Cleansers: Best Cleansers in India and How to Use Cleansers
- Kavya Goswami
- Jun 9
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 6
Cleansing, cleaning, and washing your face is the first step to your everyday skincare routine. Can you think of using your serums and moisturizers over a dirty, oily or makeup-filled face? No, absolutely not! Are you really thinking of doing so? Then, there is a strict NO to this question.
Cleaning your face is a must, especially in the evening after your entire day. It's essential to wash your face with a cleanser to remove all the pollution, dirt, sweat, and makeup from your skin, making it feel hydrated and clear.
First step to skincare routine is "Cleansing," no matter if it's morning skincare or night skincare routine cleansing your face with water along with a face wash or cleanser is a must. But how t know what type cleanser you should be using for your skin?
Skincare and Beauty industry has created a lot of options for us which has made extremely confusing for us to decide which product will work best for us, for our skin. It's best to educate yourself and choose a product according to your skin type and needs.
Let's find out what are the top skincare ingredients you need as per your skin type, what type of cleansers you should be using, what is double cleansing, how to wash your face and much more in our beginner's guide to using cleansers.
Let's Get Real: What are Cleanser?
What are Cleansers?
Cleansers are one of those primary building block of a skincare routine that helps to remove dirt, oil, makeup, pollutants, and dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. Let's learn step-by-step that why do we need cleansers in our skincare routine and what do they actually do.
Using cleansers can help in:
Removing Impurities: When we are outside or throughout the course of a day we are susceptible to environmental assaults of excess heat, dust, dirt and pollution which sticks to our skin epidermal layer (aka Epidermis), and this can lead to breakouts and clogging of pores.
Exfoliates Dead Skin Cells: Cleansers helps to clean out outer layer of skin by scrapping away the dead cells, especially those cleansers which have actives like Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid, Mandelic Acid and Glycolic Acid in them and gives you a brightened skin.
Skin Hydration: Many cleansers are formulated to cleanse without stripping the skin of its natural moisture, helping to keep it balanced and hydrated which usually happens when it contains mild surfactants and moisturizing skin actives like glycerin, betaine, hyaluronic acid and more.
Enhances absorption of other products: If you skin is clean, damp and cool, and their is a clear base to absorb other ingredients on skin then after cleansing serums, moisturizers, and other treatments penetrate better.
Treats skin concerns: There are numerous cleansers which are made specifically for a particular skin concern like Salicylic Acid wash for people with oily skin, gentle cleansers for people with sensitive and dry skin.
Promotes relaxation: The act of cleansing can be a soothing ritual, offering a moment of self-care.
Why do we need cleansers?
We need cleansers because only water is not enough to clean your face from excess oil, sweat, dirt, pollutants, makeup and more you need a product with certain surfactants and ingredients to clean your skin properly.
Many of the impurities on our skin, like sebum and oil-based makeup, are not easily dissolved by water alone. Cleansers contain ingredients called surfactants that can emulsify oil and dirt, allowing them to be washed away with water.
Regularly cleansing helps to prevent clogged pores, blackheads, whiteheads, and acne breakouts. By removing pollutants and dead skin cells, it also contributes to a brighter and healthier complexion.
How to Pick your Skin Suitable Cleanser?
Selecting a cleansers that fits your skin and skin problems is a must, because if you buy a wrong cleansers that is not made for your skin type and then nothing good is gonna come out of it if doesn't improve your skin. Don't buy products out of FOMO but consider doing a valuable purchase of products.
Buy skincare as per your skin type. Let's talk skin type now:
Different people have different skin type which includes Oily Skin, Dry Skin, Normal Skin, Combination and Sensitive Skin.
Oily: Your skin will likely feel slick and greasy.
Dry: Your skin will probably feel tight, flaky and possibly itchy.
Combination: You might feel oiliness in your T-zone (forehead and nose area) and dryness elsewhere.
Normal: Your skin should feel comfortable and balanced.
Let's simplify picking cleansers for you. Here, we will list down all the skincare actives that you need in your cleansers targeted to your skin concern or type.
