Beyond50Skin, also known as Cindy, has put more than 30 cleansers through their paces. Her approval rate sits at 63%, which means a meaningful number of cleansers did not make the cut. She has named a handful of outright winners, including Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water, Naturium Purple Ginseng Cleansing Balm, and Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser.
What does Beyond50Skin recommend in cleansers?
The thread running through everything she approves is gentleness that still gets the job done. She keeps coming back to cleansers that remove makeup and sunscreen without leaving skin dry or stripped, and she has a soft spot for balms and oils. Her praise for Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil centres on how well it keeps dry, sensitive, mature skin hydrated. With Naturium Purple Ginseng Cleansing Balm she notes it emulsifies everything and rinses clean without drying the skin, all at a budget price. She also reacts to fragrance, so unscented or lightly scented formulas get a warmer welcome from her. That said, she does flag the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser as a solid pick for oily or breakout-prone skin, so she is not blind to skin types beyond her own.
In her words
"I am typically sensitive to micellar waters. [...] This one will get your mascara off and it's also so gentle. For a first cleanse, you could use it as a first and a second cleanse, but this is a great one. Super gentle because I am definitely sensitive to almost every other micellar water that I've tried, even the ones that say they're for sensitive skin. This is my number one."
"I highly recommend the Naturium Purple Ginseng Cleansing Balm. This is a great budget price. Does everything a cleansing balm should. Emulsifies all the makeup and the sunscreen and rinses your skin clean without leaving it dry and stripped."
"For a regular creamy cleanser, PSA Skin Reset Cleanser with AAI and Manuka Honey is my new discovery for 2025. Love this."
"It's meant for the face, but I accidentally picked it up thinking it was for the body and fell in love with it, and aestheticians I've talked to since then always recommend it for a gentle body exfoliation treatment. After you do this step, out of the shower and towel off and put your lotions on, your skin is so baby soft. It also now comes in a jumbo size, which I just picked up during Murad's 30% off sale."
"I tried two oil cleansers. One that I've loved for ages, the Beauty of Joseon. This is their [...] oil cleanser. Love an oil cleanse for dry, sensitive, mature skin. This left my skin nicely hydrated."
"If you have oily skin you might reach for a cleanser like the CeraVe cleanser, especially if you're breakout prone."
How many cleansers has Beyond50Skin reviewed?
Beyond50Skin has reviewed 35 cleansers, for an approval rate of 63%. 22 approved, 3 mixed, and 10 skipped.
What has Beyond50Skin skipped in cleansers?
Most of her skips come down to one of two things: fragrance or dryness, and sometimes both at once. She gave Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm several tries but found it too heavily scented, and she was not willing to risk irritation in the colder months. Verso Cleansing Balm was not hydrating enough for her, though she points out it would likely suit normal to oily skin. Do Skincare Baptism Cleanser stripped her dry sensitive skin, and she was honest that it is a personal fail rather than a bad product. Gel and jelly textures come up often as formulas that tend not to work for her skin type. One product in her record is not even a face product: Hairstory New Wash is a hair co-wash, and she found it left her hair feeling like straw.
"I usually gravitate toward unscented products and this is just way too strong, it's super perfumey. So I gave it a few tries but I'm not going to finish it up just because my skin in the cooler dryer months gets a little bit irritated and dried out and I don't want to run into a problem with the fragrance from this formula. So this won't be a repurchase for me. It's completely individual for me whether we like a scent in our skincare products or whether we don't."
"I would use it on the night when I was doing a bond repair treatment, alternating with a regular hydrating shampoo [...] so I didn't strip my hair. My hair gets dried out so easily, especially living here in Colorado. So I like the idea of a co-wash. [...] But New Wash just left my hair like straw. I got through it because I would just put a really conditioning, nice conditioner on afterward, but this is a no-go for me. I know people that love it, so I'm probably in the minority there."
"The Cleansing Balm for me personally didn't work out because it's a slightly drying Cleansing Balm and it wasn't quite hydrating enough. If you have normal to oily skin you're going to love this, it gets all the makeup off, rinses clean, and emulsifies as well."
"You know how I love Do Skincare, but their new cleanser launch Baptism just isn't for me. It strips my dry sensitive skin. If you have normal to oily skin, you're probably going to love this. It's a gel type cleanser, which is perfect for normal to oily skin. There are a few jelly-like cleansers that I can use for my dry skin, but typically a jelly type cleanser doesn't work for me. It just leaves my skin too dry. So this is a personal fail for me, but it's very gentle."
What should you take from Beyond50Skin's picks?
If you have dry, sensitive, or mature skin, Beyond50Skin's record is a genuinely useful map. She tests with that skin type in mind, she flags fragrance as a real concern rather than a minor footnote, and she is honest when a skip is personal rather than universal. Her approval rate of 63% means she is selective, and the products she praised most warmly earned it.
Watch Beyond50Skin say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar WaterNamed a winnerWatch at 5:24
- Naturium Purple Ginseng Cleansing BalmNamed a winnerWatch at 1:00
- Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 16:40
- Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing BalmSkipped itWatch at 3:18
- Hairstory New WashSkipped itWatch at 24:17
- Verso Cleansing BalmSkipped itWatch at 9:39
- Do Skincare Baptism CleanserSkipped itWatch at 0:14
- Regelica CleanserSkipped itWatch at 2:03
- Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly CleanserSkipped itWatch at 1:33
- Merit Great Skin Double Cleanse Face WashSkipped itWatch at 12:53
- The Ordinary Squalane CleanserSkipped itWatch at 6:32
- Prequel Pre-Cleanse Cleansing OilSkipped itWatch at 1:46
- True Botanicals Ginger Turmeric Cleansing BalmSkipped itWatch at 0:53
- PSA Skin Reset Cleanser with AAI and Manuka HoneyRated itWatch at 9:11
- Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 7:37
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 2:25
- Cetaphil Gentle Skin CleanserRated itWatch at 0:50
- Geek & Gorgeous 101 Mighty Melt Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 2:11
- Hada Labo Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 8:41
- Remedy Derm Dissolve Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 1:58
- SkinFix Barrier+ Ceramide + Ectoin Hydrating Gentle Gel CleanserRated itWatch at 5:47
- Pixi Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 1:46
- SkinFix Eczema Foaming Prebiotic Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 3:50
- Due Ethereal Facial Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 8:52
About this expert
See everything Beyond50Skin has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Beyond50Skin said across her videos about 35 products in cleansers, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.