I’ve tried dozens of the best natural cleansers made with organic ingredients over the last decade, so I finally created my guide to help you find the best one for YOU. I’m covering nontoxic gel cleansers, cleansing balms, oil cleansers, and cream cleansers, from luxury to budget options!
The overall winners for me are Biossance Squalane Amino Acid Gentle Cleanser, Aleavia Purifying Facial Cleanse and Ursa Major Fantastic Face Wash. For a cream cleanser, the winner is, hands down, Blissoma Mild Rice Facial Cleanser.
The best non toxic face wash will be suited to your skin type (oily, dry, combo, acne prone) and be free of harsh synthetics, parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petroleum-derived ingredients, and formaldehyde.
Ingredients to avoid in face wash
- Sulfates: Sulfates are harsh detergents that strip the skin of its natural oils, potentially causing dryness, irritation, and sensitivity. This is especially concerning for those with dry, sensitive, or acne-prone skin.
- Alcohol: Alcohol can be drying and irritating, particularly for sensitive skin. It can disrupt the skin’s natural moisture balance, leading to increased dryness, redness, and inflammation.
- Fragrance: Artificial fragrances can cause irritation, allergic reactions, or sensitivities
- Parabens: Synthetic preservatives that can disrupt hormone function and may cause skin sensitivity.
- Phthalates: Chemical plasticizers that can disrupt hormonal balance and cause skin irritation.
- Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Releasers: Preservatives that may cause skin irritation and are linked to potential carcinogenic effects.
How to choose the right cleanser for your skin type
All skin types can benefit from a gel cleanser and normal skin types can pretty much use any type of cleanser. But acne prone and oily skin should generally stick with gel cleansers or foam cleansers. Oil cleansers can be used by all skin types, even oily and acne prone skin, but just make sure it’s not too heavy.
Normal and combo skin: Gel, cream, foam, oil, balm cleansers
Oily and acne prone skin: Gel, foam, oil cleansers
Dry skin: Cream, gel, oil and balm cleansers
A note on morning cleansing
Should you or shouldn’t you cleanse in the morning? I think that dry skin types do not need to cleanse in the morning unless there is a lot of residue left over from your nighttime skincare. Oily and acne prone skin should use a very gentle and hydrating cleanser to avoid stripping their skin of its natural oils.
Best Non Toxic Gel Cleansers Compared
I tried Biossance Squalane + Amino Acid Gentle Cleanser
This is one of my personal favorite natural cleansers for a number of reasons. First, it’s hydrating, lightweight and feels like it’s quenching my skin’s thirst. Second, you can find it in any Sephora store and try it out for yourself in person, so it’s less of a gamble. I also looove the super subtle scent from the natural ingredients and it’s relatively affordable for the size of the bottle. The ingredients are simple and the cleansing power is gentle, but it feels amazing on my skin. However, I would steer clear if you have sensitive skin as it does contain essential oils. The formula has got an Amino Acid Complex to help break down makeup and soften skin, Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Moringa extract and vegan squalane.
Price: $29 for 6.7 oz
How it feels: very light hydrating gel
Key ingredients: Amino Acid complex, Organic aloe leaf juice, Moringa extract, Squalane
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
I tried Aleavia Purifying Facial Cleanse (best for sensitive skin!)
Aleavia’s facial cleanser is not only the best natural cleanser for sensitive skin, it’s also the best value for money (yes even more than Acure!). It’s 100% natural, organic, non toxic, vegan, fragrance free and safe for all skin types. The formula is super simple yet effective and contains nutrient rich Arcadian Sea Kelp, Sea Salt, Aloe and Glycerin. It doesn’t foam, but you actually don’t need foam to cleanse skin. I love how lightweight and hydrating this feels.
Price: $19.99 for 8 oz
How it feels: lightweight gel
Key ingredients: Arcadian Sea Kelp, Sea Salt, Aloe and Glycerin
✔ 100% natural ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
I tried OSEA Ocean Cleanser
OSEA’s Ocean Cleanser is more of a gel-cream consistency so you’re getting the best of both worlds. Consider it a creamy gel or a gel-like cream. It’s got Undaria Seaweed, Bentonite, Lactic Acid, Glycerin and nourishing oils to help purify and replenish skin and has a subtle citrus scent from bergamot and lime. This is a gentle cleanser that doesn’t leave skin feeling dry but isn’t as heavy duty as the thicker gel cleansers I mention. I enjoy how light and creamy this gel cleanser is and the uplifting aroma.
