You should wash 2 times a day if you have acne.

Make sure you are using the best acne cleanser for your Baumann Skin Type.

Cleansers will help your other acne medications and skin care products work better if you choose the correct face wash.

If you have stinging and inflamed skin because your rosacea is flaring, you may choose to only wash your face at night.

Make sure you choose a rosacea cleanser that matches your sensitive Baumann Skin Type.

It should have soothing anti-redness ingredients.

Very oily skin types may be able to use soap on the face. However, most skin types cannot use bar soap.

If you have dry or sensitive skin, or are using a retinoid, soap should not be used to wash the face or body unless it is a syndet bar such as Dove bar soap. Syndet means a synthetic detergent which is more gentle.

If you have dry skin, avoid any cleansers with strong foam because they have a lot of damaging detergents.

The number of cleansers we recommend in the skin care routine customized for your Baumann Skin Type will depend upon:

Your Baumann Skin Type®

Your doctor’s preferences (if you are using a provider code then the routines are the ones recommended by your doctor)

Which Skin care routine option you choose: Pre-Built Kit or a Fully Custom Kit. These are options when you don’t have a STS approved doctor selected.

Which phase you are in the skin care routines. (Each month may have a different phase of products as your skin type improves.)

In some cases, you will have one cleanser in your regimen and in others, you may have 2 cleansers. In some cases, you may choose to use an exfoliating scrub to brighten the skin 2-3 times a week. (Use sparingly if you have sensitive skin or are using any other exfoliators including retinoids).

You only need to double cleanse your face if you have waterproof or sticky sunscreen, streak-resistant makeup, or face paint that is hard to remove.

When you double cleanse, first use a cleansing oil or makeup remover, followed by the best cleanser for your skin type.

A micellular water is a good cleanser to use as a makeup remover.

These are good micellar waters to use to remove makeup:

Avene Micellar Lotion

Bioderma Hydrabio H2O Micellar Water

La Roche Posay Micellar Water for Sensitive Skin

You can remove makeup easiest with cleansing oils, creamy cleansers and foaming cleansers- but make sure you choose one correct for your Baumann Skin Type.

If you do not use a makeup remover before cleansing, use a double cleanse technique.

You can:

Use your normal cleanser twice

Use 2 different cleansers

Use a cleansing oil followed by your normal cleanser

You can use a face cleanser on your body.

Do not use a body cleanser on your face.

Body cleansers are more likely to have comedogenic ingredients in them that can lead to clogged pores, blackheads, whiteheads and milia.

In general, you should never wash you face with shampoo. It has detergents that can be irritating.

Even using Baby Shampoo to wash the face is a bad idea.

There is only one shampoo that you can use on your face- dandruff shampoo.

Zinc pyrithione shampoos like Head and Shoulders can help a skin condition called seborrheic dermatitis.

However, these dandruff shampoos it can be drying to the face so make sure you use a soothing moisturizer with anti-inflammatory ingredients like Zerafite Soothing and Calming.

Many people, even most oily skin types, feel dry for the first 15-20 minutes after washing the face.

This dryness you are feeling and the tightness and skin roughness occurs from the lack of sebum (oil) on the skin’s surface.

It takes 15- 20 minutes for your sebaceous glands to begin replacing the sebum on your skin that you just washed off.

This is why when my research team is evaluating how dry the skin is, we wait 20 minutes before taking any measurements.

In my dermatology clinic, we also try to wash your face right when you arrive and do your intake interview before we take your photos with the Canfield Visia Camera System so we can more accurately assess oil production and skin texture measurements in the images.

The point is- many people think they have dry skin when they do not.

The best way to know is take the quiz.

The best dry skin cleansers for the face and body should protect your skin barrier with fatty acids.

Many face washes dry out the skin. You need to use barrier safe cleansers with soothing and hydrating fatty acid and lipids.

If you have dry skin, choose a creamy non-foaming cleanser.

Avoid face washes and cleansers with a lot of detergent and a thick foam that damage the skin barrier

Face washes, soaps and cleansers are all words that mean similar things.

However, the word soap usually means a bar soap with a lot of detergents.

Avoid using soap on your face because it extremely damages the skin barrier. You can use the words face wash and cleanser interchangeably.

Let us help you build a skincare routine from many brands!

