There's been virtually no stone left unturned in the quest for a perfect skin cleanser. People have tried slathering pretty much everything on their faces at the slightest hint it might help them achieve a glowing, flawless complexion. Milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice bran, honey, sugar, tea, vanilla, thyme, fennel, nutmeg, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, avocadoes, almonds, apples, lemons, limes, oranges, tomatoes, grapes and papayas are all among the cornucopia of items that have been hijacked from kitchens and put to work in bathrooms. So too have olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, hempseed oil, grapeseed oil, witch hazel and all sorts of other essential oils and extracts. For even crazier-sounding skin care treatments, take a peek at Top 5 Weirdest Beauty Cream Ingredients, but be warned -- these five formulas aren't for readers with delicate sensibilities.
Provided someone heads to the store for his or her facial cleanser rather than working some DIY magic, choosing which skin care products to buy can be a supremely frustrating chore. With practically unlimited options, it's hard to know what's best, and if it turns out you have hard-to-please skin, you might be forced to keep forking over cash until you find one that works well.
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There are some basic guidelines people can follow, however, to increase their chances of choosing a cleanser that fits the bill. For example, skin type makes a big difference. Dry skin will not get the nurturing it needs from a facial cleanser geared to manage oily skin, and vice versa. On the next page we'll navigate the complicated categories of skin cleansers and see how they measure up against one another.
