Choosing a face wash for deep skin tones
The cleanser is the step people spend least on and get most wrong. Here is what a face wash for black skin actually needs to do.
5 min read
Cleansing is the step everyone treats as a formality, and it is quietly the one most likely to be causing your problems. A face wash for black skin has one real job: remove the day without taking the skin's lipids with it, and a great many popular cleansers fail at exactly that.
The squeaky-clean trap
That tight, squeaky feeling after washing has been sold as cleanliness for decades. It is not. It is the sensation of a barrier that has just been stripped, and on deeper skin the inflammation that follows is what leaves marks behind.
A good cleanser leaves skin feeling comfortable and slightly cushioned. If yours leaves you reaching for moisturizer urgently, it is doing too much.
What to look for
- pH-balanced, somewhere near skin's own; high-pH bar soaps are the usual culprit
- A mild surfactant system rather than sulfates high in the ingredient list
- Something humectant in the formula, so it is not purely subtractive
- Little to no fragrance, particularly if you are breaking out
- A gentle cleanser for dark skin does not need to foam dramatically to be working
How often
Twice a day if you wear sunscreen and makeup, which you should be. Once, at night, if your skin is dry, reactive, or currently recovering. Rinsing with water in the morning is a perfectly respectable option and considerably better than a cleanser that strips.
What about exfoliating cleansers?
Generally not worth it. An exfoliating acid needs contact time to do anything, and a cleanser is on your face for forty seconds. What you get is the irritation without much of the benefit. Keep exfoliation in a leave-on step where it can be controlled, and let the cleanser cleanse.
Physical scrubs are worse on deeper skin. Micro-tears cause inflammation, and inflammation is the mechanism behind the marks most people are trying to improve.
Common questions
Should I double cleanse?
Only if you wear heavy makeup or a thick sunscreen. An oil or balm first, then your gel cleanser. For most people on most days, once is enough.
Is bar soap really that bad?
Traditional bar soap sits at a much higher pH than skin, which is exactly the stripping problem described above. Modern syndet bars are a different thing and are fine.
My skin is oily. Shouldn't I use something stronger?
Usually the opposite. Skin that is stripped often produces more oil to compensate, so a harsh cleanser can make oiliness worse over time rather than better.
Sources
- 1.Lambers H, Piessens S, Bloem A, Pronk H, Finkel P. Natural skin surface pH is on average below 5, which is beneficial for its resident flora. Int J Cosmet Sci 2006;28(5):359–370.
- 2.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.
- 3.Muizzuddin N, Hellemans L, Van Overloop L, et al. Structural and functional differences in barrier properties of African American, Caucasian and East Asian skin. J Dermatol Sci 2010;59(2):123–128.
Educational only, and not medical advice. Dr. Kita Skincare products are cosmetics. If a skin concern is persistent or painful, see a doctor.