Price: $48 for 5 oz
How it feels: creamy gel
Key ingredients: Undaria Seaweed, Bentonite, Lactic Acid, Glycerin
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
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I tried Ursa Major Fantastic Face Wash
Ursa Major’s Fantastic Face Wash is more heavy duty than the other lightweight gel cleansers I mention and has a thicker gel consistency. It doesn’t strip my skin and has got gentle foaming action – plus I love the refreshing scent of cedar, spearmint, lime, lemon, rosemary, black spruce, vetiver, and lavender oils that lingers! While most natural face cleansers are sold in bottles of 3.4 oz bottles, Ursa Major’s is an entire 8 oz bottle. It’s got Aloe, Rice extract, sugar maple-derived alpha hydroxy acid, White Tea, and Lemon to flood skin with antioxidants while cleansing effectively.
Price: $32 for 8 oz
How it feels: thick gel
Key ingredients: Aloe, Rice extract, sugar maple-derived alpha hydroxy acid, White Tea, and Lemon
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Certified Plastic Negative ✔ B Corp Certified
Use ORGANICBEAUTYLOVER15 for 15% off
Shop HereI tried Augustinus Bader The Cream Cleansing Gel (luxe!)
For luxury lovers, I recommend Augustinus Bader’s The Cream Cleansing Gel (along with Tata Harper Clarifying Cleanser). This is a silky and milky gel with a very lightweight, fluid consistency. There’s no fragrance to it and it’s suuuper gentle and hydrating. My only complaint is that the pump isn’t as user friendly as, say, Tata Harper’s. I find Augustinus Bader’s formula extra soothing as it has cucumber extract, rose flower water and hydrolyzed rice protein, as well as advanced since it has their signature TFC8® which is a patented brew of natural amino acids, high-grade vitamins and peptides to support cellular renewal.
Price: $74 for 3.4 oz
How it feels: light creamy gel
Key ingredients:
✔ Vegan ✔ Leaping Bunny Cruelty-free ✔ Cradle to Cradle Certified™ ✔ EPA Safer Choice
Best Cream Cleansers Compared
I tried Blissoma Mild Rice Facial Cleanser (my fave!)
I’ve tried literally dozens of cream cleansers and the best all natural one is Blissoma Mild Rice Facial Cleanser, hands down. It’s perfect for dry, sensitive, stressed, inflamed, irritated skin. Each of its 18 skincare actives is rooted in holistic healing and herbalism and is the correct pH for skin. It’s got organic, whole brown rice flour, willowbank extract, chickweed and rose infusions, and organic oils of Apricot Kernel, Hemp and Sunflower. This gently removes impurities and provides a gentle cleanse while fortifying the skin barrier and improving overall skin health.
Price: $58 for 4 oz
Key ingredients: rice flour, willowbank extract, chickweed and rose infusions, Marshmallow root, chamomile, Plantain Leaf
✔ Organic and wildcrafted ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
I tried Ranavat Creme Cleanser
Ravanat’s luxurious cleanser is a lightweight cream cleanser full of certified organic Ayurveda ingredients like Damask Rose, Manjistha, and Sesame Seed. It’s great even for oily skin and acne prone skin thanks to its innovative cream-to-milk formula. The sustainable tube packaging is also super light and easy to travel with. I can see why people like this so much – it feels super silky and smooth and feels like it melts instantly into skin when applied and washes off effortlessly.
Price: $45 for 3.38 oz
Key ingredients: Damask Rose, Manjistha, and Sesame Seed
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Pregnancy friendly ✔ cream-to-milk
I tried Alpyn Beauty Juneberry & Collagen Hydrating Cold Cream Cleanser
Alpyn Beauty makes the only natural cold cream cleanser in the market. Their Juneberry & Collagen Hydrating Cold Cream Cleanser is an innovative take on your mom’s cold cream from back in the day! It actually feels slightly cooling and has a thick yet super silky cream consistency that’s great for dry skin. There’s a bit of added exfoliation benefits thanks to jojoba beads and plenty of antioxidants from Wild Juneberry from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bakuchiol, certified organic cocoa seed butter and plant-based collagen.
