The Best Cleansers For Combination Skin

Oily skin with dry patches? Wanting to remove excess oil without over-stripping? If these sound like common skin concerns of yours, chances are you may have a combination skin type. Combination skin is often defined as a complexion that combines dry and dull areas with an oily T-zone, making it a seemingly harder skin type to cater for. While the excess oil might fool you into thinking you have oily skin, this is only true if it appears across your entire face. Combination skin often also comes with dryness and flakiness, along with enlarged pores around your nose. 

This may leave you on the hunt for products to add to your morning and evening skincare routine that will battle breakouts and oiliness without harming your skins moisture barrier. The good news is, there are a wide variety of products out there designed specifically to ease the symptoms of combination skin, ranging from serums and face washes to night creams. The ideal products to look for when building your combination skin routine will nourish your complexion without adding any excess oil, and gently exfoliate your base without damaging it. Cleansing is a particularly important step in your skincare routine if you have combination skin. As it’s more prone to impurities and breakouts, having a good cleanser to hand that can effectively remove makeup and clean your base is a must. Since we’ve already covered the best toners for oily, dry skin, we felt it was only right to shine light on the best cleansers for combination skin that promise to restore harmony and balance to your complexion. 

For a cleanse that does so much more than just clean the skin, reach for the By BEAUTY BAY Vitamin C + Niacinamide Cleansing Gel. Enriched with brightness boosting vitamin C and niacinamide to smooth the skin, this cleanser is the way towards clear-skin greatness. Its refreshing gel-to-mild-foam texture hydrates as it cleanses, leaving skin nourished and flawless with every use. 

Putting the days of harsh cleansers behind us, we couldn’t be more obsessed with the ZitSticka CUSHION CLEANSE Balancing Facial Cleanser for Acne-Prone Skin. This lightly foaming cleanser uses a variety of skin-loving ingredients to balance and cleanse the complexion, including artic raspberry, wooly thistle stem cells, bisabolol, sea moss, coffee seeds and papaya extract. Thanks to its use of natural ingredients, this cleanser gently protects the skin barrier, leaving your skin tone clear and radiant. 

All hail another gentle yet effective cleanser. The Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Foam Cleanser/Purifying Mask works as a 2-in-1 cleanser and mask that breaks down makeup, leaving skin clean and refreshed. Created with botanical ingredients including gentian root extract and algae extract, this rich, creamy formula promotes a luminous complexion in one simple step. 

When it comes to the Origins Checks and Balances™ Frothy Face Wash, the clue is in the title. Designed to bring back balance to irritated skin, this skin saviour is enriched with a combination of natural ingredients suitable for both dry and oily skin, including lavender water, mint essential oil, and tourmaline best known for its detoxifying properties. This way for clear, cleansed skin!

If you’re looking for a tropical fix that will remove stubborn makeup with ease, look no further than the Fruit Enzyme Cleanser from Coco & Eve. Infused with exfoliating PHAs, papaya enzymes, and salicylic acid, this cleanser detoxifies and minimises pores while controlling excess oil, leaving skin looking and feeling smooth. It’s also enriched with antioxidants and vitamins that work to nourish and illuminate the skin, including dragon fruit seed oil, coconut, and banana extract, making it a fruity favourite amongst those with combination skin. 

Ditch any preconceived ideas you have about foaming cleaners, often said to contain harsh ingredients and dry the skin. The TikTok-approved CeraVe Foaming Cleanser contains ceramides and niacinamide that help to restore your skin’s hydration levels. Plus, hyaluronic acid helps to support moisture retention, offering supple, hydrated and deeply cleansed skin without any sign of dullness.

Bubble Skincare products go viral for a reason, and their Fresh Start Gel Cleanser is no exception. This skin-clearing cleanser is enriched with refreshing spearmint to calm the skin, soothing caffeine to reduce redness, and moisturising aloe leaf juice to calm the skin. It’s also formulated with gluconolactone to purify the skin and remove dirt without causing irritation or dryness, ensuring every element of your combination skin is cared for. 

We all want our skin to feel fresh and revitalised after cleansing, especially in the AM. The Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Lotion has been formulated with witch hazel and aloe vera to help clear congestion, remove impurities, and control excess oil without stripping skin of its natural moisture. 

Dry and dull skin in need of a glow up? You need the Glow Hub C YA Slayer Smoothie Gel Cleanser. Injecting radiance into your skincare routine, this cleanser contains a selection of brightness-boosting ingredients to rejuvenate your complexion, including vitamin C and tranexamic acid. Simply sweep over your face twice a day for a smoother, clearer, more luminous base.

The INKEY List are committed to making skincare simple and effective, using ingredients tailored towards your skin’s needs. This makes their oat cleansing balm a safe and solution-focused choice for your combination skin. Powered by soothing colloidal oatmeal and nourishing oat kernal oil, this innovative cleanser works to gently dissolve makeup and clean the skin, while soothing redness and irritation. 

Formulated with skin-loving ingredients, the refreshing gel formula of the By BEAUTY BAY Prebiotic + Avocado Oil Cleansing Gel is one to rely on. This cleanser gently cleans the skin without compromising on moisture levels or leaving your skin looking tired. Instead, skin is left hydrated, glowing, and cleansed. Trust us, this is your combination skin’s new best friend. 

Combination skin is often easily irritated, making a gentle, soothing cleanser a must-have. Enter The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser. Designed to match the skin’s natural PH balance and reduce dryness while effectively removing dirt and excess oil, this foaming cleanser is ideal for combination skin types.

Treat your skin to some serious TLC with the e.l.f Cosmetics Holy Hydration Daily Cleanser. Formulated with ceramides which work to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier along with hyaluronic acid for a hit of hydration, this cleanser repairs, protects, and cleans the skin while minimising excess oil.

FYI: This article was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.