Bioré Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser

Bioré’s brand new cleanser claims that by using it, one will, “Get an even, all-over clean without over-drying.” So as someone whose skin is the very definition of combination I was thrilled to get a sample of it from Bioré.

The cleanser itself is pretty basic. It’s a clear, slippery, gel-like product that lathers up nicely and washes away without any residue. There’s no pretty scent or deep-down tingling feeling but when you see the results, you won’t care.

And those results are clean, even skin that’s free of both dry spots and pimples. Well, free of new pimples. This product didn’t do much to defeat existing ones though it did do a great job at cleaning out my pores and visibly reduced the number of blackheads I had.

Of course, a product this effective has to have a downside and yep, it’s the ingredients. Sodium laureth sulfate, methylparaben, PEG-45M and more can all be found in this cleanser. To be fair, these same ingredients are in a ton of beauty products and if you wanted to completely avoid them, you’d have to pretty much only buy “homemade” eco-products that tend to deliver mediocre results (and can still irritate sensitive skin).

Personally, I’m not at that point; I realize that sometimes to get a product that works, it needs to contain less-than-ideal ingredients. But I know that many people out there are and so I feel like I should point out that while this cleanser is new, the ingredients are all too familiar.

Right now, I would consider buying this product but there’s so much else out there that I don’t if I will. Plus we’re quickly moving into summer, when my skin will shift from being combination to just being oily and while this product works great right now, I don’t know if it has what it takes to deal with my summer skin.

Would I buy this again: Maybe.
Should you buy it: As long you’re good with the ingredients list.