Cleansers and Exfoliants: Choosing the Right Ones for Your Skin
Cleansing is the least glamorous step and the one most likely to be quietly causing a problem. Here is how I choose a cleanser for you, and how to exfoliate without overdoing it.
By Dr Amber Halliday, MRCGP MBBS BSc (Hons) | Blue Bird Aesthetics, Worthing | Last reviewed October 2026
Your skincare plan, section by section
- Reading your card and putting it in order
- Cleansers and exfoliants (you are here)
- Serums
- Retinoids
- Eyes and lips
- Moisturisers
- Sun protection
- Kits, and skincare around your treatment
What a cleanser should do, and what it should not
A good cleanser removes sunscreen, make-up, oil and the day’s pollution, then gets out of the way. Your skin should feel clean and comfortable afterwards, never tight or squeaky. That tight feeling is the sign of a stripped skin barrier, and a stripped barrier makes everything you apply afterwards more likely to sting. The four cleansers on your card cover the main skin types, and I usually tick one for both morning and evening.
Find your cleanser: tap the one that sounds like you
My skin goes red easily, reacts to products, or has just been treated
SensiCalm Cleanser AlumierMD
A gentle, pH-balanced cream cleanser for sensitive and redness-prone skin. It is the cleanser in the Post Procedure Kit I give you after microneedling or a peel. Available as a trial size.
My skin feels tight, dry or flaky, especially in winter
HydraBoost Cleanser AlumierMD
A hydrating cleanser for normal to dry skin. It cleans without taking away the moisture dry skin struggles to hold on to. If your skin is tight but also oily in places, it may be dehydrated rather than dry. My dry versus dehydrated guide explains the difference.
My skin gets shiny by lunchtime but rarely breaks out
Purifying Gel Cleanser AlumierMD
A refreshing, pH-balanced gel for normal to oily skin. It lifts excess oil and sunscreen without leaving skin feeling stripped. Available as a trial size.
I get blocked pores, blackheads or regular breakouts
Clarifying Cleanser AlumierMD
A gel cleanser with 2% salicylic acid, which works inside the pore as well as on the surface. It counts as an active ingredient, so it pauses after most skin treatments along with your other actives. If breakouts are painful, deep or leaving marks, please see your GP, because prescription treatment may be the better first step.
None of these, or more than one
Combination skin is common. Many people use a gentler cleanser in the morning and a more thorough one at night, or switch with the seasons. If your card ticks two cleansers, that is usually why. The Worthing coast plays a part too: sea wind and summer sun dry skin out in ways that change what suits you. My coastal skin guide has more on this.
How to cleanse properly
1
Lukewarm water. Hot water feels nice and dries skin out.
2
About a minute of gentle massage with your fingertips, not a flannel or brush.
3
Cleanse twice at night if you wore mineral sunscreen or make-up. The first cleanse lifts it, the second cleans the skin.
4
Pat dry with a clean towel and move on to the next step while skin is comfortable.
Exfoliants: useful, and easy to overdo
Exfoliation clears away dead surface cells so skin looks smoother and brighter, and so the products that follow can do their job. The card says one to three times a week, and I mean it as a limit rather than a target. Most of the reactive, stinging skin I see has been exfoliated too often, too hard or on top of a retinoid. There are three exfoliants on your card, and they work in different ways.
Chemical · AHA and BHA
Bright & Clear Solution
A toner-style solution combining lactic acid, which works on the surface, with salicylic acid, which works in the pores. Suits skin that looks dull, rough or congested rather than sensitive. Swept on with a cotton pad after cleansing. Trial size available.
AlumierMD · morning or evening, as ticked
Physical · polish
MicroDerm Polish
A fine polish with grapefruit peel oil for rough, dry patches. Use very light pressure, on damp skin, and rinse. It is not for sensitive, broken or recently treated skin, and it is not something to scrub harder when skin feels congested.
AlumierMD · once or twice a week at most
Gentle · PHA
PHA Renewal Scrub
Polyhydroxy acids are larger molecules than AHAs and act more slowly at the surface, which is why I reach for this one when skin does not tolerate stronger exfoliants. Not for use in the week after a treatment.
CellDerma · as ticked
Stop exfoliating and let me know if
- products you normally tolerate start to sting
- your skin looks shiny and tight at the same time, or feels hot
- you notice raw, pink patches around the nose or mouth
These are signs of an over-exfoliated barrier. Go back to cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen for a couple of weeks. My skin barrier guide explains how.
How exfoliants fit with the rest of your plan
- Retinoids. Keep exfoliating and retinoid nights separate while you are starting a retinoid. Retinoids already speed up cell turnover, so the two together are easy to overdo.
- AHA Renewal Serum. This one sits in the serums section of your card but is an 8% lactic acid exfoliant, so it counts towards your exfoliation nights. More in the serums guide.
- Sunscreen. Freshly exfoliated skin is more sensitive to the sun, so the morning after matters. See choosing your SPF.
- Treatments. All exfoliants pause before and after peels, needling and NeoGen. Your card’s “Restart actives from” date tells you when to go back to them, and skincare around your treatment has the details.
If you want a deeper, more even result than an at-home exfoliant can give, that is what an in-clinic resurfacing treatment is for. My guide to modern skin peels explains how they differ. For persistent texture and enlarged pores, see skin texture and pores.
Commercial disclosure: Blue Bird Aesthetics sells AlumierMD and CellDerma products and may earn commission on purchases made in clinic or through our links. You are free to buy elsewhere, or not at all. Our clinical advice does not change either way.
Common questions
Do I need to cleanse in the morning?
Usually yes, gently, to remove whatever you put on at night and to give your morning serums and sunscreen a clean base. If your skin is very dry, a rinse with water can be enough on some mornings. Follow what is ticked on your card.
Is a tingle from Bright & Clear normal?
A brief, mild tingle can be. Stinging that lasts, or redness afterwards, means it is too much for your skin at the moment. Stop it and tell me.
Should I use a cleansing brush or flannel?
I would not. Fingertips are enough, and brushes and rough cloths are a common, quiet cause of barrier damage.
Can I try a cleanser before buying the full size?
Yes. I keep trial sizes of the cleansers I recommend most. Ask at your appointment and use it for a fortnight first.
Not sure your cleanser suits you?
Bring it to your next appointment, or message me a photo of the label.
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