Price: $39 for 3.9 oz
Key ingredients: Wild Juneberry, Vitamin C, Collagen, Circular Jojoba Beads, Bakuchiol
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Plastic Neutral Certified
Use OBL for 20% off
Shop HereI tried Annmarie Aloe Herb Cream Cleanser
Annmarie Aloe Herb Cream Cleanser was one of the first ever green beauty cleansers I tried and it is still a top tier all natural option. This light silky cream cleanser feels so hydrating and soothing, plus delivers over 75 nutrients to skin. I love that the formula is entirely organic and wildcrafted with organic aloe, calendula flowers, hyssop leaves, neem, olive leaf, Italian lemon and more. It’s gentle yet effective enough at cleansing skin thanks to the saponified oils of coconut oil and plant sugars. I also looove the uplifting and all natural herbal scent.
Price: $59 for 3.38 oz
Key ingredients: Organic Aloe, Lemon Balm, Coconut Oil, neem leaf, aspen bark, lavender flower, hyssop extract
✔ Organic and wildcrafted ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
I tried Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser (great for mature skin!)
If there’s one thing Tata Harper does really well, it’s cleansers. They’re just so sophisticated, effective and well-formulated. The Tata Harper Rengerating Cleanser is a 100% natural cream cleanser for aging skin that’s both a cleansing & exfoliating treatment in one. Instead of harsh surfactants, it has Pomegranate Enzymes, Sunflower Seed Oil and Phytic Acid Salt to remove buildup and Coral Clay, Pink Grapefruit and Bergamot to refine pores. This is a great option for mature skin that needs a cream cleanser that serves as a treatment simultaneously.
Price: $88 for 4.22 oz
Key ingredients: Pomegranate Enzymes, Coral Clay, Aloe Vera, Crystalline Coconut , Coconut Liquid Crystals, Sunflower Seed Oil, Phytic Acid Salt
✔ 100% natural and 82% organic ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ COSMOS ORGANIC certified
Best Organic Oil Cleansers Compared
I tried Pai Light Work Rosehip Cleansing Oil for Sensitive Skin
Pai’s Rosehip Cleansing Oil is the holy grail of 100% natural and organic oil cleansers. It’s sensitive skin formulated so even acneic skin can use it but great for all skin types. Light Work is also certified COSMOS Organic and has a subtle sweet citrus scent with a touch of basil that’s so therapeutic. The formula begins with a base of organic olive oil and is enriched with rosehip fruit extract, jasmine oil, castor seed oil, basil oil and geranium oil.
Price: $49 for 3.3 oz
Key ingredients: rosehip fruit extract, jasmine oil, castor seed oil
✔ Certified COSMOS Organic ✔ The Vegan Trademark Certified ✔ Leaping Bunny Cruelty-free ✔ 90% organic
I tried LEAHLANI Pamplemousse Cleansing Oil
I’ve used up multiple bottles of Kauai-based brand Leahlani’s Pamplemousse Cleansing Oil. It’s a decadent, luscious blend of tropical oils, enzymes of pineapple + papaya, sweet vanilla bean and fragrant floral essences. Whenever I’m feeling haggard and tired, I find comfort in this oil’s tropical guava fruit, banana extract, and pineapple fruit along with plumeria and hibiscus flower extracts. It feels soooo lightweight and silky and literally melts off my makeup and sunscreen easily. It also rinses off easily and doesn’t leave any greasy residue or tacky feeling!
This all-natural Hawaiian skincare line uses organic, wild-crafted and local Hawaiian ingredients, and their products are still made in small weekly batches right at their Kaua’i studio and shipped out within a few weeks max for maximum freshness. You can’t get this kind of quality with mass-manufactured big beauty brands.
Price: $56 for 3.38 oz
Key ingredients: Pineapple + Papaya Enzymes, Macadamia Oil, Plumeria, Guava
✔ Organic and wildcrafted ingredients ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Hawaiian ingredients
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I tried Living Libations Best Skin Ever Seabuckthorn (most versatile)
I looove this versatile cleansing oil and am obsessed with the uniquely silky consistency. I don’t know how it’s so velvety and silky but it feels amaaazing on the skin. It’s lightweight but not quite as liquidy as other cleansing oils. Living Libations are masters at aromatherapy and Best Skin Ever is no exception. There’s something euphoric and soothing about their scents and I can bet it’s the quality and vibrancy of the essential oils that they use. This all natural and wildcrafted oil cleanser is packed with omega fatty acids, vitamins, lipids, and hundreds of bioactive compounds. The simple blend of highest quality oils not only works as an oil cleanser but all-purpose oil for skin, scalp, pregnancy and more.
