Is your cleanser aging your skin? Try balm instead!

Cleansing our skin feels like the boring, practical bit where you’re simply getting rid of sunscreen, make-up, oil and dirt. 

Well, it may have taken me 51 years, but I have finally figured out that – particularly when it comes to mature skin – what you cleanse your skin with can make a dramatic difference to its health and appearance. 

Why your skin microbiome will thank you

We learned from my interview with microbiome specialist Dr Thomas Hitchcock that, just like our gut health, our skin health is highly influenced by the microbes that live on and in it. So we want to encourage the more helpful ones to flourish. 

Dr Hitchcock said to support our skin’s microbiome we need to maintain a lower pH, particularly as we age. 

It’s likely no coincidence that oily skin has a lower pH than dry skin because our natural oils or sebum is a food source for some of those helpful microbes.

But as our skin ages it becomes drier as our cells become less efficient and productive and so the environment for the helpful bacteria becomes a little more challenging. 

Researchers at the Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut found disrupted levels of C.acnes bacteria and staph epidermidis were linked to a decline in collagen levels among volunteers aged 54 to 60. 

Additionally, recent research from the Center for Microbiome Innovation at the University of California San Diego and L’Oréal Research and Innovation, published in the journal Frontiers, found a less regulated microbiome was connected to increased wrinkling around the eyes. 

The findings emphasise the importance of creating an environment on our skin that allows those primary microbes to flourish.

Over-use of skincare actives, preservatives and excessive washing are among the biggest culprits for drying out the skin and increasing its pH. 

All this means that our choice of cleanser is absolutely crucial. 

Making the switch

I’m someone who has always enjoyed the feeling of washing my face. When I was younger I had very oily skin and I was constantly using harsh soapy cleansers to try to wash off all the oil. What I didn’t appreciate at the time was this was actually making it worse. 

As I aged, washing my skin with traditional cleansing washes started to dry it out. This was also adding to the appearance of fine lines and causing my skin to look more aged. 

In recent years I’ve scaled back on the frequency of using retinoids which also have a drying effect on your skin by reducing your natural oil production which is why they can be so helpful for those experiencing acne. So now I use a retinoid around three times a week rather than daily. 

But I also decided to try an oil-based cleansing balm, and the difference it made to my skin was night and day.  

You still get a good cleanse, but you don’t strip the skin.  

You can feel the benefit because after washing my face using an oil-based balm, when it dries, it feels normal and not tight or lacking moisture. 

And that has a knock-on effect through everything because you are starting your skincare routine from a position of strength, rather than having to use more products after cleansing to compensate for the fact you’ve just stripped your skin of moisture. 

It also means I can minimise my routine. In the mornings I just apply a little fermented oil before a moisturizing SPF, and then in the evenings, a retinoid three nights a week before the oil and my Calecim Multi Action Cream and I’m done (scroll down for a link to my full skincare routine). 

Best balms

I’ve tried quite a few balms and I’m going to quickly run through my favorites along with a couple of more traditional cleansing washes which are a happy medium if you don’t like to use a substantially oil-based product. 

So my big two favorite balms are happily low in price as well and are very similarly formulated. They are the Oat Cleansing Balm from Inkey List (listed along with my other choices below) priced at around $13 or £12 for 150ml and it’s very widely available internationally. 

I also love the Chamomile and Oat Lipid Cleansing Balm from BeautyBay but I don’t see it listed on their site in the US so I’m not sure how widely available it is outside of the UK where it’s around £10 per 90ml tub. 

Why I love them

There’s very little separating those two in terms of the way they feel and perform on the skin. Both include oat kernal oil known to support the skin’s moisture levels with its ceramides and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and it’s also a proven prebiotic so it is microbiome friendly.  

Oat kernal extract is of course the star ingredient in Aveeno’s products and I have always kept their daily moisturiser in our house ever since my kids were babies because it was the only thing that completely got rid of the dermatitis they both developed on the back of their knees when they were just very little. 

And it’s my absolute go to at the first sign of any skin problems because it is such a great skin barrier support and stabilizer. 

The Inkey List and Beauty Bay oat cleansing balms also include sweet almond oil in the base and they spread extremely well, break down eye make-up brilliantly, are great for sensitive skin. The Inkey List one is unfragranced while the Beauty Bay balm is only very delicately and naturally fragranced with the chamomile, and both are really good value for money. 

Couple of others worth mentioning

At the luxury end, I do love the True Botanicals Ginger Tumeric Cleansing Balm – it smells just like it sounds but it’s a natural rather than synthetic fragrance – and if budget is not an issue, because it’s around $50 for a 96gram tub, then it does a lovely job and is primarily based on natural ingredients including oat kernal oil. 

And another balm that is excellent, particularly if you have very sensitive skin, is the Hyper-Gentle Balm Cleanser from Harborist which is a small, niche skincare company. It’s fragrance free, very largely based on natural oils and it’s around £27 or $35 for 100ml. You’ll find all the products listed on the carousel above.

How to use a cleansing balm

To use a cleansing balm, I firstly wet my hands, but not my face. That’s an important bit because you want the balm to be easy to apply but not overwhelmed by the water, so I put a 5p coin or dime sized amount in the palm of my hands and rub it over my face, working out my mascara and sweeping the balm down my neck too and then removing everything with a hot wet face towel which I sweep over once, rinse and then do it again. 

Not only have I noticed how much better hydrated my skin is, but I no longer get these annoying white bumps or milia which I often got on my forehead. And I think that’s because my skin is just more balanced now and functioning better – and it shows. 

Best alternatives to oil-based balms

If you really don’t want to use a heavily oil-based balm cleanser a good half-way house is the Aveeno Calm & Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser – it’s a very gentle option for those who like the feeling of washing their skin and again it’s another affordable option. It doesn’t lock in moisture in quite the same way as these balms though, but it’s a good non-foaming cleansing wash which still includes those helpful oats. 

Another half-way house is the molecular silk amino hydrating cleanser from Allies of Skin. It contains safflower and moringa oils but isn’t as heavily oil concentrated as the balms. It has a lovely texture and it’s a great one to use in the shower if you like to wash your face in the morning but want to preserve that hydration. It’s a little pricier though at £38 or $41 for 100ml. 

Can’t face washing? Try micellar water

Finally, for those who don’t like the idea of washing your face at all and want to use something more like a liquid cleanser applied with cotton pads, then micellar water is really the thing to try because it doesn’t disrupt the skin’s pH.

And micellar water contains small particles called micelles which basically act like a sponge, mopping up dirt and makeup. But the clever part is they have an oil-loving element that traps dirt, oil, and makeup and a water-loving element that allows the micelles to dissolve impurities so they can be wiped away. So it’s a great, naturally skin balancing alternative to balm cleansing.

I’ve linked to one of the best selling micellar water products above from Bioderma and it’s $13 or £18 for 500ml.

My mum has used micellar water to cleanse her skin for years and at 81 her skin is still in really good condition and very well hydrated.