3 Reasons Why You Need A Cleansing Balm

COLE Omega Cleansing Balm

Did you know that if your skin feels “squeaky clean” after cleansing, it’s too harsh for your skin? The whole point of cleansing is of course to remove dirt, debris, toxins and build-up off the skin and set the stage for proper product penetration of the next steps in your skincare regimen. But never ever should your skin feel stripped or squeaky after a cleanse. The idea of surfactants (ingredients that bind oil and water together to help remove oil-soluble debris from a surface) was actually initially created to remove grease from cars…and somehow this idea translated into removing our body’s natural oils from our skin. Which is never a good thing and can lead to a worsening of skin conditions like acne, rosacea and dermatitis, and even an increase in skin sensitivity.

In recent years this concept of using surfactants for cleansing our skin has shifted, where the mainstream skincare industry now understands that gentle surfactants are better for our skin health. Thank goodness. This shifting trend has also opened the doors for oil cleansing to become popular again - an age-old traditional cleansing practice that has been around in various cultures for hundreds of years.

Oil cleansing is a great technique and one that most skin types can benefit from. With the amount of environmental pollution exposure (of which most is oil soluble) and layers of makeup that seem to becoming trendy to use again, using a product that’s oil based is an excellent idea, even if you have acne-prone skin. Where the issue tends to lie with oil cleansing is the removal of the oil. If the oil is not appropriately removed, it can worsen some skin conditions like acne, lead to dull (and even dry) skin or prevent proper product penetration (anyone else struggle with feeling greasy all day long after oil cleansing?).

Here are the top 3 reasons why you need a cleansing balm.

1. Cleansing Balms Are The “Best Of Both Worlds” from Oil Cleansing and Surfactant Cleansing Systems

Cleansing balms, or oleo gels, are products where the oil has been mixed with a gentle surfactant, usually sucrose laurate (this is what we use in our Omega Cleansing Balm). Sucrose laurate also happens to gel oils, making a beautiful gelled texture that glides gently and easily onto the skin. When the product comes in contact with water, it turns into a milk, which is why these oleo gels are also called “oil to milk cleansers”.

The bonus with a cleansing balm is that it hybridizes the best of both oil cleansing method and surfactant cleansers - you’re able to use oils to remove all the lipid-soluble debris from the skin, restore and protect the lipid matrix, and also effectively remove the oil from the skin, without stripping the skin.

2. Cleansing Balms Are Not Just For Cleansing

I’m a big fan of multipurpose products, which is why I love Cleansing Balms. Because of the consistency of a cleansing balm, it can also serve a double purpose as a face mask, giving your skin a little extra boost in exfoliation, skin soothing or hydration. Oftentimes cleansers are packed with great ingredients, but a cleanser is usually only on your skin for maybe 60 seconds, meaning that all those active ingredients you just paid for in your cleanser go down the drain and don’t really have much effect on your skin for the short period of time they’re on there. This is especially an issue when skincare products are marketed as “exfoliating” with non-mechanical ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or enzymes. These are great ingredients to have in your skincare products but in a cleanser, they’re not really doing much when they’re not given a chance to sit on the skin for a period of time.

Cleansing Balms that contain active ingredients like these AHAs for example, overcome this issue by functioning as a face mask, where if you want that extra, deeper exfoliation you can apply the balm as a mask for 15-20 minutes and then remove the product. (*Hint: this is why our Omega Cleansing Balm is formulated the way it is, the lactic acid serves to balance the pH of the product for daily cleansing purposes, and also serves as a gentle exfoliant when the product is left on the skin as a face mask).

3. Cleansing Balms Travel Well

Between bar soaps and liquid cleansers that have the pump attachment, I always struggle with figuring out how to pack my cleanser when I travel. Cleansing Balms are so much easier to travel with for that reason, they’re low in water content so the risk of bacterial overgrowth is minimal, plus the gel texture means no cleansing gel spilling all over my bag or having to pack my goopy bar soap into a Ziplock bag. Things have got to be simple to travel with, to me that’s vital. I don’t like having to put my things into travel containers either, so the product size and format I chose to put our Omega Cleansing Balm in is intentional.

Our Omega Cleansing Balm was thoughtfully formulated to include plant oils that made up an omega complex that benefits the lipid matrix, including omega 3 from chia seed and hemp seed oils, to omega 6 from hemp seed and sunflower seed oil to omega 7 from macadamia nut oil, omega 9 from rice bran oil, medium chain triglycerides from MCT oil and very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) from meadow foam. Then strategically utilizing our gentle surfactant, sucrose laurate to ensure proper removal of these oils and the fat-soluble debris the cleanser dissolves on the skin. Lactic acid for pH balancing and gentle exfoliation, and Canadian Boreal Wildflower Honey for extra skin soothing round off the formula in a thoughtful, synergistic way.

If you haven’t tried a Cleansing Balm yet, this is your cue to go get some :).