Face Wash Ingredients to Avoid — and the Ones That Are Fine
Ingredient fear is its own industry. Long lists of things to avoid circulate for years after the science that produced them has been revised, and they push people towards products that are gentler in marketing than in formulation.
This is a short list, because the number of genuinely problematic ingredients in a modern face wash is small.
Worth avoiding, with reasons#
- Fragrance and essential oils. The most common cause of contact dermatitis in cosmetics. Fine for most people; a real problem for reactive skin, and there is no benefit to offset the risk.
- Denatured alcohol high in the list. Accelerates evaporation and disrupts the barrier at cleansing concentrations.
- Menthol, camphor, peppermint and eucalyptus. The cooling feeling is a sensory nerve response to an irritant.
- High levels of sodium lauryl sulfate. Not the same as sodium laureth sulfate; SLS is a recognised irritant at cleansing levels and is often used as the positive control in irritation studies.
- Physical scrub particles in a daily wash. Micro-damage adds up, especially over active breakouts.
Order matters. An ingredient near the end of a list is present at a fraction of a percent, and the same name at the top of the list is a different proposition entirely.
Widely feared, actually fine#
| Ingredient | The fear | What is actually true |
|---|---|---|
| Sulfates (SLES) | Strips and damages skin | Sodium laureth sulfate is far milder than SLS and well tolerated at cleansing levels |
| Parabens | Hormonal effects | Among the most-studied preservatives; regulators worldwide continue to permit them at cosmetic levels |
| Silicones | Clog pores | Inert, non-comedogenic and rinse away; the claim has no support |
| Mineral oil | Comedogenic | Cosmetic-grade mineral oil is highly refined and among the least reactive emollients |
| Alcohol (fatty) | Drying | Cetyl and stearyl alcohol are emollients, not the drying kind |
Preservatives get the most fear and prevent the most harm. An unpreserved water-based cleanser grows bacteria and mould, which is a far more concrete risk than the one people are avoiding.
How to read a face wash label in thirty seconds#
- Look at the first five ingredients — that is most of the formula.
- Find the surfactant. Isethionate, glucoside and betaine names are mild; SLS near the top is not.
- Check for glycerin. Its presence near the top is a good sign.
- Scan for fragrance, parfum, menthol and denatured alcohol.
- Ignore everything on the front of the bottle.
The comedogenic rating problem#
Comedogenicity ratings you see quoted online mostly come from tests conducted decades ago on rabbit ears, using pure ingredients at full strength. They tell you very little about a formulated product where the same ingredient is present at two percent among twenty others. Treat them as trivia, not guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Are sulfates in face wash bad?
Sodium lauryl sulfate at high concentration is genuinely irritating. Sodium laureth sulfate, which is what most modern cleansers use, is much milder and fine for most skin. The word sulfate on its own tells you very little.
Should I avoid parabens in a face wash?
There is no good evidence to at cosmetic concentrations, and they are among the most thoroughly studied preservatives available. The alternatives that replaced them in some products are, in a few cases, more sensitising.
How do I know if an ingredient is high in the list?
Everything above the first preservative or fragrance is typically present at over one percent. Ingredients listed after that are usually at fractions of a percent, which is why a marketing ingredient at the very end of the list rarely matters.
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