References and peer reviewed publications on cleansers:

1. L. Baumann Ch. 40 Cleansing Agents in Baumann’s Cosmetic Dermatology (McGraw Hill, 2022).
2. Warren R, Ertel KD, Bartolo RG, Levine MJ, Bryant PB, Wong LF. The influence of hard water (calcium) and surfactants on irritant contact dermatitis. Contact Dermatitis. 1996;35(6):337-43.
3. Imokawa G, Mishima Y. Cumulative effect of surfactants on cutaneous horny layers: adsorption onto human keratin layers in vivo. Contact Dermatitis. 1979;5(6):357-66.
4. Fulmer AW, Kramer GJ. Stratum corneum lipid abnormalities in surfactant-induced dry scaly skin. J Invest Dermatol. 1986;86(5):598-602.
5. Downing DT, Abraham W, Wegner BK, Willman KW, Marshall JL. Partition of sodium dodecyl sulfate into stratum corneum lipid liposomes. Arch Dermatol Res. 1993;285(3):151-7.
6. Denda M, Hori J, Koyama J, Yoshida S, Nanba R, Takahashi M, et al. Stratum corneum sphingolipids and free amino acids in experimentally-induced scaly skin. Arch Dermatol Res. 1992;284(6):363-7.
7. Rawlings AV, Watkinson A, Rogers J, Mayo AM, Hope J, Scott IR. Abnormalities in stratum corneum structure, lipid composition, and desmosome degradation in soap induced winter xerosis. J Soc Cosmet Chem. 1994;45:203-220.
8. Wilhelm KP, Saunders JC, Maibach HI. Increased stratum corneum turnover induced by subclinical irritant dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 1990;122(6):793-8.
9. White MI, Jenkinson DM, Lloyd DH. The effect of washing on the thickness of the stratum corneum in normal and atopic individuals. Br J Dermatol. 1987;116(4):525-30.
10. Lee SH, Elias PM, Proksch E, Menon GK, Mao-Quiang M, Feingold KR. Calcium and potassium are important regulators of barrier homeostasis in murine epidermis. J Clin Invest. 1992;89(2):530-8.
11. Hunziker T, Brand CU, Kapp A, Waelti ER, Braathen LR. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in human skin lymph derived from sodium lauryl sulphate-induced contact dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 1992;127(3):254-7.
12. Denda M, Koyama J, Namba R, Horii I. Stratum corneum lipid morphology and transepidermal water loss in normal skin and surfactant-induced scaly skin. Arch Dermatol Res. 1994;286(1):41-6.
13. Friedman M, Wolf R. Chemistry of soaps and detergents: various types of commercial products and their ingredients. Clin Dermatol. 1996;14(1):7-13.
14. Tanaka A, Matsuda A, Jung K, Jang H, Ahn G, Ishizaka S, et al. Ultra-pure soft water ameliorates atopic skin disease by preventing metallic soap deposition in NC/Tnd mice and reduces skin dryness in humans. Acta Derm Venereol. 2015;95(7):787-91.
15. Togawa Y, Kambe N, Shimojo N, Nakano T, Sato Y, Mochizuki H, et al. Ultra-pure soft water improves skin barrier function in children with atopic dermatitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study. J Dermatol Sci. 2014;76(3):269-71.
16. Menon GK, Price LF, Bommannan B, Elias PM, Feingold KR. Selective obliteration of the epidermal calcium gradient leads to enhanced lamellar body secretion. J Invest Dermatol. 1994;102(5):789-95.
17. Abraham W, Wertz PW, Landmann L, Downing DT. Stratum corneum lipid liposomes: calcium-induced transformation into lamellar sheets. J Invest Dermatol. 1987;88(2):212-4.
18. Friberg SE, Goldsmith L, Rong G. The influence of calcium ions and 2-(alkoxy)-1-((alkoyloxy)methyl)-ethyl-7-(4-heptyl-5,6)-(dicarboxy-2-cyclohexene-l-yl) heptanoate on a simplified model of stratum corneum lipids. J Am Oil Chem Soc. 1988;65:1834-1837.
19. Morr S, Cuartas E, Alwattar B, Lane JM. How much calcium is in your drinking water? A survey of calcium concentrations in bottled and tap water and their significance for medical treatment and drug administration. HSS J. 2006;2(2):130-5.
20. Löffler H, Aramaki J, Effendy I. Response to thermal stimuli in skin pretreated with sodium lauryl sulfate. Acta Derm Venereol. 2001;81(6):395-7.
21. Berardesca E, Vignoli GP, Distante F, Brizzi P, Rabbiosi G. Effects of water temperature on surfactant-induced skin irritation. Contact Dermatitis. 1995;32(2):83-7.
22. Ohlenschlaeger J, Friberg J, Ramsing D, Agner T. Temperature dependency of skin susceptibility to water and detergents. Acta Derm Venereol. 1996;76(4):274-6.
23. Clarys P, Manou I, Barel AO. Influence of temperature on irritation in the hand/forearm immersion test. Contact Dermatitis. 1997;36(5):240-3.
