What to Look For in a Whitening Cleanser

If a lighter complexion is one of your beauty goals, a whitening cleanser can help. The best face washes for whitening are typically made with chemical exfoliants, like glycolic acid, or active ingredients that work to encourage even skin tone.

Yet brands such as Unilever, whose English US websites now feature clean messages, still sell products in markets where whitening is deeply embedded in colonial and racial narratives.

Brightening

A whitening cleanser can help lighten dark spots, age spots and scars and brighten skin tone. It can also reduce melasma and hyperpigmentation. It can contain ingredients that work to suppress the production of melanin, such as mulberry extract and licorice root extract.

Alternatively, it can contain a whitening active ingredient like glutathione. It can be formulated with ingredients that are nourishing and soothing to the skin, such as red berry, Yoshino cherry blossom leaf and double hyaluronic acid white cocoon extract.

This whitening cleanser from Senka delivers a rich lather and removes impurities, oiliness and makeup. It also contains a brightening ingredient, such as kojic acid and lemon extract, that can intensively wash away dead skin cells that cause dullness. It is suitable for normal, oily and combination skin types.

Exfoliating

While a regular cleanser helps remove makeup, oils, and surface-level dirt from your face, an exfoliating cleanser goes the extra mile to slough off dead skin cells. This is done either chemically or physically depending on the product and your skin type. Some products have a granular or scrubby texture that physically scrapes away the top layer of dead skin, while others have more gentle ingredients like sugar, fruit extracts, or jojoba beads.

Chemical exfoliants are typically found in serums or treatments, but they can also be added to your cleanser. The most common are alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), such as glycolic whitening cleanser acid or lactic acid. AHAs help promote cell turnover and brighten the complexion. They also work as humectants, drawing moisture into the skin. Another type of exfoliating ingredient is beta hydroxy acids, such as salicylic acid. While it is less effective than AHAs, it can still be a good choice for those with sensitive or oily skin.

Just be careful not to over-exfoliate, which can irritate even the sturdiest of skin types. While it’s important to regularly slough away the build-up of dead skin cells, do it no more than two or three times whitening cleanser a week at most. Otherwise, you risk stripping the skin of its natural oils and leaving it more vulnerable to inflammation and breakouts.

Moisturizes

Moisturizers are essential to a healthy skin care routine. They are used in the morning and evening after cleansing to restore the lost moisture from makeup removal, environmental pollution, and other products. Moisturizers contain oil and water to create a barrier that protects your skin from external factors. This helps to prevent the loss of hydration and keeps your skin looking fresh.

Dry, flaky skin is a common problem, especially during the winter when we are often exposed to frigid outdoor temperatures and overheated indoors. Dry skin can also be itchy and uncomfortable. A moisturizing cleanser can help reduce the appearance of flakiness and itching by combining cleaning agents with hydrating ingredients.

This product contains smart whitening technology to help lighten your skin and even out skin tone for a radiant complexion. It also contains lactic acid to help smooth your skin texture. It is formulated with a high-performance blend of botanical extracts to remove excess oil and impurities. Volcanic ash works to absorb impurities and tighten pores, while lavender extract soothes the skin and provides anti-aging benefits. It also contains nourishing ingredients like pomegranate extract and sunflower seed oil to help hydrate the skin. This product can be used daily to help lighten your skin and provide a more youthful appearance.

Anti-aging

With its high concentration of anti-aging ingredients, this cleanser is a powerful anti-aging face wash that reduces signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles for younger-looking skin. Starting out as a gel that transforms into an oil-rich consistency when massaged into your skin, this product deeply cleans while also exfoliating for smoother skin. This anti-aging cleanser also helps diminish hyperpigmentation, making it the perfect whitening face wash for those with dark spots or discoloration.

Developed by Peter Thomas Roth, this is one of the most luxurious cleansing products on the market. It starts out as a gel and turns into a milky emulsion when mixed with water, leaving your skin clean and refreshed. The anti-aging facial cleanser contains a blend of high-performance botanical ingredients including alpha hydroxy acids, white oak bark extract, and vitamin C for clearer, more even skin.

The glycerin in this anti-aging cleanser provides deep hydration while the vitamin C, arbutin, and niacinamide brighten the complexion. The phytic acid salt removes dead skin cells and refines pores for a more refined texture. Pomegranate enzymes and pomegranate seed oil help reduce hyperpigmentation for a more even skin tone.

This is a great anti-aging cleanser for those with sensitive skin. The non-comedogenic formula uses natural oils to gently remove dirt and impurities from the complexion without irritating the skin. This whitening cleanser is also infused with green tea extract, which protects the complexion from free radical damage while helping to decrease the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.