Face cleanser

[CrankyM]

I like the simple brand. They are fairly easy to find, no fragrances and do the job. 

Sukin foaming cleanser is okay. It has a mild scent to me, but fairly neutral.

Actually one the kid's prefer is this one from kmart. Tea tree and witch hazel foaming cleanser: https://www.kmart.com.au/product/foaming-face-wash-150ml-tea-tree-oil-and-witch-hazel-43251667/?sku=43251667&region_id=800001&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwte-vBhBFEiwAQSv_xY5XQcHuTwBG6nQawDnb0lvgeOYYPqBurBRL_Zy23kLJoes0uKpmnhoCzz0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds No real scent, it does a good job on my younger child who has fairly oily skin. I also like the matching moisturizer.

[Scootaloo]

 I really like the Simple brand too. My nighttime routine is all Simple products now. 

[Ernegirl]

+1 for Simple.

[Paddlepop]

I did groceries yesterday and bought three contenders that were on special. Hopefully one is a winner. I bought Simple purifying gel wash, Olay total effects foaming cleanser, and Nivea Men refreshing face wash.

I smelt the Cetaphil oily skin cleanser and didn’t like it. It’s more expensive so it’s being relegated to trying after the cheaper options. The Sukin cleanser is just too strong smelling and too oily smelling for me.  I’m avoiding anything with tea tree or eucalyptus because I’m not a fan of it in anything. I find that it smells stale and gross to me after an hour or two. Initially smells great.

So, we shall see how DH’s, DD’s and my skin react to the various options. I suspect that DD will like the Simple one because it’s so neutral.

Edited to correct the Simple details.

Edited March 29 by Paddlepop

[BKK]

I’m using Sukin at the moment but prefer the Nivea.

[Paddlepop]

Some results are in.

The Nivea Men wash did a great job at cleaning my skin but then it felt tingly and cool, and my eyes stung a bit. Turns out there’s menthol in it. It smelt very masculine and DH wasn’t a fan of the smell of it on me. Fair enough. I’m fussy about what he smells like too. He’ll try it and see what it’s like on his skin.

The Simple purifying gel wash also did a good job of getting the oil off. Unfortunately it has little grainy scrub bits in it and DD hates that sort of thing. Does the Simple moisturising face wash have grainy bits or is it smooth?

The smell was very raw plant/sap at the start which I found kind of gross and eased off into blandness and nothingness by the time I’d finished cleaning my face. No scent at all left on my skin according to DH when he sniffed my face. I’m kind of disappointed to have no scent at all. I like a bit of a scent. If I mix the Simple and the crappy new version of the normal Nivea cleanser I’ve used for years and years I might get the cleaning power and the slight scent that I’m after.

Olay to be tried next time.

Cetaphil Oily cleanser might be next on the shopping list for DD unless it has grainy bits. Does it have grainy bits?

[BornToLove]

1 hour ago, Paddlepop said:

Cetaphil Oily cleanser might be next on the shopping list for DD unless it has grainy bits. Does it have grainy bits?

No. Oily cetaphil has the same texture as the gentle cleanser. I can’t remember if it foams up when you use it but the scent washes away. It’s very drying compared to the gentle version so you need to be a bit more careful around your eyes and mouth. 

[ReadingAlong]

No grainy bits in the simple moisturising wash. It does foam up a bit. I would describe the smell as faintly ‘soapy’. 

 

[Chocoholic]

Cerave is good. Priceline is usually pretty good with giving samples if u explain u want to try a little for scent etc first..

[Paddlepop]

More results!

The Olay cleanser is super creamy and luxurious feeling. I only used a small amount but should have used even less based on how much it lathered up. It smelt pleasant like a nice sunscreen from the 1980s that I liked. Not sure which one. Very faint to no scent left afterwards. It was kind of boring and like something I’d associate with someone from my mum’s generation, if that makes sense, lol. My skin seemed happy with it. 

DH tried the Nivea Men refreshing wash and he liked it. Cleaned his skin well, he didn’t react to it so no menthol burning his cheeks or eyes, unlike me. It smelt good on him. 

I bought Cetaphil oily skin cleanser. Eww eww eww. Gross. It’s fragranced. Badly. Like cheap $2 shop incense that smells like carcinogens and migraines, combined with a crappy hippy shop with scented candles and oils. Not like a nice hippy shop that smells lovely and inviting. DH smelt it and recoiled. He said it smelt like some of the medical creams he’s used on the chronic sores on his body. Big thumbs down from us! 

