L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash (normal&combination skin): Review
By Tina A. - April 25, 2011
I deliberately skipped mentioning my thoughts on the L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash on my previous post, as I wanted to talk about it in a little more detail.
So, this cleanser is aimed at normal and combination skins and if used along with the detachable "cleanPod" (aka the "scrublet" among the beauty crowd), it's supposed to cleanse the pores, remove impurities and provide a smooth and soft result.

I've been using this cleanser a while now on its own and honestly, I can't see myself ever repurchasing it.
For one, it's quite a harsh cleanser. Not as harsh as to make your face feel tight though, but almost there. So, thinking that everything was a-ok, I kept on using it only to realise that my dry areas were progressively becoming even drier with time. I should add here that it does contain salicylic acid, but so does the Garnier Pure Foam Wash and I've used that for a long time without any problems.
Now in theory, it makes sense that an oily/combination skintype (even though this is for normal/combination skin) would need a stonger cleanser, but that doesn't actually work when put to the test: the stronger the cleanser, the more it will strip off the skin of its oils, causing it to produce even more oil to fight the unexpected dryness. In other words it fuels the imbalance instead of working against it.
As for the scrublet, I can only say one thing: hello gimmick! The rubber bristles are too flexible to provide a decent exfoliation, so even though you're rubbing something against your skin, you don't really see any results. Maybe it would work against dry skin as a "brushing" tool, but that's not something I'd be willing to do.
Luckily, I've almost finished this now (I use it as a body wash on occasion too). My next purchase will definitely be something much more gentle! Funny because I never thought that a cleanser that you rinse off after a few minutes can affect your skin that much. Clearly, I was wrong.
So what's your (foam) cleanser of choice?
What are your thoughts on this one if you've tried it?