This post will share the beginner’s guide to understanding The Ordinary Cleansers.
After shutting down two sister brands last year: Hylamide and The Chemistry Brand, Deciem is doubling down on its two successful brands: The Ordinary and NIOD.
This explains why we have had six new releases from The Ordinary this year.
Honestly, I can’t complain. While I’ll miss my favourite hand creams from The Chemistry Brand, I’d rather have more options from The Ordinary.
This is why one of the best things they have done so far is to expand their line of cleansers and moisturizers.
With this decision, I’m definitely looking forward to future releases.
I’m expecting a few sunscreen options, including tinted ones. They can convert the formula of the discontinued serum foundations into tinted sunscreen shades.
I’m also expecting them to offer more complex formulas with multiple ingredients. Yes, The Ordinary brand is known for single-ingredient formulas. But in the spirit of expansions, they need to provide options.
Many of us that started using The Ordinary years ago are no longer skincare rookies.
To prevent losing us as customers, they need to formulate products for people like me that have graduated from single-ingredient formulas.
Now that is out of the way, let’s explore the new cleansers.
The Ordinary Cleansers: How To Choose The Right One For Your Skin
At the time of writing this article, The Ordinary currently has three cleansers:
- Squalane Cleanser
- Glucoside Foaming Cleanser
- Glycolipid Cream Cleanser
If The Ordinary is taking the Cerave route with their range of cleansers, I expect a Salicylic Acid cleanser and/or Foaming Oil Cleanser next.
Let’s explore the three cleansers.
Squalane Cleanser
- Texture: Balm to Oil
- Suitable for: all skin types, particularly dry skin
- Good for: removing sunscreen and makeup.
I’m sure by now we are all familiar with the Squalane cleanser. It was the first cleanser launched a few years ago, which instantly became a best-seller.
While tons of cleansing balms are released on the market, there’s nothing like the Squalane Cleanser. It is in a league of its own.
Whether you use it as a first cleanse in the morning or as a sunscreen and makeup remover at night, this cleanser deserves to be a staple in your routine as it works across all skin types.
The Squalane Cleanser will always be my favourite as someone with dry skin.
Glucoside Foaming Cleanser
- Texture: Gel
- Suitable for: normal to combination skin
- Good for: second cleanse
When I saw that The Ordinary had released a foaming cleanser, I was definitely excited about the formula they came up with.
Despite having a bias for the Squalane cleanser, I still need a foaming cleanser to use as my second cleanse.
If you wear makeup, one cleanse is never enough to remove everything. You need to always use a pair of cleansing balms and foaming cleansers.
I’ve been using the Glucoside Foaming cleanser since I got it, and I’m honestly not a fan of it. I find it drying and stripping, which is too much for my dry skin.
This is why I restrict it to only use when I wear makeup which is currently just twice a week.
We have gone past stripping cleansers as a community, so I’m disappointed with this formula.
You might not mind if you have oily to combination skin or prefer stripping cleansers.
I recommend pairing the Squalane Cleanser with the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser for the best results.
Glycolipid Cream Cleanser
- Texture: Cream
- Suitable for: all skin types
- Good for: morning cleanse
The Glycolipid Cream cleanser was the next cleanser released a few months after the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser.
Since I didn’t like the latter, I had really high expectations for the former. I figured the cream cleanser would be more hydrating than the foaming cleanser. Wrong!
I’m not sure what The Ordinary has against hydrating products.
The products are the same if you remove the lather from the Glucoside Foaming cleanser and switch the texture from gel to cream. They’re both drying and stripping.
It goes without saying that you can definitely skip this cleanser as it is not a necessity in your routine.
But if, for some reason, you’re able to get your hands on one, it’s best used as a morning cleanser.
As the name suggests, it’s a cream cleanser that doesn’t lather, so it will not be enough to take off your sunscreen and makeup at night.
In Conclusion,
As you can tell, I’m not exactly thrilled about new cleansers from The Ordinary. I feel like, in a haste to release new products, they didn’t do their due diligence.
Asides from the textures being the only unique part of the products, the formulas feel dated. I feel like I was transported back to 2016.
Maybe it’s because I’m used to the hydrating formulas of Cerave cleansers, but I just can’t wrap my head around the kind of cleansers we’re getting in 2023.
Hopefully, DECIEM sees this review and works on improving the cleansers, which have great potential.
A little Squalane here and there will go a long way and prevent them from being too stripping.
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