Image of a woman floating in a pool

The skincare industry has a knack for developing quickly products that supposedly target a specific skin concern. All this “new product” hype makes us wonder if we’re somehow forgetting about the basics of skincare, or if our basic skincare routine could use a few upgrades.  Take, for instance, your cleanser. Responsible for removing dirt, oil, and makeup, we don’t typically give it much thought. It washes right off our face, so how important is it that our cleanser is made with anything other than stuff that suds up and cleans off the gunk?  You might be surprised to find out, it’s actually a super important product. In fact, a cleanser is the foundational part of your entire skincare routine--it’s the best way to prime your skin for the other products you use and depend on to help improve skin issues.

We at KULCBD decided to find out what makes a cleanser the absolute best. What we found was that some of the most effective cleansers tolerated well by all skin types is an exfoliating cleanser. Exfoliating cleansers are formulated to target a myriad of skin problems and can significantly improve overall skin health.  Focusing on the feel and look of your skin, exfoliating cleansers have the potential to drastically change your skin texture when added into a daily routine.

Curious what a great exfoliating cleanser can do for you? Here’s your complete guide to this powerhouse product and how your skin could benefit from its use. But first, let’s examine what the label of a great exfoliating cleanser should look like.

Exfoliating Cleansers - What’s in Them?

Any company can make an exfoliating cleanser, but it’s what’s inside that really matters. First and foremost, you want to know that what you are using on your delicate skin is all-natural, high quality, and most importantly, effective. A lot of filler ingredients that are hard to pronounce aren’t necessarily going to help your skin and could end up harming your skin if there’s an unexpected irritation or reaction to these fillers.  For instance, you generally want to avoid a product with sulfates. Sulfates are what make a product sudsy, so they are very popular in cleansers.  Sulfates, however, really have no benefit to your skin, and can leave it dry and irritated. Having a super foamy cleanser simply isn’t worth it.  Instead, opt for ingredients that work hard to actually help your skin. Here are the ingredients we love the most.

Pyrus Malus extract. This is essentially apple extract. Why apple extract? Apple extract is full of antioxidants that can help to reduce the effects of environmental stressors. Additionally, it contains a saccharide complex that can moisturize your skin and help it move toward that perfect moisture balance.

Cannabidiol (CBD) extract. This is the non-psychoactive extract found in the hemp plant that all your friends are talking about. CBD has a plethora of health benefits, and when used topically, can be incredibly helpful to your skin. It is effective in working to balance the moisture level in all skin types, making it ideal for oily, dry, or combination skin.

Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf extract. Another antioxidant powerhouse, this extract also packs a punch with lots of B vitamins, minerals, and even a little caffeine, which can help revive the skin. It also comes packed with amino acids, enzymes, and photo-chemicals which can help improve the overall appearance of your skin.

Panthenol. This is a fancy name for vitamin B5. This vitamin is an expert at working to smooth and soothe skin, and can also help to reduce redness.

Lactobacillus ferment. It’s hard to find this ingredient in an exfoliating cleanser, and it’s so important! This probiotic is an excellent skin helper that assists in keeping skin looking healthy overall. You already know what probiotics can do for your internal organs, imagine what it can do for your biggest organ (your skin)!

Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Seed Powder. This is the ingredient that makes a great exfoliating cleanser even greater. While some exfoliating cleansers use harsh, abrasive ingredients to exfoliate your delicate skin, KULCBD exfoliating cleanser only uses apricot seed powder. This results in a delicate, small grain exfoliation that gently removes dead skin cells without scraping, cutting, or tearing your skin like some other apricot exfoliating cleaners can do. It’s important that you make sure your exfoliating cleanser doesn’t contain large grain apricot seeds, as these can be incredibly damaging to your skin.

These are some of the best ingredients you can look for in an exfoliating cleanser. The formulation of an exfoliating cleanser is a delicate balance of exfoliating and gentle cleansing. If you get a formula that is heavy on exfoliation, you could end up damaging your skin. If you get an exfoliating cleanser that does not contain the right ingredients to effectively remove dead skin cells, you’ve really lost the “exfoliating” aspect of the cleanser. KULCBD’s exfoliating cleanser is a great product because it respects this delicate balance.

