Cleansing Balms: Comparison

A few years back I swore I would never use a cleaning balm. I just never saw the point and I was happy with my cleansing oils. Then I started trying a few and now I’m addicted to cleansing balms. I use a cleansing balm at night to remove makeup and SPF as part of a double cleanse. Oil dissolves oil based makeup then the second cleanse helps rid the residue left over as well as deeper cleans the pores. Double cleansing will change your life.

Some cleansing balms rinse “clean” with water a they have emulsifiers in them. Some are heavier oils and require a cloth to remove. No cleansing oil or balm truly rinses 100% clean for me, there’s always a hint of oil residue left behind. I like it because my skin never feels dry anymore while cleansing. Some with sensitive skin don’t like cleansing balms that require a cloth to remove as they avoid using a cloth due to the sensitive nature of their skin. I have no issue using a cloth so I like all types of cleansing balms.

I thought I would break down some of the ones I’ve tried into similar texture groups. First up is the kind of glossy, soft and smooth balm. That’s not a technical name but seems to describe them right. These all require a cloth to remove. ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is a cult favorite. It has a medium soft texture and is really smooth going on. It smells like clove a hint. I’m not a huge fan of clove so that’s the only negative I have for this balm and that’s really more a personal issue. The texture is utterly divine. I don’t know why it took me so long to try the de Mamiel Restorative Cleansing Balm. It’s really quite good. It has a similar texture to the Elemis balm but I like the scent better. I like the ingredients list better in this one as well. The de Mamiel has honey and it’s got more of a green beauty feel with all the extracts and different oils. I prefer de Mamiel to the Elemis between the two. I just blew through a pot of YOU Skincare Barrier Repair Cleansing Balm. It’s one of my favorites. It’s got such a soft texture it’s a melty smooth balm. It’s really quite nice. I like the light feel of the texture compared to a thicker heavier balm. This one has a lot of great oils in the blend and you can read the review HERE.

Top to Bottom: Elemis, de Mamiel, YOU Skincare:

Next up is the sherbet balms. These have a soft but not smooth texture. They’re a little more light and airy. Some of these rinse clean with water as they have emulsifiers, some don’t and require a cloth. These are my least favorite type of cleansing balm. I just have come to prefer a smoother texture is all. They’re all good balms and get the job done. Balms are really a preference about scent, texture & cost, not performance (most of the time). I grabbed the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm because it’s a another cult favorite. It has a bit of an essential oil scent and it does the job great. Use a cloth to remove this one (it comes with it). This is a huge pot and it’s a decent deal. It was kind of underwhelming to me overall as I’m really just not into the texture. I can see why it’s a cult favorite but it just wasn’t for me.

Jordan Samuel Skin The After Show Balm Cleanser was one of the first balms I grabbed. It was a decent price and smelled like cucumbers which I enjoyed. It rinses clean no cloth. It’s not bad just again same sherbet texture that isn’t my favorite. I prefer his The After Show Treatment Cleanser to the balm. It seems to be gone from the site so maybe it got discontinued anyway. Review HERE. Pestle & Mortar Erase Makeup Removing Balm feels light in oils and it has pumpkin enzymes. The scent is also light with no essential oils. So if you want an essential oil free version you might like this one. Use a cloth to remove this one. It’s OK but not my all time favorite mostly due to the sherbet texture.

ALKIMI has been renamed Deviant Skincare. The pictured balm is the Cleansing Melt from ALKIMI which has a sherbet texture. This one has a nutty scent and gorgeous green hue. It’s essential oil free and rinses clean with water. I’m not a fan of the texture but it has been renamed Cleansing Concentrate and now has a gorgeous melty balm texture that looks similar to YOU Skincare. I love the ingredients of this one enough to use it up then I’ll buy the new textured one. Review HERE. Last up is the Heimish All Clean Balm. This has so many good reviews online and is a cheap cult favorite. It’s cheap and it does the job but I didn’t like it at all. It feels thin oily sherbet at first but it almost melts like coconut oil even in the pot. It really looks just like a tub of cooking coconut oil. It’s odd once mine melted it never returned to a solid state again and the lid doesn’t screw on either so it was spilling all over the place as the lid didn’t even snap back on properly for me. This was an easy pass for me. The texture is just no where as refined as so many others plus I really hated the packaging. However it is cheap and does the job so if that’s what you want it’s fine.

