser with water to make sure that there's no more of it left on your face.

Milk cleansers are very good facial cleansers if used correctly. I 'd say give them a try(or a try again.) You'll never know what you're missing.

See you in my next post. Stay healthy and balanced! 

xx