Does Clinique Liquid Soap Cause Breakouts?

Blondie beckons…I was on Allure.com and there were several users who claimed that Clinique Liquid Facial Soap worked wonders on their face. I have used Clinique moisturizer before and it worked well with my skin, but I am skeptical about using their facial soap. I have sensitive skin and Clinique is on the more expensive side; I do not want to waste my money on something that does not work or will break me out. But I would really love to clear up the acne spots on my face.

The Right Brain bounces back

From our research it looks like the Clinique Liquid Facial soaps are good quality, mild cleansers although they’re a bit expensive. Let’s look at the ingredient list for the three different versions: Extra Mild, Liquid, Mild, and Oily Skin Formula.

Clinique cleansers

The Extra Mild type is said to contain caprylic/capric triglyceride, olive oil, and sucrose stearate to gently cleanse the skin and “potent” humectants such as sodium PCA and sodium hyaluronate to moisturize. While it’s true that these cleansers are very mild, they’re also don’t clean particularly well. You may find they don’t get your face clean enough. The humectants they mention are really marketing hype ingredients because they only work when they’re not rinsed off, which in this case they are.

The Mild version is based on an amino-acid derived surfactant, TEA-Cocoyl Glutamate, which is considerably better at cleansing and still very non-stripping. It is also said to contain sodium hyaluronate, aloe, and sucrose to “help bind moisture to the skin, comfort and soothe, leaving skin refreshed and conditioned.” Again, these only have benefit when not rinsed off.

Finally, the Oily skin version adds cooling menthol and a lightweight conditioner Polyquaternium-7 to its cleansers. Despite it’s positioning this cleanser doesn’t contain any acne medication.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

All these products would probably be good for if you’re bothered by harsh detergents but there’s always the chance that the product’s fragrance could irritate you. And Clinique won’t be good if you have a sensitive bank account. Also, while they shouldn’t make your acne any worse, there’s very little they can do to make it any better either. Finally while it doesn’t look like any of these version will dry out your skin, the ingredients that they claim are moisturizing are pretty much rinsed away, so don’t expect to much in that regard.

What’s your favorite way to wash your face? Leave a cleansing comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.