Price: $42 for 1.69 fl oz
Key ingredients: Seabuckthorn Oil, Jojoba Oil, Tamanu Oil, Vetiver, Palmarosa, Lavender
✔ Wildcrafted ✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free
I tried Whamisa Organic Flowers Cleansing Oil
For a certified organic Korean cleanser I recommend Whamisa Organic Flowers Cleansing Oil. It has a unique liquid-like consistency that feels hydrating not heavy, the ability to rinse off with water and an addictive floral scent. Like all Whamisa products, their cleansing oil contains their ‘Natural Fermentation Technology’ which uses fermentation filtrates of organic flowers like chrysanthemum, lotus, dandelion with lacto-fermentation.
Price: $33 for 8.7 oz
Key ingredients: Flower Biome Complex, Hazelnut seed oil, Strawberry Fruit Extract, Avocado Oil, Calendula
✔ 100% natural and 61% Organic ✔ Cosmos Organic certified ✔ Certified Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Korean made
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Best Cleansing Balms Compared
I tried 100% Pure Blood Orange Cleansing Balm
This is super effective at removing makeup and sunscreen and has an invigorating citrus scent. I love how it’s rich yet melts immediately into my skin. The formula is all natural with a couple of organic ingredients including olive oil, olive leaf oil, blood orange essential oil, avocado oil and organic beeswax.
Price: $38 for 3 oz
Key ingredients: Olive oil, Olive leaf oil, blood orange, coconut oil, avocado oil, organic beeswax
✔ Natural and Organic ✔ Cruelty-free
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Shop HereI tried Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Cleansing Jelly
This is a sleeper cleansing balm in my opinion. I find that Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Cleansing Jelly is neither a true natural oil cleanser or cleansing balm and lies somewhere in between. If you find liquid oil consistencies too slick and cleansing balms feel like you’re slathering Crisco all over your face, then a cleansing jelly may be the solution! I love that it’s relatively affordable and contains interesting ingredients like Sour Cherry Seed Oil, Strawberry Seed Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, Postbiotics derived from Radishes, Red Algae Extract and Malic Acid.
Bloomeffects makeup melting cleanser offers a unique jelly experience, and I find that it rinses off super easily with water. The scent is neither fruity nor herbal like most cleansers. Instead, it reminds me of barley, and it’s actually really soothing before bed. I give it bonus points for its innovative sustainable packaging – eco-friendly Picea wood. It’s SO effective at melting off my stubborn makeup and feels super duper nourishing.
Price: $29 for 3 oz
Key ingredients: Bloomeffects Proprietary Dutch Tulip Complex, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lactate & Hyaluronic Acid, Red Algae extract, Sour Cherry Seed Oil, Strawberry Seed Oil, Postbiotics
✔ Vegan ✔ Leaping Bunny Cruelty-free ✔ Jelly-to-milk
Use OBL for 20% off
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I tried Activist Skincare Deep Moisture Cleansing Gel (refillable!)
Let me start off by saying this brand is so underrated yet their cleansing gel (which is actually a balm in my opinion) is super unique, plus refillable. The texture and consistency is sooo lush and decadent, without an iota of waxiness that cheaper cleansing balms have. They call it a gel cleanser, but I find it to be a cleansing balm with a gel-like facet, which makes it perfect for those who don’t like overly rich or dense balms. I absolutely love the way this feels on my skin and how it melts everything off. It’s also the only cleansing balm refill I’ve seen that’s completely plastic free and doesn’t come in a pod. It’s got Soap Bark Extract, Cucumber Fruit Extract, Spirulina (that’s where the vibrant blue shade comes from) and grape seed oil.
Price: $42 for 1.7 oz / $37 for refill
Key ingredients: Soap Bark Extract, Cucumber Fruit Extract, Spirulina
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Refillable
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Andrea is a clean beauty expert from Los Angeles, California with 10 years of experience in natural skincare and organic living. She writes for Organic Beauty Lover using her expertise to guide readers in choosing the best clean products. Andrea graduated from the University of Southern California in 2012 and has worked at multiple skincare companies, big and small. Connect with her @organicbeautylover.
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