24. Fluhr JW, Bornkessel A, Akengin A, Fuchs S, Norgauer J, Kleesz P, et al. Sequential application of cold and sodium lauryl sulphate decreases irritation and barrier disruption in vivo in humans. Br J Dermatol. 2005;152(4):702-8.
25. Halkier-Sørensen L, Menon GK, Elias PM, Thestrup-Pedersen K, Feingold KR. Cutaneous barrier function after cold exposure in hairless mice: a model to demonstrate how cold interferes with barrier homeostasis among workers in the fish-processing industry. Br J Dermatol. 1995;132(3):391-401.
26. Clarys P, Alewaeters K, Jadoul A, Barel A, Manadas RO, Préat V. In vitro percutaneous penetration through hairless rat skin: influence of temperature, vehicle and penetration enhancers. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 1998;46(3):279-83.
27. Effendy I, Maibach HI. Surfactants and experimental irritant contact dermatitis. Contact Dermatitis. 1995;33(4):217-25.
28. Wilhelm KP, Freitag G, Wolff HH. Surfactant-induced skin irritation and skin repair: evaluation of a cumulative human irritation model by noninvasive techniques. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1994;31(6):981-7.
29. Froebe CL, Simion FA, Rhein LD, Cagan RH, Kligman A. Stratum corneum lipid removal by surfactants: relation to in vivo irritation. Dermatologica. 1990;181(4):277-83.
30. Ananthapadmanabhan KP, Moore DJ, Subramanyan K, Misra M, Meyer F. Cleansing without compromise: the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier and the technology of mild cleansing. Dermatol Ther. 2004;17 Suppl 1:16-25.
31. Chen YF, Yang CH, Chang MS, Ciou YP, Huang YC. Foam properties and detergent abilities of the saponins from Camellia oleifera. Int J Mol Sci. 2010;11(11):4417-25.
32. Bárány E, Lindberg M, Lodén M. Biophysical characterization of skin damage and recovery after exposure to different surfactants. Contact Dermatitis. 1999;40(2):98-103.
33. Corazza M, Lauriola MM, Zappaterra M, Bianchi A, Virgili A. Surfactants, skin cleansing protagonists. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010;24(1):1-6.
34. Baumann LS. Overview of Cleansing Agents. In: Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2014:19-20.
35. Osipow L, Snell FD, Marra D, York WC. Surface activity of monoesters fatty acid esters of sucrose. Ind Engineer Chem. 1956;48(9):1462-1464.
36. Tmáková L, Sekretár S, Schmidt Š. Plant-derived surfactants as an alternative to synthetic surfactants: surface and antioxidant activities. Chem Papers. 2016;70(2):188-196.
37. Proksch E. pH in nature, humans and skin. J Dermatol. 2018;45(9):1044-1052.
38. Kligman AM. A comparative evaluation of a novel low-strength salicylic acid cream and glycolic acid products on human skin. Cosmet Dermatol. 1997;10(Suppl 4):11-5.
39. Davies M, Marks R. Studies on the effect of salicylic acid on normal skin. Br J Dermatol. 1976;95(2):187-92.
40. Green BA, Briden E. PHAs and bionic acids: next generation of hydroxy acids. In Cosmeceuticals, 2^nd edition, ed. Draelos ZD. Amsterdam:Elsevier, 2009, pp. 209–215.
41. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Guidance for Industry Topical Acne Drug Products for Overthe-Counter Human Use — Revision of Labeling and Classification of Benzoyl Peroxide as Safe and Effective. Small Entity Compliance Guide. June 2011 OTC. https://www.fda.gov/media/80442/download. Accessed December 6, 2020.
42. Alexander JW. History of the medical use of silver. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2009;10(3):289-92.
43. Randall CP, Oyama LB, Bostock JM, Chopra I, O'Neill AJ. The silver cation (Ag+): antistaphylococcal activity, mode of action and resistance studies. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2013;68(1):131-8.
44. Del Rosso JQ, Bhatia N. Status Report on Topical Hypochlorous Acid: Clinical Relevance of Specific Formulations, Potential Modes of Action, and Study Outcomes. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2018;11(11):36-39.
45. Stringer T, Nagler A, Orlow SJ, Oza VS. Clinical evidence for washing and cleansers in acne vulgaris: a systematic review. J Dermatolog Treat. 2018;29(7):688-693.
46. Cosmetic Ingredient Review. Safety Assessment of Polyglyceryl Fatty Acid Esters as Used in Cosmetics. Draft Report for Panel Review. Spring, 2016. https://www.cir-safety.org/sites/default/files/polyglyceryl%20fatty%20acid.pdf. Accessed December 6, 2020.