Cleansers & Face Wash

Cleansing is the step people get wrong in the same direction every time: too harsh, too often, and judged by how tight the skin feels afterwards. That squeaky feeling is not cleanliness, it is a stripped barrier, and it is why so many oily-skin routines in this country end up producing more oil, not less.

Choose by what you need to remove

Dust, sweat and sunscreen are the daily reality in Dhaka, and sunscreen in particular does not come off with a splash of water. A gentle gel or foaming cleanser handles a normal day. On a day with sunscreen, makeup or a long commute, cleanse twice: an oil-based cleanser or micellar water first to dissolve what is oil-soluble, then your usual face wash. That is the whole of the "double cleansing" idea: one pass for oil, one for everything else.

Match it to your skin

Oily and acne-prone skin does well with a gel cleanser, optionally with a low dose of salicylic acid a few times a week. Dry and sensitive skin needs a cream, milk or non-foaming gel, and should avoid high-pH bar soaps entirely. Combination skin usually gets on best with a mild gel used twice a day and nothing stronger. Whatever the type, cleanse with lukewarm water. Hot water in a country this warm is an easy habit and a reliable way to irritate skin.

Twice a day, and no more

Morning and night is enough. A third or fourth wash to control shine sets off the rebound cycle: strip the oil, the skin makes more, wash again. If your face feels oily by lunchtime, blotting paper solves it without touching the barrier.

What to look for on the label

"Soap-free", "pH balanced" and a short ingredient list are worth more than any marketing claim on the front. Fragrance is the most common irritant in a cleanser and the easiest to avoid. And a cleanser is on your skin for thirty seconds, this is the one category where an expensive product is rarely worth it, and the money is better spent on the serum or the sunscreen that stays on all day.