Top L then clockwise: Emma Hardie, Jordan Samuel Skin, Pestle & Mortar, Deviant (formerly ALKIMI), Heimish:

 

Next up is the soft waxy smooth cleansing balms. Three of these are from La Bella Figura so there’s no much difference between them. All of these rinse clean with water to remove. I love these ones so much because they’re similar to cleansing oil gel balms. Just more waxy and solid. Great for a morning cleanse in addition to removing makeup. So there’s the cleansing balm that comes in the Capsule Collection which is very similar to the La Bella Figura The Clean Slate but it’s just a bit softer. There was a limited summer The Clean Slate with added charcoal to purify (it’s not sold out). There is a current versions of The Clean Slate with blue tansy right now as well. I love The Clean Slate because it’s light and rinses clean. Sometimes you just want a cleansing balm with a less heavy oily texture and feel. This is that balm. Review HERE. I do love the unique gel balm texture of the Activist Cleansing Balm. I blew through my jar with ease. This reminds me of a more solid version of Jordan Samuel Skin The After Show Treatment Cleanser. This one is a great morning cleanser. The only reason I don’y have a jar anymore is because I love Jordan Samuel just a hint more but this one is similar and very good. Review HERE.

Top L the clockwise: La Bella Figura from Capsule Collection, LE with Charcoal, Activist, La Bella Figura The Clean Slate:

Next up is the miscellaneous once. These are all cleansing balms but they have just different textures. OSKIA Micro Exfoliating Balm has an almost thick paste like sherbet texture balm with organic sulfur granules to scrub while you cleanse. I don’t use this one very often but I do enjoy the light OSKIA scent. I like this in the morning. It needs a second cleanse after you wash it off but you can’t use a cloth due to the physical exfoliant. Review HERE. Kat Burki Vitamin C Nourishing Cleansing Balm is what got me into Kat Burki. This has the most delicious cucumber smell. I just love it. Used up the whole pot months back. I just grabbed another this week actually. It’s got a light almost cream like texture but it removes makeup with the oils. It does rinse clean no cloth needed. If you’re afraid of typical oily cleansing balms, try this one. It’s the perfect gateway. Review HERE.

Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm was my first cleansing balm years back. This has a heavier oil balm texture with detoxifying Hungarian Moor Mud. You need a cloth to remove this one. I like this one but it can be a bit too heavy for me at times with the oil density. I talked about it HERE. I really wanted to love the Jane Scrivner Nourishing Cleanser as it’s highly rated. It’s got a light oil balm texture. Just a bit harder than the soft melty ones I first talked about. This one is smooth and thin. I like the texture a lot. It has a pretty strong clove scent and kind of reminds me of EVE LOM scent wise. You’ll notice I don’t have EVE LOM on here as I don’t like the texture or the clove scent. So that’s what killed this one for me. Great texture, I’m not into the clove scent. If you like clove and EVE LOM I would give it a try. Last up is the OKOKO Secret du Dragon Gel-to-Milk Cleanser & Mask. This has since been reformulated and redone to resemble a cleansing gel oil balm more which was a good improvement. This is a liquid gel cleansing balm that you can leave on like a mask. It has dragon’s blood for purifying. The texture is odd with it’s oil that separates from the textural parts and other ingredients. It’s chunky in texture when you mix it. It rinses clean no cloth but feels like an oil cleanser more than a balm. Honestly I probably shouldn’t have put it in the photo but I’ll take about it since I did. I am going to go over the line more coming up.

Top L then clockwise: OSKIA, Kat Burki, Omorovicza, Jane Scrivner, OKOKO:

I totally forgot to shoot the Moss and Mahalo balms together but they’re my last category. These are the harder texture balms. They’re like a thick oil paste kind of balm. I discovered Moss Beurre Celeste in the June Boxwalla box. This is the best honey cleansing balm. It does the job and rinses clean with water. I like that it’s not super heavy feeling in the oils. I love the honey scent and it never feels greasy. I talked about it a hint HERE. Mahalo The Unveil Cleanser Melt Concentrate is such a divine cleansing balm. The citrus herbal scent is really nice but not overwhelming. This one really gives such a nice experience while cleansing. This is the ritual one. It’s like the older more sophisticated Farmacy Green Clean. I love the wooden jar it comes in as well. This one has a really great inci list with some enzymes as well like pumpkin. It’s also got French green clay in it. If you want a great sensorial cleansing balm go for this one.

I find myself collecting more cleansing balms than I can use but I love all the different variations. A cleansing balm is such a personal experience. Some will want affordability, some the scent or sensory experience that goes along with it. You can pick ones that rinse clean or don’t. You can look at essential oils versus essential oil free. Some are going to be better for dry skin or some for problem skin. All you can do is play with them and pick your favorites. They are truly my favorite way to remove makeup now and for the most part they all do that job well. Some of my top favorites are the de Mamiel, YOU Skincare, Deviant, Kat Burki, Moss and Mahalo. I would throw La Bella Figura The Clean Slate in here too but sometimes I wish it was just a touch thinner like the one in the Capsule Collection.