Dr Dray has worked her way through 55 cleansers. She approved 40 of them and skipped just 8. She also named four of her approvals as outright winners.
What does Dr Dray recommend in cleansers?
Most of what she approves is fragrance-free and gentle enough not to leave skin dry or tight after washing. She comes back often to how a cleanser handles sensitive or Accutane-treated skin, where the bar for gentleness is high. The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser impressed her partly because it removed mascara, eye shadow, and non-waterproof sunscreen from a dry face without a second step. She also notices what she keeps re-buying, and mentioned being on her third bottle of Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser.
In their words
"I love the Cleansing Balm, the packaging on the Cleansing Balm, it's one of my favorites."
"This is a favorite of mine personally, it is the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash. This has been around for a really really long time, so it has a long standing track record of being useful for people who have acne. I've personally used it, I've recommended it to acne patients, it's reliable, it's good. It does have fragrance though, and fragrance can be irritating to the skin, some people are allergic to fragrance, and if you are allergic to fragrance you'd want to avoid it. This is definitely a nice gel formula and it works into a really nice lather."
"The Glycolipid Cream Cleanser has glycolipids which are helpful for the moisture barrier and phytic acid which is an antioxidant that also can mildly exfoliate the skin. This is a cream cleanser that you can apply to dry or damp skin and I have to tell you guys I have been rather impressed with the performance of this. If you have very sensitive irritated skin, or maybe you're using Accutane and you want the mildest gentlest products, this is a very very very mild gentle creamy soothing frankly cleanser that actually does a good job removing cosmetics. It may not be the best at removing water resistant sunscreen you may need to use an oil cleanser first but I was able to get mascara that is not waterproof, eye shadow, non-water resistant sunscreen off with just this applying it all over to a dry face and then when I get in the shower rinsing it off with no additional cleanser. [...] It's fragrance free and has kind of a coconutty aroma to it. It kind of reminds me almost like a more liquid version of a cold cream. Twelve dollars and fifty cents for the 150 ml."
"Their Speedy Cleansing Oil is one of my favorites. It's pretty affordable, too."
"The CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser is great for gentle exfoliation as well as blackhead prone skin."
"I recently finished up the Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser, which I love. I think that was bottle number three."
How many cleansers has Dr Dray reviewed?
Dr Dray has reviewed 55 cleansers, for a Guru Score of 73%. 40 approved, 7 mixed, and 8 skipped.
What has Dr Dray skipped in cleansers?
She skipped the Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm and Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for the same basic reason. Both caused irritation and burning around her eyes, and she described the Versed specifically as feeling like Vicks VapoRub in the eye. She also skipped The INKEY List Fulvic Acid Cleanser over its fragrance and a post-opening shelf life of only six months, which she found oddly short for a cleanser.
"Speaking of cleansing oils, that did not go well for me and I suffered through to the end. Don't buy this. Whatever you do, don't buy it, unless you like putting Vicks VapoRub in your eye. Do not buy the Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm, vitamin E and eucalyptus. Do we have a head cold? I think not. This was misery to use. [...] It's pretty hard to actually screw up the functionality of a cleansing oil or cleansing balm, but [...] you can really ruin it from an experiential part of things."
"Micellar water is helpful for some people for removing makeup, water resistant sunscreen, cosmetic residue. It's like an option, right? You have oil cleanser, cleansing balm, micellar water. It works for some people. For me, I never find that these work particularly well. [...] When I've tried this, it just burns around my eyes and causes eyelid irritation."
"Vanicream discontinued their Z-Bar. Zinc pyrithione is an anti-dandruff ingredient but it can also help with CC dermatitis, those little flaky red irritated patches in the brows around the nose. A zinc pyrithione cleansing bar can help control that. Zinc pyrithione is also really helpful in a cleanser for tinea versicolor, which tends to rear its head this time of year. You just lather it to the affected areas like around your nose if you're dealing with sebderm there, and then you just want to leave the lather on the skin for a few minutes, just kind of let it hang out and marinate there before rinsing it off."
"The Inkey List fulvic acid cleanser, I think I tried this and it's okay, it's not like magical. It does have fragrance, which is a common irritant. I felt like it was a bigger bottle, but a lot of The Inkey List products have a short Best Buy opening number. This one's only good within six months, which seems really short for a cleanser. I mean, that's small packaging anyway, so you'll probably go through it quickly, but it's just kind of odd."
What should you take from Dr Dray's picks?
Dr Dray's cleanser record is a useful starting point for anyone wanting a dermatologist's real opinion on what to reach for. She approves cleansers that are fragrance-free, genuinely gentle, and capable of removing makeup without leaving skin dry or tight afterward. The four products she named outright winners are Prequel Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser, CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser, Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser, and Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel.
Watch Dr Dray say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Prequel Non-Drying Glycerin CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 4:15
- CeraVe Acne Control CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 7:34
- Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 17:25
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing GelNamed a winnerWatch at 0:19
- Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing BalmSkipped itWatch at 4:53
- Garnier Micellar Cleansing WaterSkipped itWatch at 16:09
- Vanicream Z-BarSkipped itWatch at 0:00
- The INKEY List Fulvic Acid CleanserSkipped itWatch at 11:46
- Shiseido Cleansing oilSkipped itWatch at 16:22
- Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing OilSkipped itWatch at 10:41
- Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar WaterSkipped itWatch at 3:10
- BYOMA Milky Jelly CleanserSkipped itWatch at 3:19
- Remedy Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 16:13
- Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne WashRated itWatch at 14:17
- The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream CleanserRated itWatch at 11:29
- Softymo Speedy Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 2:05
- CeraVe Renewing SA CleanserRated itWatch at 13:21
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 2:21
- Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 15:52
- The INKEY List Oat Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 5:10
- Prequel Pre-Cleanse Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 13:41
- Manyo Factory Pure Cleansing OilRated itWatch at 5:02
- Paula's Choice Omega Plus Complex Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 10:04
- Klairs Rich Moist Foaming CleanserRated itWatch at 6:44
About this expert
See everything Dr Dray has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Dr Dray said across their videos about 55 products in cleansers, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.