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Anti-aging cleansers aren’t usually among the first products to grab when switching to anti-aging skincare. It’s primarily the wrinkle cream. If there’s enough dedication, then a retinol serum is added into the mix. It stops there for most people because they’re usually good enough to get the job done.
But that’s quite a burden to put on those two. Rather than assigning your anti-aging moisturizer as the sole authority to keep the wrinkles at bay, it’s more effective to evenly distribute the responsibility among all your skincare products. Well, of course, your face wash might not have as much weight as your retinol cream.
But replacing your regular cleanser with an anti-aging one makes your routine all the more targeted towards keeping your complexion youthful. The best anti-aging cleansers intensify your skincare pretty notably. They exfoliate the skin, stimulate skin turnover, and prime the skin with restorative ingredients like antioxidants. Read on for the best anti-aging cleansers and how to pick the right one.
How to Choose an Anti-Aging Cleanser
Skin Type
You should keep your skin type in mind when shopping for an anti-aging cleanser. Remember that anti-aging isn’t always about antioxidants or potent ingredients. It’s firstly about knowing what your skin needs. If you have oily skin, go for non-comedogenic face washes. If you have dry skin, try non-drying, replenishing cleansers. Because a powerful exfoliating cleanser will only make your wrinkles more visible.
Cleanser Type
Additionally, pay attention to the texture and type of your cleanser as well. If you have very dry skin, go for cream/lotion/oil cleansers as they tend to be very gentle on the skin. Foaming cleansers are usually more suitable for oily and combination skin. Gel cleansers, depending on the ingredients, are more “fluid” and are suitable for all skin types.
Ingredients To Look For
Common anti-aging ingredients found in cleansers and face washes are exfoliants like glycolic acid and antioxidants like vitamin C. These ingredients have all unique benefits. For example, look for brightening vitamin C and other antioxidants if you’re dealing with hyperpigmentation. Look for exfoliating cleansers such as glycolic acid cleansers if you have prominent wrinkles and uneven skin texture. Additionally, no matter your skin type, look for hydrating ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid so the cleanser doesn’t leave your skin dry, which is never good for skin, let alone mature, aging skin.
The Best Anti-Aging Cleansers
From foaming to non-foaming, and from exfoliating to replenishing, there’s an anti-aging face cleanser/face wash for every skin type. Scroll down for the best anti-aging cleansers and find your new essential.
1. SkinCeuticals Glycolic Renewal Cleanser
If you have combination/oily skin that could use some chemical exfoliation, this cleanser is formulated for you. It has glycolic acid to get rid of dead skin cells and rough texture. The alcohol-free cleanser removes makeup and impurities as well as flaky skin. And it helps to smooth out the skin texture with every wash. It also has phytic acid -an antioxidant with skin-brightening effects, as well as soothing aloe and moisturizing glycerin. The deep exfoliating cleanser is in a gel form and leaves the skin feeling fresh as a daisy.
Key Ingredients: 8% glycolic acid, phytic acid
Cleanser Type: Gel
Skin Type: Normal, combination, oily
Size: 5 oz/150 ml
Good To Know: Non-comedogenic, alcohol-free
2. Murad Essential-C Cleanser
Formulated with our favorite antioxidant, this foaming vitamin C cleanser is perfect for targeting discolorations and dull skin while getting rid of makeup and day’s dirt. If you have dark spots here and there accompanied by a lack of radiance, the anti-aging cleanser can amp up your routine with the help of skin-clearing vitamin C. Plus it has vitamins A, and E to ward off free radicals and protect the skin against oxidative stress. It also has vitamin B5 and allantoin to calm and soothe the skin. It leaves the skin pure, clean, and brighter.
Key Ingredients: Vitamins C, E, and A
Cleanser Type: Gel
Skin Type: All
Size: 6.75 oz
3. Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel
For a thorough cleansing action to get rid of your makeup, dust, and pollution particles as well as plugs inside pores, and dead skin cells, this anti-aging gel cleanser is perfect. It’s made with glycolic acid and salicylic acid to resurface the skin and refine the look of pores and fine lines. To avoid drying out the skin, it has provitamin B5 to support the skin’s natural barrier and provide the skin with moisture. The cleanser is suitable for oily and acne-prone skin.
Key Ingredients: Glycolic acid, salicylic acid
Cleanser Type: Gel
Skin Type: Normal, combination, oily, acne-prone
Size: 8.5 oz/250 ml
4. La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Facial Cleanser
If you have dry and sensitive skin, don’t worry too much about having exfoliants or antioxidants in your cleanser. For dry skin, it’s more important to have a gentle cleanser that doesn’t strip the skin of its natural oils. This cleanser not only keeps the skin barrier intact but also has ingredients to repair it. It makes sure that your cleansing doesn’t turn into a whole drying, flushing, and tightening experience. It contains skin-restoring ceramides and vitamin B3 (niacinamide). The drugstore cream cleanser purifies the skin and doesn’t weaken the skin barrier, which is what makes it prone to wrinkle formation in the first place. It’s oil-, paraben-, soap-, and fragrance-free and is suitable for dry and sensitive skin.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, niacinamide
Cleanser Type: Cream
Skin Type: Normal, dry, sensitive
Size: 13.5 oz/400 ml
Good To Know: Fragrance-free, oil-free
5. Beautycounter Countertime Lipid Defense Cleansing Oil
This one is ideal as the first step in a double-cleansing routine. If you regularly wear makeup, cleansing oil or balm is going to help you gently remove makeup so there’s not much pulling and tugging during makeup removal. After you dissolve your makeup, you follow with a regular cleanser. This cleansing oil utilizes nature’s retinol, aka bakuchiol, for its anti-aging benefits without irritation. It melts away makeup with sesame oil and rose oil. And in addition to bakuchiol, it packs antioxidant vitamin E to stave off free radicals and botanicals that are rich in fatty acids to support the skin barrier. The cleansing oil leaves the skin soft and replenished. Massage the nourishing oil into the skin and let it dissolve makeup and any dust and dirt clogging your pores.
