10 Best Facial Cleansers (Review) In 2021

There are a few things to look out for when buying a facial cleanser. First, it has to include some of the key ingredients that we know are essential to good skin care – hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, retinol, vitamin E, aloe vera, green tea extract, etc. If you’re not sure what each of these ingredients does to your skin, do a bit of research before you choose. The other thing to look out for are positive Amazon reviews – ultimately, the company can say all the right things, but if other customers don’t like the product, it’s probably a dud.

This Vitamin C Facial Cleanser from InstaNatural ticks both of those boxes. It contains vitamin C, aloe vera, coconut water, sugar cane extract, and green tea extract. It’s also got over 3,000 positive reviews on Amazon, so you know it works. The other main benefit of buying from this company is the fact that it’s cruelty-free and uses natural ingredients from a renewable source. Make sure you combine it with one of the best face moisturizers from our list.

If you have oily skin, it can take years to find the right skin-care products. Well, the search can stop here with the Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser. It’s designed specifically to draw out anything hidden deep inside the pores. Using Japanese Skin Purifying Technology, it cleans pores around twice as effectively as a normal facial cleanser, making it ideal for oily skin. One of the main ingredients in this facial cleanser is charcoal. That might not sound very cleansing, but it absorbs excess oil and leaves your face looking much cleaner. It also helps the foam get deep down into the pores and clean them out. You will also love the fact that it leaves your skin feeling all tingly and smooth after use.

You can buy Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser without feeling any guilt – it’s vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and tested by dermatologists. If you have oily skin and a healthy conscience, this is the facial cleanser for you. It’s also one of the cheapest products (based on the cost per fluid ounce) on the market. If you like taking care of your skin, check out our selection of the best eye creams for men.

CeraVe Hydrating Face Wash has been developed by dermatologists to clean your skin, without clogging up your pores or leaving it feeling tight. Amazingly, there are a ton of products out there that clog up your pores instead of cleaning them out. Not this one. It’s designed for normal and dry skin types, so it helps your skin keep its moisture. One of the main ingredients is hyaluronic acid, which is known for its ability to moisturize skin.

It also contains 3 essential ceramides. These might sound technical, but they’re molecules that help create (or restore) the natural barrier around the skin. This helps keep the moisture in the skin and protects it against irritants in the air and water. On top of that, it has a Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association (NEA). That means it has been proven to improve the lives of people with eczema, so it must be good. For more grooming products, check out our guide to the best soaps.

If you want healthy, beautiful skin, it’s essential to invest in your skincare routine. However, you don’t have to break the bank to keep your skin clean. Clean & Clear 2-Pack Day and Night Face Cleanser is the cheapest product on this list, and it still has some impressive benefits.

The most impressive thing about this pack of facial cleansers is the way they work together to improve your skin health. The Morning Burst Facial Cleanser removes skin impurities that have built-up overnight and contain something called Bursting Beads, which are packed with vitamins and fragrance to help you wake up. The Night Relaxing Deep Cleaning Face Wash is designed to remove the dirt that has built up on your skin during the day. It contains deep sea minerals and sea kelp, which help get deep down into the pores. They’ve even included calming aromas to help you wind down and fall asleep. This is one of the best facial cleansers for men looking to improve their skin-care routine on a budget. And it also makes a great grooming gift for your loved ones.

Now we’re getting into the more serious facial cleansers. Over the last couple of decades, several skin-care products have come out that are designed specifically for men. Rugged & Dapper is one of the leading brands in this space and we regularly feature them on Instash.

One of the main reasons we like them is their modern approach to skincare. Their products are tested on men, not animals. They don’t use parabens, sulfates, toxins, or anything else that you wouldn’t want on your skin. Plus, they use natural and organic ingredients, like aloe vera, vitamin C, Jojoba bead, and burdock root. RUGGED & DAPPER Daily Face Wash and Scrub Cleanser for Men is suitable for all skin types, but we wouldn’t recommend it if you have a specific skin complaint, like eczema. It’s also a 3-in-1 facial cleanser – it is a wash, a toner, and exfoliator, all in one. Normally, you would have to buy 3 separate products for these effects, so it suddenly doesn’t seem so expensive. If you’re a guy who’s prepared to invest in his skin-care regime, buy from Rugged & Dapper.

