We all love a cleanser, according to new stats

3 min read

It seems that our love affair with skincare shows no signs of ending, with British women spending £1.15bn on facial skincare in 2017, with sales set to increase by three per cent to reach £1.18bn this year, according to Mintel research.

Over the next five years alone, Mintel expects the category to rise by a stunning 15% to reach £1.36bn in 2023. And the biggest sales of all? Cleansers. It seems we just love to cleanse. Face wash is the UK’s most popular cleansing product (55%) with facial cleansing wipes (£up from 45% to 54% in 2018) and micellar water (up from 19% in 2017 to 27% in 2018) are the next most popular things.

I love a good cleanser, in the morning and the evening, and I use a whole variety. This news is great, because cleansing is the singularly most important step of any skincare routine!

My evening routine varies from a decent cleansing balm or oil, to a wipe, depending on what sort of day/night I have had and how much I can be bothered. But I do try to limit the use of wipes. One of my all time favourite balms is Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm (£47). I love it because you can use it on the eyes, to take off all your makeup.  I did take a reaction to it a few years ago, but it seems to agree with me again, thankfully!

Who can be bothered with two cleansers? Which is the problem I have with the Temple Spa In The Beginning Deep Cleansing Melt (£30) I have recently been given to try. It smells absolutely delicious, and it has the loveliest ingredients, but you have to avoid the eye area.

That just lets it down for me. I can’t be bothered with two bottles in the evening. If you can, or you want to give your skin a boost – this can be used as a mask as well – then this balm contains vitamin E, olive, calendula, basil clary and lavender. It is lovely, and it does make your skin feel great.

As beauty trends continue to be inspired by Korean facial skincare routines, which can reach as many as 10 steps, British women are adopting multiple cleansing routines and even using different cleansers for different occasions. The rise in different formats, from micellar waters to cleansing milks, oils and lotions, is also driving experimentation. Facial wipes remain popular due to their convenience and are sometimes used instead of a facial cleanser; however, with government plans to eliminate single use products like facial cleansing wipes, the category could be affected – Roshida Khanom, Associate Director, Beauty & Personal Care at Mintel

In the morning, I’ve been using two from the Lancer three-step I outlined on here the other month.I’d never buy a product because a celebrity used it, so the fact this is from Kim Kardashian’s dermatologist didn’t really bother me one way or another. I have been using it now for a while, and it is great. Yes, it’s not cheap, but my skin has felt brilliant all summer thanks to these two products – The Method: Polish (£60), and The Method: Cleanse (£48). Using this exfoliating polish and cleanse duo every day has eliminated any dryness on my skin completely.

What are your favourite cleansing products?