Oily Skin Type
Salicylic Acid (removes oil, unclogs pores)
Benzoyl Peroxide (acts on P. Acne bacteria )
Niacinamide (controls sebum production, minimizes pores)
Lactic Acid (removes top layer of skin and brightens it)
Polyhydroxy Acids
Zinc PCA (acts on acne causing P. Acne bacteria)
Silica (oil absorbing)
Ceramides (skin barrier repair)
Centella Asiatica (anti-inflammatory)
Dry Skin Type
Niacinamide
Lactic Acid (surface exfoliant)
Mandelic Acid (larger molecule surface exfoliant)
Betaine (skin protectant)
Oat Extracts (antioxidant)
Rice Bran Extract (skin soothing and brightening agent)
Panthenol (skin soothing)
Ceramides (skin barrier repair)
Centella Asiatica (anti-inflammatory)
Bisabolol (skin soothing)
Combination Skin
Salicylic Acid (removes oil, unclogs pores) - Few times a week
Niacinamide
Lactic Acid
Mandelic Acid
Oat Extracts
Rice Bran Extract
Panthenol
Ceramides
Centella Asiatica
Normal Skin
People with normal skin do need to use too many actives on skin. They just need to make sure they aren't destroying their skin natural texture in the process and use skincare ingredients that actually show some results on their skin.
You can go for:
Lactic Acid
Oat Extracts
Ceramides
Centella Asiatica (anti-inflammatory)
Niacinamide
Rice Bran Extract
Types of Cleansers
There are various types of cleansers available, each suited to different skin types and concerns:
Foam cleansers: Everyone loves a great lather when they are washing their face, but foaming cleansers are the one that works best for people with oily skin, because it gives that good, clean feeling to skin by cleaning out excess oil and impurities. People with Normal skin can also go for Foaming Cleansers.
Gel cleansers: Gel cleansers are often used for oil, acne-prone skin as they provide deep cleansing and helps to unclog pores by giving good amount of hydration to skin.
Cream cleansers: Cream based cleansers are usually good for people with dry, sensitive skin as it usually contains moisturizing ingredients that do not strip away excess oil from skin.
Oil cleansers: Oil cleansers are made specifically for removing water-resistant products from skin like makeup and sunscreen. But it's recommendable to avoid oily cleansers if you have oily skin type but it can lead to breakout. Instead of oil-based cleansers it's better to go for micellar wash.
Micellar Water: In India, only micellar water is available for cleaning makeup and impurities from skin before rinsing it away with water. Micellar washes are good alternatives for removing makeup and sunscreen from face.
Clay cleansers: It's beneficial for oily skin type as it helps to remove excess oil and toxins from skin. Clay based cleansers use skincare ingredients like Kaolin and Bentonite in it. It's better to use clay cleansers once a week rather than daily use because it can strip away the natural oils of the skin on regular use and make your skin dry and damaged.
Bar cleansers: Modern formulations are often pH-balanced and contain moisturizing ingredients, suitable for various skin types.
When to Use Cleanser in Skincare
It is recommendable to use cleanser twice a day. First in your morning skincare routine and second in your night skincare routine.
Morning: To remove any oil, sweat, and dead skin cells that accumulated overnight. Cleansing in the morning also creates a clean base for your daytime skincare products like serums, moisturizers, and sunscreen to be absorbed effectively. Think of it as prepping your skin for the day ahead.
Evening: This is arguably the most crucial time to cleanse. During the day, your skin is exposed to makeup, pollutants, dirt, and other impurities. Cleansing in the evening removes these, preventing them from clogging your pores and causing potential damage or breakouts while you sleep. It allows your skin to breathe and repair itself overnight, and also ensures that your nighttime skincare products can work their magic on clean skin.
Cleansing as per your skin type:
Very dry or sensitive skin: You might find that cleansing only once a day in the evening is sufficient to avoid over-drying. In the morning, you could simply rinse your face with lukewarm water. Pay attention to how your skin feels and adjust accordingly.
Oily or acne-prone skin: Cleansing twice a day is generally beneficial to remove excess oil and prevent breakouts.
After sweating: If you've had a particularly sweaty workout or been in a humid environment, it's a good idea to cleanse your face afterwards to remove sweat and prevent clogged pores.
Best Cleansers in India
Still in search for cleansers that fill fit to your skin type? Your search ends now because our guide to healthy, clear skin is here:
Disclaimer: All the products recommended here will be completely free from any sort of fragrance, low molecular weight alcohol (aka Denatured Alcohol) and essential oils.
Cleanser for Sensitive Skin Type
People with Sensitive skin need care more for their as they have delicate and damaged skin barrier which can be easily triggered by any harsh active, so they need to opt for products or cleansers that are mild and gentle on skin.
6% Oat extract Cleanser by Minimalist is a perfect cleanser for sensitive skin people as it contains numerous skin soothing ingredients like Oat Kernel Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate (derivative of Hyaluronic Acid) and Bisabolol.
Refreshing Facial Wash by Simple is a hydrating cleanser made with mild surfactants and enriched with Panthenol, Glycerin and antioxidant Vitamin E.