I’ve used the Simple purifying gel wash a number of times now and like it apart from the sap smell. My skin has liked it. If only DD didn’t hate grainy bits in cleansers. 

Simple moisturising face wash will probably be the next one tried in the hunt to find one that DD will like, unless anyone has a different mild face wash to suggest.

[Paddlepop]

Just to clarify about Cetaphil Oily - I think it cleaned well but I just hate the smell. 

The Simple purifying gel wash seems to have helped my skin to look less oily. I think I’ve been looking less oily. 

[Paddlepop]

More results. I think we have a winner. Simple moisturising facial wash. No perfume, almost no fragrance, no grainy bits, and it cleaned face my face well. Oilyness is reduced too. I think that DD will accept it. She has ASD so changing things can be tricky for her.

The only smell it had was a little bit of a soapy/old plastic smell right at the start but by the time my brain registered it the smell was gone, so that was good. My face passed the sniff test by DH afterwards.

DH likes the Simple purifying gel wash. He thinks it smells like fresh cucumber. I still think it smells like sap. It cleaned his face well and his skin was calm afterwards. His skin normally reacts badly to beads/grains in exfoliating washes.

My skin has been doing really well with the Olay face wash. It still doesn’t inspire me or excite me or it seems boring or something. Maybe it’s the packaging. Maybe it’s my idea of who the target market is for Olay and I don’t want to accept that I’m in that age group now, lol. My skin has been clean, no pimples, and decreased oilyness. It ticks all of the boxes but somehow doesn’t. Different packaging and I suspect I’d feel different. I didn’t think I’d be so superficial about packaging but I guess I am!

I think my hunt for a new face cleanser is over. Simple moisturising for DD and some combo of Olay, Simple moisturising and Simple purifying for me and DH. As we get to the end of each, whether it goes on the shopping list will show which one or ones are the repeat purchase. Garnier 3 in 1 wash with witch hazel and zinc for a kick arse scrub that cleans out whiteheads, blackheads and pimples.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

[Paddlepop]

The last tube of Nivea face wash finally ran out about two weeks ago. DD wasn’t happy about changing to a different face wash. The lack of a smell of the Simple wash was a positive to her but she misses the nice smell of the Nivea wash. I do too. Her skin is reacting really well to Simple. It’s clean, no pimples and no oiliness. It looks great. 

I’ve bought more of the Simple wash and the Simple grainy scrub when they’ve been half price at the shops.

I inflict the scrub on DD’s face about once a week. She doesn’t like the grains but it helps to get rid of any whiteheads, blackheads or pimples that try to form. She won’t touch it so I wash her face for her. At least I know that her face is cleaned thoroughly once a week!

I’ve been using the Simple wash during the cold months. The Olay was too drying in the lower humidity of the cooler months. As the weather warms up I’ll likely start using the Olay again. 

I don’t know which one DH is using but the Nivea Men one has appeared in the shower caddy, and he likes the Simple grainy scrub.

Thank you everyone for the recommendations.

[Jenflea]

Maybe that's what I need to do with my DD. Do it for her. I've bought all the stuff she needs to keep her skin clear, her friends have commented on how good it looked when she started using it, but I've noticed she's gotten lazy and her skin is breaking out again. Sigh. I WISH my mum had made an effort with my skin when I was a teen, DD has no idea how lucky she is that I do my best with hers!

[Paddlepop]

@Jenflea DD still needs my help to wash her hair properly so I’m helping her in the shower anyway, and once a week I use the scrub on her face before we wash her hair. That way she can rinse the grainy bits away and any that are near her hairline will get washed away when she’s rinsing out the shampoo. One time I did it after shampooing her hair and she spent ages trying rinse all of the grains out of her hairline.

It can also be worth going over face washing technique. DD periodically gets lazy about washing thoroughly near her nostrils/nose folds and the bridge of her nose. I have to remind her or demonstrate to her where to pay extra attention, then she does it well until she again gets bored/lazy with doing it properly. There’s various face microfibre type things at Kmart to use if she’d do better with something like that. Alternatively she could use an ordinary face washer. If you had any super soft, thin, baby face washers still they’d probably be perfect for facial skin.

Lots of praise for clean skin seems to help. DD’s skin is gorgeous, DH’s is scarred badly from cystic acne and mine is mildly scarred from acne. We remind her that clean skin is worth the effort, especially when she’s lucky enough not to have to deal with acne and just the occasional pimple that clears up with Clearasil.