The Acne-Fighting Cleanser That Doesn’t Make My Skin Flake Off

By,a beauty columnist at the Strategist since 2017.She's also an esthetician and the author of 'Let's Face It: Secrets of a Skincare Obsessive.'
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Rio Viera-Newton holding her Dr. Loretta cleanser.
Rio and her Dr. Loretta cleanser.Photo: Rio Viera-Newton

When it comes tocleansers, I’ve always been partial to cleansing milks. They’re gentle, moisturizing, and perfect for my very dry, very sensitive, and very acne-proneskin. But recently, I dealt with some difficult breakouts. Namely, a handful of hormonal blemishes on my chin that just kept coming back, no matter how much P50 I applied.

I decided to shake up my routine and try a new cleanser to help withacne preventionaround my time of the month, when hormones act up. While perusing Dermstore, I found the Dr. Loretta Micro Exfoliant Cleanser. It contains 2 percent salicylic acid, which is a widely used and known acne fighter; one percent cold pressed, extra-virgin coconut oil, for antioxidant, antibacterial, and hydrating benefit; plus glycolipids, lecithin, and linoleic and linolenic acids, all of which trap moisture into your skin’s surface. Acne-fighting cleansers are usually so drying that they make me nervous, but the combination of moisture-retaining ingredients in this one intrigued me. I pressed buy.

Dr. Loretta Micro-Exfoliating Cleanser
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Photo: Michael Crichton + Leigh MacMillan/Copyright 2017 Michael Crichton

I’ve been using this product for a little over two months now, and I’m happy to report that it is phenomenal. I don’t use it every day (for that, I’d recommendDr. Loretta’s gentle hydrating cleanser, which is my other new obsession), but when I feel zits brewing, and in the days before I expect my period, I use it every evening. In the mornings after I use it, I find that I wake up with smoother, brighter, and less inflamed skin. And if I happen to get a gnarly lump of a zit, cleansing with this product and then slapping on apimple patchon top is truly, in my opinion, the best spot treatment in existence.

Other Rio-approved cleansers

Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm
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Rio loves this vitamin E–rich Clean It Zero cleanser. “I love the smooth texture of this product, and the vitamin E does truly wonderful things for my skin. It leaves it soft and supple every time.”

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This Beauty Pie cleanser is her other go-to. “I have supersensitive, dry, breakout-prone skin,” she says. “Gel cleansers tend to dry me out, while oils tend to not hydrate enough. So I typically gravitate toward standard cleansing milks. But about 100 different people told me that this cleanser was unique, life-changing, and nourishing. I was intrigued, but not sold. Then Jen Goldstein from theFat Mascarabeauty blog brought the product up on her podcast and said, ‘It’s kind of like washing your face with a moisturizer — in a good way.’ Needless to say, within 24 hours I was lathering it all over my face. It goes on like a balm, then as you rub it, it becomes an oil, and then when you add water, it turns into a milk. It has trulydone incredible things for my skin.”

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