A longstanding staple in skin care routines, the humble facial cleanser has often been seen as the most basic step in cleansing regimens and overlooked by consumers as a step that can help to deliver benefits to the skin.
This relates to the earliest of skin care routines, when cleansing was established as a fundamental basic in hygiene to help prevent illness or disease. From the first wrapped bar soap launched in England in 1884,1 the soap market continued to expand and during early 20th century the development of synthetic detergents came as a major breakthrough.2
Surface active ingredients, including synthetic detergents, emulsifiers, surfactants and soaps, continue to form the basis of many present-day skin-cleansing products.
The facial cleanser has come a long way since then, with an explosion in the number and type of formats available. The liquid facial cleanser was introduced in the 1990s as a more convenient alternative to solid bars and formats have continued to evolve, from creams and gels to include more novel, transformative textures such as oils, balms and waters.
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