Key Ingredients: Bakuchiol, vitamin E
Cleanser Type: Oil
Skin Type: Normal, dry, oily, sensitive
Size: 5 oz/150 ml
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
6. Youth To The People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser
Antioxidants become your go-to ingredients when you pass 30. They neutralize free radicals that cause dark spots and fine lines to appear on your skin. And this one is packed with a bunch of those derived from greens! Plus, it’s made with skin-clearing vitamin C, skin-soothing vitamin E, and moisture-boosting provitamin B5 as well as soothing aloe. And it’s alcohol-free. The vegan gel cleanser leaves the skin super clean, fresh and nourished. And it smells amazing!
Key Ingredients: Vitamins C and E, green tea
Cleanser Type: Gel
Skin Type: All including sensitive
Size: 8 oz/237 ml
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
7. Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser
This anti-aging cleanser enhances your skincare routine with the help of lactic acid. Lactic acid is known to hydrate while exfoliating the skin. It’s way gentler than glycolic acid and usually doesn’t cause irritation. With its skin resurfacing and plumping effects, the face wash clears up the skin and moisturizes it with vitamin E. As the skin becomes more sensitive as you age, a gentle exfoliating cleanser like this one won’t disrupt the skin barrier.
Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, vitamin E
Cleanser Type: Cream
Skin Type: All
Size: 5.1 oz/150 ml
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
8. Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser
And speaking of exfoliating while hydrating, this one is another gem. The jelly-like Korean cleanser is made with lactic acid and glycolic acid in addition to skin-replenishing hyaluronic acid. Plus, it’s packed with antioxidants derived from various berries as well. The cleanser leaves the skin as if you’ve just moisturized it. Sadly, a cleansing ritual most of us aren’t familiar with. That’s why this is one of the best anti-aging cleansers and it deserves a place in your skincare arsenal.
Key Ingredients: Naturally derived glycolic and lactic acid
Cleanser Type: Gel
Skin Type: All
Size: 5.41 oz/160 ml
Good To Know: Vegan
9. Amorepacific Treatment Enzyme Peel Cleansing Powder
Powder cleansers are incredibly effective in getting the face squeaky clean. They can be too drying for dry skin types. However, they are amazing for oily and acne-prone skin. They leave the face super clean as the powder form absorbs any oil, bacteria, and residual makeup from the skin. With green tea-derived enzymes, the concentrated cleanser exfoliates the skin, stimulating faster cell turnover. The cleanser is really potent, so you really don’t need to use an exfoliating pad or an exfoliating toner when you’re using this one. It has all you need in a facewash to target blemishes, oiliness, and textured skin.
Key Ingredients: Enzymes
Cleanser Type: Powder
Skin Type: Normal, combination, oily, acne-prone
Size: 1.94 oz
Related: The Best Face Washes For Oily Skin and Large Pores
10. Tata Harper Purifying Pore Detox Cleanser
This one is 100 % natural and is infused with some of the best anti-aging ingredients mother earth has to offer. It has exfoliating papaya enzymes, antioxidant-rich broccoli extract, mineral-rich clay, soothing aloe, and several other nourishing oils. The anti-aging cleanser purifies the skin, deeply cleans the pores, and removes any remaining makeup and dirt while embracing the skin with nutrients. The oil-to-gel cleanser unclogs pores and makes the skin permeable so that it absorbs upcoming products even better.
Key Ingredients: Enzymes
Cleanser Type: Oil-to-gel
Skin Type: All but sensitive
Size: 4.1 oz/120 ml
Good To Know: Vegan, cruelty-free
11. HydroPeptide Exfoliating Cleanser
Last but not least, this one is an all-in-one anti-aging cleanser that’ll take things to a whole new level. It offers chemical exfoliation, physical exfoliation, antioxidants, and peptides! It exfoliates the skin with glycolic acid and removes dead skin cells that cause textured skin. It contains microbeads from jojoba to give you gentle physical exfoliation. And it’s brimming with antioxidants like green tea, ginseng, and chamomile. And it contains signal peptides that relax facial muscles for a smoother complexion. The formula is super potent, making it one of the best anti-aging cleansers to keep wrinkles at bay.
Key Ingredients: Peptides, glycolic acid, antioxidants
Cleanser Type: Cream
Skin Type: All but sensitive
Size: 6.76 oz/200 ml
This completes our round-up of the best anti-aging cleansers. But there’s another way you can intensify your facial cleansing and get a bit of anti-aging benefits as well. And that’s by using a facial cleansing tool.
Cleansing tools are incredibly helpful in making sure there’s no dirt or makeup residue trapped inside pores or folds. Even if you go for a regular facial cleanser, using a brush or a cleansing device with it can change the game.
Foreo Luna 3 For Sensitive Skin
Shopping for one of these gets confusing. These silicone tools are tailored to your specific skin type. But for anti-aging purposes, you can consider the one for sensitive skin to make the cleansing as gentle as possible.
The cleansing tool cleans up dirt, helps unclog pores, and removes makeup in 1 minute. It also massages your face to plump it up and helps you work your facial creams into your skin.
It also helps with reducing puffiness, increasing circulation, and prepping the skin for better skincare absorption. Just pick your favorite from the best anti-aging cleansers from above and pair it with this one.
