Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser | Wonderful You Review

My skincare history is just like my personality – a drama queen, completely over the top. Before I even touched Clinique my routine was extremely basic – it just involved Cleansing, toning and moisturising with the brand Simple. When I got older and my skin broke out I moved over to Clinique, and when I discovered that wasn't at all appropriate I moved over to NUDE. For a long while their combination of cleansing and moisturising with a facial serum every few days worked wonders for my skin, the breakouts were minimal and my complexion as a whole was much clearer and even. If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll probably have seen the post I wrote about it here. Now don’t get me wrong, I still swear by NUDE for my skin type, it really is an incredible brand and the serum and moisturiser are something I swear by. Unfortunately, my skin seems to have fought back and decided it doesn’t want me to use the cleanser anymore. My spots were coming back fast, fierce and painful – at first I thought it might be stress (this was just around Christmas time, and I had a lot going on prior to Australia), so I waited until I was away in the sun and when that didn’t even slightly help with clearing it up I started to panic. I was going to be in Australia for a month, and my skin looked horrific – not only that but when you have a tan none of your foundation matches, so I couldn't even cover up!

In Australia we were staying with Daniel’s family and for a few years his younger cousin had suffered with acne. He was now on medication as nothing had worked well for him – but luckily his Aunty had kept over some facial washes that he had used prior to his new prescription. I was willing to try anything (remember, I am a drama queen) so I jumped at the chance when she mentioned it!

Cetaphil is a soap free gentle foam cleanser – aimed at oily skin (although they do cater for all skin types), this particular one is aimed at problematic oily skin. If you find you have overly oily skin it’s more than likely down to your body producing too much sebum (this is released through your sebaceous glands, and is used to keep the skin supple). Although no face washes will completely get rid of this (I’m pretty sure it’s a hormonal thing that can only be combated by medication) – Cetaphil promises to reduce the amount of sebum your skin produces by up to 60% after using for over two weeks, twice a day (I was already converted by this point). Being soap-free it is also less harsh on your face, it doesn't leave the face feeling too tight and the skin is still lovely and soft – no dry patches.

It’s the first facial wash that has worked effectively enough for me to take my make up off with it. One pump lathers softly and removes make up, excess dirt and cleanses the entire face. It's a clear gel like solution (doesn't photography particularly well) and bubbles up extremely gently - not at all frothy or soapy. I use it again in the morning, but only need half a pump as I make it a rule NEVER to sleep in my make up! Being a 500ml bottle, it’s going to last me yonks. I used it every day for 3 weeks in Australia and it hasn’t even made a dent. Being an Australian brand, it’s not as readily available in the UK. However I know you can get it from both Boots and Amazon. It cost me $15 when I was over there, and my little sister spent just over £15 on it through Amazon a few weeks ago. So it’s not breaking the bank by any means.

My skin for the entirety of the holiday up until now, has been incredibly good. I will have the occasional spot but nothing compared to the massive breakout I had at Christmas. For example, today I am wearing just concealer under my eyes and over a few blemishes. No foundation. I know – say whaaaaat?! I just feel more comfortable with my skin and letting it breathe every now and then. Don’t get me wrong I’m still using my foundation every day usually; I was just giving you an insight into how much better it’s made me feel.

I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps my skin will always be this way. I’ll find a skincare product that works really well for my skin for up to say a year, and then my skin will become accustomed to it and reject it. However I do know that I can’t just use any product I fancy without doing some serious research first – my skin flares up at anything that is too heavy, highly scented or overly moisturising. Which is why I know that when I do find something that works for me for a while – it’s something worth shouting about.

I hope you found this post helpful – apologies if it’s a bit rambly! But I wanted to explain it properly for you :) 

I'm starting to believe that less is definitely more when it comes to skincare. So I'll probably be writing about my 'Day & Night' routine soon - is that something you would like to see?