Good to Know: LaRoche-Posay has a few key skincare lines that have confusing names. Here's a cheat sheet: Effaclar is for blemish-prone skin, Toleriane is sensitive skin, Anthelios is suncare, while Lipikar and Ciciplast are for dry skin.
Best Men’s Face Wash for Combination Skin: Geologie Everyday Face Wash Sensitive Formula
Our Experience
I like endorsing no-frills sensitive-steered formulas for combination skin, since these individuals need a perfect universal face wash to target both their oily and dry areas. Enter this fantastic gel cleanser from Geologie (which is actually shipped as two individual TSA-friendly cleansers). It's less sexy on paper than some products that lead with big ingredients-forward rosters; its biggest sell is the plant-derived surfactant Coco glucoside, similar to The Ordinary pick above. But that's also why I love it: With skin that wavers between oily and dry (in different parts of my face and changing with the seasons), I have to rely on uncomplicated products like this to do the cleansing, then I can leave it to the other products in my regimen to rehydrate each area of the face as it requires. This cleanser has no aggressive actives nor any added fragrance (to satisfy the drier parts) but it refreshes enough to satisfy the oily parts, too.
Good to Know: If you do want an oil-busting active, consider Geologie's similar 2% salicylic acid cleanser.
Best Men’s Face Wash for Normal Skin: Murad Resurgence Renewing Cleansing Cream
Our Experience
Cream cleansers are a top option for sensitive types, but are often the most universal choice, too—which explains why I've slated Murad's outstanding face wash as the victor for the middle-road "normal" skin conditions. This one will honor your naturally fortified moisture barrier, while also providing non-physical exfoliation bennies via papaya enzymes. When I use it, I feel like I've used both a cleanser and a hydrating serum; my skin suggests as much, too. It always leaves my hands feeling extra nourished, too.
Good to Know: This one works well as a shaving cream, too, if you're in a pinch or want to downsize the products you pack for a long weekend.
Best Face Wash for Men with Aging Skin: Arbonne DermResults Advanced Cleansing Balm
Our Experience
You could easily mistake Arbonne's luxe cleansing balm for a jar of coconut oil, the way it melts into your mitts and softens skin on contact. But its base is a blend of fatty acids and safflower seed oil, and it gives tired, stressed-out, or mature skin that extra pep in its step. You can feel its nourishing benefits on the skin longer after it's been rinsed away, too. And while I'm not the biggest believer in "mature skin needs a specific cleanser" (so much as it needs targeted serums and moisturizers), I do think those of us midlife and beyond deserve tiny moments of luxury every day—and I get that satisfaction from Arbonne.
Good to Know: This is a terrific product for removing a base layer of makeup, or as a go-to for frequent cleansers who need a consistently gentle option.
Best Exfoliating Face Cleanser for Men: Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore-Minimizing & Polishing Powder Cleanser
Kiehl's
Rare Earth Deep Pore-Minimizing & Polishing Powder Cleanser
Our Experience
What appears to be a simple starch powder is in fact much more: When lathered into your palms, Kiehl's cleanser produces three different pore-clearing actions. It purifies with clay, buffs with micro grains, and clears out dead skin cells with alpha hydroxy acids. I love it for its many use cases, like on rough skin for needed smoothness, acne-prone skin (whenever or wherever it isn't actively breaking out), or on normal, oily, and combination skin to reduce shine. It is also one of the few clay cleansers that also uses the right vessel—a simple liquid-esque cap limits the amount of water that gets in, and prevents you from having a mound of powder in your hands. Maybe I'm just an idiot and can't figure out the other powder cleansers, but at least Kiehl's is idiot proof.
Good to Know: Don't use powder cleansers in the shower; if that water seeps into the bottle, then you've got a big unusable glob of hard clay. Always start with damp hands, then sprinkle on the powder and build your initial lather.
Best Drugstore Face Cleanser for Men: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Cleanser
Our Experience
At least half a dozen times, I have found myself out of town and needing a non-drying cleanser on a dime (why splurge when I have a million options at home as a grooming editor?). And thank goodness for the global dominance of Neutrogena, because I can always find this foaming gel cleanser, which rivals many of the costlier options on this list and works with just about every skin type. So many of us shy away from the brands we used as teenagers, when really, these ubiquitous brands have the best research and development to appease the masses. No matter your skin type (sensitive and acne-prone included), this one works perfect without drying you out. The next time you're in need of a low-cost highly hydrated face wash (whether traveling or not), just go back to your roots.