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The gentlest face washes ranked by irritation risk. Low-surfactant, fragrance-free formulas that cleanse without compromising your moisture barrier.
The best gentle cleansers is Kate Somerville DeliKate Soothing Cleanser, scoring 8.4/9.8. It leads with irritation risk (9.5) and hydration efficacy (9.1). cerave Hydrating cream-to-foam cleanser (8.2) is a close second.
Hydrating cream-to-foam cleanser
DeliKate Soothing Cleanser
Hydrating cream-to-foam cleanser
Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser
Essential-C Cleanser
Holy Hydration! Daily Cleanser
Hydrating Cleanser
Hydrating Facial Cleanser
Foaming Facial Cleanser
Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser
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Pine Calming Cica Cleanser
Travel Size Soy Face Cleanser
Foaming Cleanser
Renewing SA Cleanser
Foaming cleanser
Pure Skin Face Cleanser
CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
Travel Size Glacial Face Wash
Lait démaquillant Douceur OU Lotion tonique Douceur
Deep cleansing sheet mask
Glacial Face Wash
Vegan Milk Cleanser
The Cult Classic Purifying Face Cleanser
Blemish control cleanser
Prebiotic 4-In-1 MultiCleanser
CICA Soothing Cleansing Balm
Melt Away Vitamin C Triple Action Cleanser
Lait Démaquillant Douceur
Cryosea Firming Icy-cold Cleanser
Melano CC Deep Clear Enzyme Face Wash
Miracle Acne Foam
SA Smoothing Cleanser
Baume Divin
Matcha Biome Amino Acne Cleansing Foam
TULA gentle daily facial cleanser
UltraCalming Cleanser
Radically Rejuvenating Cleansing Cream
Gentle Waterproof Make-Up Remover Milk
Soy pH-Balanced Hydrating Face Wash
Makeup Melt Jelly Cleanser
Balancing Foam Cleanser
Green Labs Pinea-C Brightening Gel Washable Cleanser
Pure Skin Deep Cleanser with Red Clay
Nivea lait démaquillant
Lait de toilette douceur
Cucumber Herbal Conditioning Cleanser
Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser
American Crew Classic Body Wash
Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
Mugwort pH Balancing Cleansing Gel
A cleanser's job is simple: remove dirt and excess oil without stripping the skin barrier.
Look for mild surfactants like coco-glucoside or decyl glucoside. Harsh sulfates (SLS, SLES) can strip natural oils, especially from dry or sensitive skin.
Healthy skin sits around pH 4.5-5.5. The best cleansers are formulated close to this range to avoid disrupting the acid mantle.
Foaming cleansers suit oily skin. Cream or milk cleansers suit dry skin. Micellar waters work for sensitive types as a gentle first cleanse.
Actives in a cleanser wash off in seconds — they rarely have time to work. Prioritise gentle, effective cleansing over fancy ingredient lists.
These ingredients appear most frequently across the highest-scoring cleanser products in this category.
Not sure which to pick? Compare them side by side.
Based on our ingredient analysis, Kate Somerville DeliKate Soothing Cleanser scores highest with a 8.4/9.8 overall rating, leading in irritation risk (9.5).
The top-ranked cleanser products in this category commonly feature Glycerin, Ceramide Np, Cholesterol, and Ceramide Eop. These ingredients are backed by research and appear consistently in the highest-scoring formulas.
Kate Somerville DeliKate Soothing Cleanser scores 8.4/9.8 across our ingredient-based analysis. The formulation quality justifies the investment for most skin types.
Kate Somerville DeliKate Soothing Cleanser leads with a 8.4/9.8 score, while cerave Hydrating cream-to-foam cleanser follows at 8.2/9.8. The key differences come down to their ingredient formulations — comparing them side by side reveals where each excels.
We analyse the full INCI ingredient list of every product, scoring across 5 key attributes: hydration efficacy, irritation risk, active ingredient strength, ingredient transparency, and formulation safety. Scores are algorithm-driven and updated regularly.
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© 2026 Gracie. All rights reserved. Data sourced from Open Beauty Facts (ODbL) and EU CosIng.