Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser Review

I have been using Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser for nearly a year and I'm amazed at how well it works on my skin.

About Cetaphil
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser is a dermatologist-recommended formulation that is designed for daily use and is non-drying to the skin. It is a fragrance-free, non-comedogenic cleanser sold by Galderma. The back of the packaging directs you to use the cleanser either with or without water. With water, you simply apply the cleanser to your skin, rub gently and then rinse.  The "without water" instructions direct you to apply a liberal amount of the cleanser to your skin and to rub gently as well into a light lather. The excess should be removed with a soft cloth, instead of being rinsed off.

Using Cetaphil/How Well It Works
I  use Cetaphil twice each day. The cleanser is very thin and opaque, bordering on runny. I tend to use just over a quarter-sized amount of it. I really like the "without water" directions, because more than anything I hate splashing water on my face. The cleanser lathers up just lightly enough to be visible on my face, and I massage it on my skin for up to a minute before using a moist wipe to remove the product. It's not messy and it's a very convenient and quick skincare routine. I've never been much of a "skincare regimen" following kind of woman, but after a few short weeks using Cetaphil, I was hooked. My skin was noticeably softer, my pores were clean and I didn't suffer nearly as many breakouts or itchy spots as I used to. In fact, my husband loved the results on me so much that he has started using the Cetaphil as well!

A Variation
Another variation that my dermatologist mentioned to me, when I asked if there were any kind of exfoliators that I could use, is to add just a little bit of cane sugar to Cetaphil before applying it on my to my skin to create a "sugar scrub". Once every three or four weeks I like to exfoliate my skin, and I have found that using this method I can vary the amount of sugar to either get a very light exfoliation in sensitive areas, or use more sugar to really scrub the rough wintered skin on my arms and elbows. When I add in the sugar, the Cetaphil cleanser foams up much more than usual. When using a sugar scrub, I do end up rinsing the cleanser off with water to get all of it off, and I'm left with bright, shiny skin that feels even more clean than usual, but isn't tight or dried out.

Cat's Bottom Line
Since I started using Cetaphil, my skin has been incredibly soft and it looks better than it has in years. I highly recommend Cetaphil to anyone looking for a gentle skin cleanser for sensitive skin. And combined with sugar, it's a great exfoliating alternative to the expensive scrubs in beauty stores.