Best Facial Soap For Sensitive Skin: I Tried Three Cleansing Bars

How would Lush, Simple and Avene compare?

I know what I am about to say is going to horrifying skincare aficionados but my skincare routine is very minimal. Extremely minimal.

In the morning I usually wash my face with water and occasionally a cleansing bar I bought in a health food shop ages ago. Afterwards I slather my face in Nivea Soft Cream, £4.29 (yes I am that basic). At night if I am wearing makeup, I take it off with either coconut oil or Lush’s Ultrabland Cleansing Balm, £30, and then splash my face with water. And that’s pretty much it.

One of the reasons for this is because I have really sensitive skin. I have eczema and it was really severe for most of my childhood and into my teen years. Nowadays it flares up when I am really stressed or if I use products on my skin that it disagrees with.

In what I like to believe is a payoff from the skin Gods for having to suffer through years of painful flare ups, I have thankfully been blessed with really clear skin. So I was really interested to see how it would react to the three cleansing bars.

Simple Antibacterial Soap 4 Bars, Waitrose, £1.66 (was £2.50)

The first one I tried was the cheapest. For less than two quid, you get four Simple Antibacterial Soaps in a packet. I was surprised by how silky it felt when I lathered up. It felt really nice on my skin while using it. Unfortunately after the first use my face became red like I had a very mild rash, which was a little worrying.

Luckily that only happened the first time but later I did get a couple spots, which I only usually get during my period. I was quite glad to move onto the next one by the end of the week.

Avene Cold Cream Ultra Rich Soap Free Cleansing Bar 100g, Superdrug, £5.59

Next up, Avène. This sounds (and looks) quite fancy but is also reasonably priced at £5.59.

Using it, I was pleasantly surprised that the lather felt really foamy and soft. So much so, that if I hadn’t have known it was a bar, I might have thought it was a foam cleanser from a bottle.

After using it for a week, I didn’t have any bad reactions, and the spots from the previous week soon cleared up. Hurrah.

Lush Movis Facial Soap 120g, Lush, £9

At £8.50, it is the most expensive but it is also the biggest. I’m a huge Lush fan as it is but have never tried this product before. Of the three, it lathered up the best and it really felt like my face was really clean after using it. It also smelled the nicest. It’s also comforting to know the ingredients are all natural.

After around five days of use, I began to get compliments on my skin. One friend couldn’t believe I wasn’t wearing make-up. I don’t know if this was the cumulative effort of cleaning my face much more thoroughly than I normally would for the interests of this experiment or down to this soap in particular, but now the trial has ended, it is the Lush Movis bar that I have continued to use each day and night.

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