L’Oreal has a reputation for making skin-care products that work. This facial cleanser is part of their Men Expert range and is designed to be used on all skin types. Hydra Energetic Facial Cleanser is not the best cleanser if you have a specific skin problem, but for keeping your skin clean daily, it’s perfect.

One of the main ingredients is charcoal, which we’ve seen in a couple of other facial cleansing products. Charcoal effectively works like a magnet to draw the dirt and oil out of your skin’s pores, leaving them clean and unclogged. It might not sound like the most luxurious ingredient, but it works. A fair share of Amazon customers has hailed this as the best value face wash available for men. We’d think it’s up there, but can’t quite compete with the Clean & Clear 2-Pack for sheer value. Don’t forget to also check our guide to the best anti-aging products for men.

This facial cleanser from Jack Black (not the School of Rock guy) is easily one of the best on the market. It’s a 2-in-1 facial cleanser and toner that deep cleans your face and prepares it for shaving. It is designed to dig deep into your pores and remove any dirt, oil, or impurities. Unlike cheaper facial cleansers, Jack Black Pure Clean Daily Facial Cleanser doesn’t overdry your skin, instead of leaving it feeling hydrated and refreshed.

This is the most expensive (per fluid ounce) product on this list, so it has to be pretty special to earn the top spot. The results are obvious – it has hundreds of positive reviews and has been featured in multiple men’s magazines. It’s the way it achieves those results that we find impressive. This facial cleanser is what we would call ‘guilt-free’. It’s suitable for vegans, gluten-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, fragrance-free, and not tested on animals. Basically, by using this facial cleanser, you are only putting natural, organic, and renewable ingredients on your face. It might cost you more than other facial cleanser products, but it’s unbeatable if you want amazing results without the guilt. You may also like to check our guide to the best lip balms for men.

We’ve already featured a couple of natural face cleansers on this list. But none of them push this as hard as Era Organics. This product is full of natural ingredients that can produce the same amazing effects as other facial cleansers, without the side-effects. The great thing about this organic face wash is that it’s not just a one-stop-shop. Era Organics Men’s Face & Body Wash works on all different skin types, you can use it to fight acne or just as a daily face wash, and it even prepares your face for shaving. You won’t need any more skin-care products if you invest in this one.

The list of ingredients is really impressive. It’s got chamomile tea, sunflower oil, coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, orange oil, rosehip seed oil, and rosemary. It sounds more like a list of ingredients for a set of fruity teas than a facial cleanser. We were impressed by the amount of positive feedback this product is getting in the Amazon reviews. It might only have a couple of hundred reviews, but the majority of them are praised. If you are looking to upgrade your shaving products, check out our guide to the best shaving soaps.

This next facial cleanser from A&M Men’s Choice focuses on tightening the skin. If you’re starting to see signs of aging in your skin (sagging, wrinkles around your eyes and forehead) you can slow them down by using the right products. This facial cleanser contains MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), which is an organic sulfur compound that is necessary for collagen production. The signs of aging in your skin are a result of a lack of collagen, so this facial cleanser works to tighten up your skin and make you look younger. There’s no such thing as the Fountain of Youth, but A&M Men’s Choice Mens Facial Cleanser will slow down the effects of aging.

It also contains a host of natural ingredients like aloe vera, vitamin C, green tea extract, and coconut oil. The company is pretty up-front about the fact that not all their ingredients are organic, but they use organic ingredients ‘when possible’. That sort of honesty is pretty rare in big-name brands like this one. It’s also vegan-friendly, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and doesn’t contain any chemicals. Our guide to the best body lotions offers more great products so check it out.

The Marlowe No. 121 Facial Cleanser has a proprietary blend made up of 4 simple ingredients – green tea extract, willow bark extract, passionflower extract, and deep-sea algae extract. Between these four ingredients, they have the power to repair damaged skin, reduce inflammation, moisturize the skin, and soothe skin. There are other ingredients, but it’s this proprietary blend that provides most of the benefits.

Of course, it also works to clean the skin from deep-seated oil and dirt. It’s not as effective as some facial cleansers in this department, but the other benefits make it more well-rounded skin-care products. It’s not tested on animals and doesn’t contain any parabens or phthalates. Our only slight concern is that it doesn’t have many Amazon reviews, so it’s hard to know how good the product is. The only indication of its quality that we do have is the fact that it’s been featured in magazines like Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, and Glamour.