Serums and moisturizers tend to get all the love in the skincare world, leaving the cleansing category woefully undervalued. But using the right cleanser is key to starting your skincare routine out right—and that goes for your face and body. To make the most of sudsing up, it’s crucial to find a cleaner that’s designed for your skin type and complexion goals. Ensuring there’s truly something for everyone, we’ve tried and tested everything from foaming cleansers to gels to cleansing balms to powders and more, bringing you the top options from head to toe. Read on to discover the best new cleansers of 2023 for a clean, healthy complexion.
Renee Rouleau Better Than Balm
It’s a big claim, but yes, this face wash really is better than most cleansing balms. That’s because it’s essentially two cleansers in one, as the dual-phase formula lets you skip a step. It starts off as an oil cleanser to remove oil, makeup, dirt and debris. Next, add water and it’ll transform into a gel cleanser—thanks to sucrose laurate, a sugar-based emulsifier—leaving no greasiness or any residue behind. It also contains sunflower seed oil, which is rich in linoleic acid to soften skin, as well as humectant glycerin to moisturize. $45.50, reneerouleau.com
Vintner’s Daughter Active Renewal Cleanser
When Vintner’s Daughter releases a new product, it’s genuinely a big deal. The brand’s third product in a decade is a foaming cream face wash that was worth the wait. A two-step cleanser in one bottle, it removes dirt, oil, makeup, sunscreen and daily impurities, leaving pores looking less visible and skin balanced and brighter. The hero ingredient is the Phyto Radiance Infusion, a plant-powered complex that is loaded with nutrients. $98, vintnersdaughter.com
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Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore-Minimizing & Polishing Powder Cleanser
The concentrated powder-to-foam formula means this face wash uses 50 times less water than the average liquid cleanser. Made with a 100% PCR packaging and cap and renewably sourced ingredients, it’s just as good for your skin as it is for the planet. Featuring fair-trade Amazonian white clay and AHAs, the powder cleanser is designed for oily skin, since it purifies pores, is clinically proven to reduce oil and shine by 96% and fights dullness. $38, kiehls.com
Tatcha The Indigo Cleansing Balm
Designed with sensitive skin in mind, this fragrance-free luscious balm truly melts into skin to remove even the most stubborn mascara. Made with Japanese indigo extract, it also works to boost the skin barrier while cleansing. $38, tatcha.com
CeraVe Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser
If your skin feels drier than the Sahara Desert, this is the cleanser for you. The ingredient list is a who’s who of hydrators, including hyaluronic acid, ceramides, squalane and triglycerides, so the daily cleanser gets the job done sans stripping moisture. $17.99, ulta.com
Versed The Purist Antioxidant Cleanser
At this point we all know that antioxidants are our skin’s best friend, and this facial cleanser is chock full of them, specifically ones that hydrate. The super gentle cleansing gel blends blueberry, raspberry, apple and cucumber extracts with aloe leaf juice and a glycerin base that’s safe for sensitive types and breaks down dirt, oil and impurities without stripping the skin. $9.99, versedskin.com
Junk Theory JUNI – Juniper Biome Cleanser
New skincare line Junk Theory is taking the beauty industry’s plastic problem seriously. Thanks to their aluminum packaging, which is the most recycled material, if you used Junk Theory products for 25 years, that would still generate less plastic waste than a single average plastic beauty product. Another thing to love: Their made-from-scratch formulas are crafted in small batches in Southern California. The Juniper Biome Cleanser spotlights blue-green algae, sugar beet extracts and aloe to leave skin cleansed, soft and moisturized, with the acid mantle intact. $28, junktheory.com
Oak Essentials Pure Gel Cleanser
Much like her clothing and home collections, Jenni Kayne’s Oak Essentials is all about beautiful minimalism and the new Pure Gel Cleanser is no exception. Designed to be used day or night, the calming, soothing cleanser removes it all in just one go. It contains apple fruit extract, which is chock full of vitamin C and AHAs to deliver a brighter, younger complexion, as well as aloe barbadensis leaf juice to soothe and refresh. $42, oakessentials.com
Augustinus Bader The Foaming Cleanser
Give your everyday face wash an upgrade with this lightweight cream-to-foam cleanser from Augustinus Bader that purifies skin from makeup, excess oil and impurities. Its hero ingredient is the brand’s signature TFC8, so the formula brightens, evens, reduces pigmentation and protects the skin’s microbiome. $70, augustinusbader.com
Furtuna Skin Cleansing Oil Balm
In keeping with Furtuna Skin’s farm-to-face ethos, the formula is loaded with eight wild-foraged plants that were hand-picked from the brand’s certified organic farm in Sicily. As soon as it hits your skin, the solid balm transforms into an oil, and then transforms once again into a milky lather when it touches water. Designed to work with all skin types, it provides a double cleanse in one step, working to melt away sunscreen, dirt, oil and pollution. This is one cleansing balm that won’t stick around, since it completely rinses off, leaving the moisture barrier stronger and skin softer. $85, furtunaskin.com
OUAI St. Barts Body Cleanser
Turn your shower into a tropical vacation with this body wash featuring notes of orange blossom, dragon fruit, tuberose and musk. It does more than just smell good: It’s spiked with rosehip oil, which is loaded with antioxidants like vitamins A and C to brighten, hydrate and soften skin, as well as jojoba oil to help nutrients absorb into the skin and deeply moisturize. $28, theouai.com
Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser
A healthy skin barrier equals healthy skin, and that’s exactly what this gentle cleanser is designed to do. Formulated to soothe and calm—no redness or flakiness here!—it eases redness by restoring hydration by repairing the barrier and is clinically proven to keep working throughout the day. $28, sephora.com
Alpyn Beauty Juneberry & Collagen Hydrating Cream Cleanser
Like all Alpyn Beauty products, this one is filled with wild ingredients foraged from the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s spiked with wild juneberry, which is packed with vitamins A, B, C and E for anti-aging perks; vegetable collagen to plump and hydrate; and spherical jojoba beads to loosen up dry, dull skin. Consider this nature’s version of a cold cream. When you slather it onto your skin, you’ll be met with a delightfully cooling sensation. Providing a deep cleanse, it gently exfoliates and removes oil, dirt and impurities for a deep clean that leaves skin soft. $39, alpynbeauty.com
Dove Glowing Mango & Almond Butters Body Wash
Dove body wash has always been close to perfect. But when you wanted to stand the bottle upside in the shower to get out every last drop, the pointy cap made it a tricky balancing act. Dove heard that feedback and designed a new flat cap, making it a cinch to do so—and ensuring that none of the hydrating formula goes to waste. Plus, the combo of mango and almond butters makes for an incredibly moisturizing power couple that leaves skin glowing. $28 for four, amazon.com
Nakery Beauty Eczema Relief Soothing Wash Face + Body
Anyone with eczema knows how easily their skin can get irritated. That often means no fun body washes in the shower. With that in mind, Nakery Beauty created this delicate cleanser for face and body that works to reduce redness, dry skin, rosacea and irritation. Loaded with 2% colloidal oatmeal to heal and protect, the restorative formula heals and calms skin, offering both instant and long-term relief. The repairing wash is also spiked with aloe and niacinamide and works into a lather-rich foam. $28, nakerybeauty.com
Beloved by Love Beauty and Planet Love & Calm Vegan Shower Gel + Bath
Taking the “calm” part of its name seriously, this body wash will instantly relax your mind. You can thank the blend of essential oils for that, specifically natural moringa oil and ethically sourced eucalyptus oil, with natural oat extract rounding out the soothing blend. Plant-based cleaners work to wash away impurities, with a 92% natural formula. $13.49, target.com
Oribe Bar Soap
Leave it to Oribe to elevate and glamorize the humble bar soap. Their new Bar Soap Collection is rounded out with two of their fan favorite scents—Valley of Flowers and Desertland—which join the band’s signature fragrance, Côte d’Azur. The nourishing formulas leave skin cleansed and soft. $35, oribe.com
Norie Kimchii Cleanser
Choosing the right face wash for acne-prone, oily or combination skin can be tricky—you want something that stops breakouts in their tracks but doesn’t over-dry. Enter Norie Kimchii Cleanser. The clear gel facial cleanser washes away sweat, makeup and excess oil, leaving the complexion brighter and clearer. The potent combo of fermented daikon radish and 2% salicylic acid works to gently exfoliate and cleanse pores, while apple fruit extract and betaine moisturize, smooth and soften skin. $20, norieshop.com
La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Cleansing Oil
Sensitive skin types and those with thirsty complexions will want this gentle oil-to-foam body and facial cleanser in their arsenal. The fast-working formula starts working in the shower to soothe and deliver 24-hour hydration. Accepted by the National Eczema Association, it’s so gentle that it’s safe for babies as young as two weeks old. $16.99, laroche-posay.us
Lumene Nordic Clear Balancing Clay-to-Foam Cleanser
Clay is a magic ingredient for those with acne-prone, combination or oily skin and this face wash lets it take center stage. The formula works to remove excess oil, dirt, impurities and makeup, helping to prevent breakouts along the way. Staying true to Lumene’s Nordic roots, it’s made in Finland and spiked with Nordic meadowsweet to balance, as well as Arctic roseroot and organic Nordic hemp seed oil to calm. $19, amazon.com
Eminence Organic Skin Care Kombucha Microbiome Foaming Cleanser
If you love the efficacy of micellar water but miss that face wash feel, then this is the cleanser for you. The liquid-to-foam cleanser taps kombucha, white tea and ginger to restore and pamper the microbiome while efficiently cleansing away impurities, leaving the skin perfectly balanced. $46, eminenceorganics.com
Winky Lux Mermaid Moisture Hydrating Cleanser
The glittery, sea green formula will take you straight under the sea. Mermaidcore at its best, this oil-to-foam facial cleanser is full of—you guessed it—marine actives, like sea aster extract, sea lavender extract and a superfood blend with spirulina and Japanese kelp to hydrate, soothe, brighten and deliver an even skin tone. $23, winkylux.com
Motif Abundance Plumping Phytoceramide Cleanser
Created by a new mom for other new moms, this creamy face wash is meant to be gentle—but effective. That’s why it’s formulated with a whopping 18 active ingredients, including South Asian monkey fruit, a brightening ingredient; Thai pineapple ceramides to soften and plump; licorice root and French white orchid to even tone and brighten; bromelain to soothe and reduce redness and inflammation; and luffa fruit fibers to gently exfoliate. $65, motifskincare.com