Jelliciously Clean Cleanser by Neude (there is a newcomer in market and I found one cleanser that I love from their skincare line), this is a wholesome formula which includes skincare actives like Lactic Acid, Panthenol, Betaine, Glycerin, Gluconolactone (another form of exfoliants PHAs - Polyhydroxy Acids), Honey (good moisturizer) and Vitamin C. This is good cleanser for sensitive skin as it contains very mild exfoliants and skin nourishing ingredients that will support your skin barrier.
Ultra Gentle Creamy Cleanser by Neutrogena is a good cleanser for sensitive skin as it contains very mild surfactants and do not harm your skin barrier by doing proper function of cleansing your skin.
Cleanser For Oily Skin Type
2% Salicylic Acid + LHA Cleanser by Minimalist is an ideal cleanser for oily skin type with oil-controlling and anti-acne ingredients like Salicylic Acid, Zinc PCA, Allantoin and Oat Extract.
2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide Gel Face Wash by The Derma Co. is a perfect cleanser for acting on active acne as Benzoyl Peroxide acts on P. Acne bacteria and kills it hence reducing the acne. It is a hydrating and non-drying formula as it contains skin nourishing ingredients like Glycerin, Allantoin and Ceramides.
Skin Renew Peptide Anti-Pollution Face Wash by The Derma Co. x Dr V is good face to start with for oily skin as it contains skincare ingredients like Glycerin, Niacinamide, Peptides, Salicylic Acid, Centella Asiatica and Aloe Vera extract for soothing and cleansing your skin.
Sali-Cinamide Acne Control Face Wash by The Derma Co. contains good percentage of Salicylic Acid, Niacinamide, Cica Extract, Panthenol and Allantoin, designed to remove oil, control sebum production and sooth your skin.
SA Smoothing Cleanser by CeraVe is another top choice for oily skin type which helps to cleanse and brighten the skin with goodness of Niacinamide, Gluconolactone, Salicylic Acid, Phyto-sphingosine, and Cholesterol.
Cleansers For Normal / Combination Skin
5% Aquaporin Booster Cleanser by Minimalist is an ideal cleanser for people with normal or combination skin and makes your skin feel hydrating and fresh. It is enriched with skincare actives like Panthenol, Glycerin, Sodium PCA, Betaine, Allantoin, Oats Extract and Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein.
SA Smoothing Cleanser by CeraVe is another top choice for oily, normal or combination skin type which helps to cleanse and brighten the skin with goodness of Niacinamide, Gluconolactone, Salicylic Acid, Phyto-sphingosine, and Cholesterol.
Hydrating Cleanser by CeraVe, contains barrier repairing skincare ingredients like Ceramides, Cholesterol, Phyto-sphingosine and Glycerin.
Cleansers for Dry Skin
6% Oat extract Cleanser by Minimalist is a perfect cleanser for sensitive skin people as it contains numerous skin soothing ingredients like Oat Kernel Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate (derivative of Hyaluronic Acid) and Bisabolol.
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser is a simple cleanser with skincare actives like Niacinamide and Panthenol for hydrating skin and acting on mild dark spots.
Hydrating Cleanser by CeraVe, contains barrier repairing skincare ingredients like Ceramides, Cholesterol, Phyto-sphingosine and Glycerin.
Jelliciously Clean Cleanser by Neude (there is a newcomer in market and I found one cleanser that I love from their skincare line), this is a wholesome formula which includes skincare actives like Lactic Acid, Panthenol, Betaine, Glycerin, Gluconolactone (another form of exfoliants PHAs - Polyhydroxy Acids), Honey (good moisturizer) and Vitamin C. This is good cleanser for sensitive skin as it contains very mild exfoliants and skin nourishing ingredients that will support your skin barrier.
Oil / Micellar Cleansers
Micellar Gel Wash by Simple is a good cleanser for washing your makeup off and this can be used in your double cleansing ritual easily, where you first go for micellar wash and then normal cleanser as per your skin type. This is a good micellar wash which is very gentle on your skin as it contain skincare actives like Glycerin, Panthenol and Vitamin E.
Soothing Cleaning Balm by Deconstruct is good cleansing balm for removing water resistant makeup and sunscreen from your face, it's a good non-irritant formula made with skincare actives like Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Vitamin E, Bisabolol, and many other nourishing ingredients.
Skincare is all about understanding what is right for your skin and using products that will actually work for you. Patience is key in this process. This is our Cleansing 101 guide, where you will find information on what cleansers are, why we should use them, the best times to apply them, the appropriate skincare actives based on your skin type, and the best cleansers available in the market for Indian skin.
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