Related: Why KUL is Revolutionizing Skin Care »

What Does an Exfoliating Cleanser Do?

Now that we’ve discussed what an exfoliating cleanser should (and should not) contain, let’s look at exactly what an exfoliating cleanser can do for your skin. Remember, we are approaching this from a standpoint of using our exfoliating cleanser as a means of helping to improve skin issues, not purely just for makeup and dirt removal. Here are some of our favorite uses for face wash. Although your exfoliant can do much more than this, these are some uses that can be a pleasant surprise you may not usually expect a cleanser to be able to help with.

Red, Irritated, and Itchy

Cannabidiol (CBD) is an expert in helping to reduce redness. Not only has it been shown to help calm the body internally, it can also help with soothing the skin when applied topically. One of the best ways to deliver CBD to your skin to help soothe is by using it across all of your beauty routine products, including your exfoliating cleanser.

Red, itchy, and irritated skin can be especially sensitive to products, so it’s important you select a product with ingredients proven to calm the skin. CBD can have a calming effect when applied topically to your skin and works best when delivered via an exfoliating cleanser. This is because the exfoliating cleanser removes dead skin cells, opens pores, and allows the CBD to be delivered directly to the innermost layers of your skin cells to help soothe the skin better than a typical moisturizer.

Corrective Moisture Imbalance

Most of us probably describe our skin as “somewhat combination.” We have oily patches, likely in the T-zone area or on our lower cheeks and jawline, and dry areas that seem to never do anything but flake and peel. Women especially can suffer from severe combination skin due to hormone imbalances, which can seem impossible to correct.

These moisture imbalance issues can make it extremely difficult to find the proper products to use. Especially difficult is deciding on a facial scrub, since so many products aim to either over-moisturize dry skin or strip oily skin of every bit of oil. Neither of these are good approaches.

A better solution is to use a daily scrub. The pyrus malus (apple) extract in KULCBD’s exfoliating cleanser works in parallel with the CBD oil, working toward stabilizing your skin’s natural moisture production, which can adequately hydrate your skin. One of the little-known properties of CBD oil is that it has the ability to dissolve oil, so areas of your skin that are naturally producing too much oil can dry to a comfortably hydrated feel. Pyrus malus is an expert natural hydrator and can provide just the right amount of moisture to the dry areas of your skin without making it feel too oily or greasy

Acne-Prone Skin

A great cleanser is absolutely crucial for acne-prone skin, but get it wrong and you could end up making your blemishes worse. Especially tricky can be finding an exfoliating cleanser that effectively removes dead skin without irritating your sensitive skin. However, one of the most effective cleansers to help with acne is an exfoliating cleanser, as it can deep clean your skin by removing dead skin, sebum, and dirt to help unclog pores and work to improve skin tone, dark spots, and blackheads. KULCBD exfoliating cleanser is an amazing face scrub for acne treatment. Not only does it contain full-spectrum CBD oil that effectively delivers the “entourage effect”, but, as mentioned earlier, it can help to balance out the natural oil production in your skin. The cannabidiol in KULCBD exfoliating face cleanser can also help to reduce sebum in the skin, which is the excess oil that clogs pores and is a common culprit in causing pimples to form. Using your exfoliating cleanser morning and evening can help reduce breakouts by helping to slough off grime.

image of a swatch of exfoliating cleanser

There are so many skin concerns that can be easily corrected and improved simply by using a great facial-cleanser. When approaching any skin concern, think of how a gentle exfoliating cleanser can benefit you instead of jumping to an expensive face mask or serum to do the job -- or worse, a drugstore product with things like parabens that typically don’t even play a beneficial role! An exfoliating cleanser prepares your skin to receive the other products you use so that they can be absorbed more effectively and work more efficiently. An exfoliator with all-natural, vegan, cruelty-free ingredients is gentle on skin, yet powerful at fighting issues like moisture imbalance, fine lines, redness, and acne.

Sources-

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14598-probiotics

https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/sulfates

https://www.aad.org/when-acne-wont-clear

Directions for how to use QUL Wellness Tinctures: Shake well before using. Using provided dropper, take desired amount daily. Repeat as needed at home or on the run as a powerful hemp extract facial oil.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.