The Ultimate Guide to Men's Cleansing Face Wash

The Ultimate Guide to Men's Cleaning Face Wash - from your men's grooming and skincare experts.

What a good men's face wash should do

At its core, a cleansing face wash should remove dirt, oil, sweat and impurities while respecting the skin's natural moisture levels. The best men's facial cleansers from our perspective should deliver on:

Effective cleansing - without leaving skin tight or dry.
Skin-type specific cleansers - whether that be for oily, dry, sensitive or combination skin.
Gentle ingredients - that support the skin barrier, not break it
Quality ingredients - you can make a face wash that's cheap, but it will strip the face of all its natural oils.
Easy, no fuss - simple products that work.

Choosing the right face wash for your skin type

Don't make the mistake of picking a cleanser for its scent, price or look. Instead, make sure it's fit for purpose for your skin type. Here's our male skincare routine guide to help you choose properly. It discusses what skincare product you should use based on your skin type and concern.

Oily or Acne-Prone Skin

Look for a gel, or foaming cleanser that helps regulate oil and keep pores clear. You don't want anything that will strip the skin, as it will then overproduce oil and essentially make your acne worse. Ingredients with jojoba, salicylic acid, charcoal, and tea tree can help reduce breakouts and congestion. Cleaning regularly is important. Also, don't forget to moisturise.

Here's our collection of men's facial cleanser for oily skin.

Dry or Dehydrated Skin

If you have dry or dehydrated skin, a cream cleanser or even an oil cleanser is best for you. They remove impurities while maintaining moisture levels. Hydrating ingredients such as glycerin, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, or natural oils will help prevent tightness and flaking.

Sensitive Skin

Guys with sensitive or easily irritated skin should avoid heavy fragrance and alcohol based formulas. A gentle, fragrance-free cleanser with calming ingredients like aloe vera, oat extract or natural oils will help reduce redness.

You can browse our facial cleansers for dry or sensitive skin here.

Combination Skin

A balanced face wash for guys that lightly foams works well to remove oil from the t-zone while remaining gentle on the drier areas.

Check out our collection of facial cleansers for combination skin here.

How often to cleanse

If you're just starting out with a skincare routine for men, I would suggest doing it in the evening to make sure you remove all the daily grime and product buildup. If you are showering twice daily, you can easily add your cleanser to your routine. If you are time-poor in the morning or you haven't done a workout/ sweat, you can just rinse with water and apply your daily products, including SPF.

Common Mistakes We See

As a retailer, we hear about these issues a lot. But we've also experienced them ourselves.

Using water that's too hot strips the skin of hydration and can break the skin (showing capillaries)
Over-cleansing leads to dryness and irritation. Something we see with guys with congested skin is that when you strip the oil from the skin, it will then overproduce the oil, making your blemishes worse.
The opposite of overcleansing is skipping cleansing. This can be just as bad, especially if you wear sunscreen and other products, or you sweat a lot.
Choose harsh formulas that promise deep clean but disrupt the skin barrier. Make sure your skin is ready and prepped before introducing treatment serums or stronger products.

Remember, healthy skin always starts with a proper cleanse.