5 Essential Tips for Picking the Right Daily Body Cleanser

Your body sheds between 40 million and 60 million skin cells every day [source: KidsHealth]. The inner layer of the epidermis, your skin’s outer layer, generates new skin cells. These cells move toward the surface, pushing older cells upwards and causing dead skin cells to be sloughed off. Imagine a well-organized store where new stock keeps coming in, pushing the older items forward to the front of the shelf.

At this very moment, you're covered in a layer of dead skin cells. If these cells build up, your skin loses its healthy glow. Worse, this layer of dead skin blocks the new cells from reaching the surface, creating a bottleneck. This can result in clogged pores, blackheads, pimples, and even cysts.

Your skin plays a vital role in protecting against moisture loss, bacteria, and harmful agents. Using a daily body cleanser is essential in this process. Body cleansers remove dead skin cells, making space for new ones, which promotes healthy skin growth and contributes to a more youthful appearance. Wondering how to select the right daily body cleanser? Read on to learn more.

5: Assess Your Skin Type

Despite the time we spend with our skin, many of us don't know much about it, particularly what 'skin type' we have. Skin characteristics can vary, with some traits being more prominent in certain individuals. To find the right daily body cleanser for you, it's important to first learn more about your own skin.

You might have one of the following skin types:

Once you've identified your skin type, it's time to explore the options available, which we'll dive into on the next page.

4: Explore Your Options

Now that you've assessed your skin's needs, you can start exploring the products available by checking labels to find cleansers that match your specific skin type. Here are your options:

Many products combine the benefits of multiple types, such as a bubble bath with moisturizing ingredients. The best results may come from using a combination of products, like pairing oil-based products to dissolve skin lipids with an oil-free moisturizer afterward.

Even within the same category, different brands of products can vary widely in ingredients. For example, some bath salts fizz, while others bubble or contain soothing ingredients like aloe, vitamin E, and a mix of oils and fragrances.

Through trial and error with different products, you'll discover the one that leaves your skin feeling cleanest without undesirable side effects, such as excessive dryness from high alcohol content.

If your skin experiences significant issues or you have a condition like rosacea, consider seeking advice from a dermatologist for recommendations on body cleansers. When exploring different types, also consult with aestheticians, skin-care experts in department stores, and friends with similar skin types for valuable insights.

Next option: Drawing moisture from your body, or creating a protective layer of fat.

3: Humectants or Emollients?

Moisturizers work in one of two ways: either by attracting moisture or by locking it in. Let's dive into the two types of ingredients that achieve these effects.

Humectants are substances that help retain moisture, and they are found in many cosmetic products. Even toothpaste contains humectants to prevent it from drying out and to maintain its consistency in the tube. In body cleansers, common humectants include glycerol, glycerin, and plant-based oils.

Humectants in body cleansers work by drawing water from two sources: from within your skin and from the surrounding environment. This means they can pull moisture from the dermis to the epidermis, while also absorbing water from the air. This is why glycerin soaps tend to develop droplets of water when left out in the open.

Emollients help to soften the skin by directly moisturizing it — the product itself hydrates your skin rather than attracting moisture to it like humectants do. They also lock in moisture by forming a protective layer on your skin, safeguarding it from external irritants. Some common emollients in skincare products include oils, urea, and synthetic substances like silicone oils and isopropyl myristate.

If you've tried various body cleansers without success, examine whether they fall into the humectant or emollient category. You might need to switch. People with dry skin tend to benefit more from emollients, while those with oily skin may find humectants helpful in preventing clogged pores.

2: Scented or Unscented?

Knowing that their customers will use these products all over their bodies, sometimes multiple times a day, body cleanser manufacturers work hard to ensure their products offer a scent that’s somewhere between pleasant and divine.

Most body cleansers you encounter will be infused with some form of fragrance. With new scents constantly being developed and older ones getting tweaks, there's a vast array of options to choose from when picking a scent.

The downside is that you might find a product that suits your skin, but then realize you don't want to be enveloped in a cloud of mango scent all day long. If you often wear perfume or cologne, mixing too many fragrances can cause issues. On the other hand, you might love the fragrance of a body cleanser, but then discover it doesn’t clean as well as you'd hoped.

For some individuals, especially those with sensitive skin, the chemicals and fragrances used to create these scents may cause adverse reactions. Thankfully, there are many unscented product lines available, which offer your skin relief while sparing your nose from strong fragrances.

Up next, we’ll explore how you can care for both your skin and the planet, all before your morning coffee.

1: Scrub Locally, Think Globally

The daily use of body cleansing products leads to a significant amount of chemicals being washed away, which can have a harmful impact on the environment.

Many cleansers contain harsh chemicals that can irritate sensitive skin. Once washed off, these chemicals make their way back into the environment, potentially polluting our water and soil. Some of these substances, such as benzene, are known carcinogens.

Soap products are not subject to FDA regulation unless they make a medical claim. This wasn’t much of an issue when soap was just soap, but now most body cleansers are complex chemical mixtures. Some of these chemicals are tested on animals, some are known to cause cancer in animals, and others haven’t been tested for long-term effects on humans.

Common ingredients like phthalates, frequently found in fragrances, are believed to contribute to a range of health issues such as asthma, kidney damage, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Parabens are preservatives found in some body cleansers that can disrupt the endocrine system, enter breast milk, and cause hormonal imbalances. These chemicals do not break down once absorbed by the skin.

If you suffer from allergic reactions, have sensitive skin, or simply want to keep both yourself and the planet clean, consider opting for "green" or organic body cleansers. While industry standards for what qualifies as "green," "organic," or "all-natural" are still evolving, some research will guide you toward body cleansers that use biodegradable, non-toxic, and eco-friendly ingredients.

Looking for more skincare tips? Head to the next page.