A Cleanser that Knocked my Socks Off! Alpha H’s Balancing Cleanser with Aloe Vera 🧼🥒💦

When I received the Alpha H Balancing Cleanser (I won it in a competition) I thought to myself, ‘Oh that’s nice, a balancing cleanser for both oily and dry skin types’ *shrugs* 🤷🏼‍♀️. I can’t say I was excited about the cleanser. I expected it to be a foaming cleanser and we know they tend to be more drying than cream cleansers.

My skin has been SO temperamental lately, that my usual cream cleansers (due to the addition of essential oils and fruit extracts) had been both irritating my skin as had gel cleansers. What the right?! My skin is highly sensitised at the moment; so think angry, sore and fragile. But I’m also breakout prone, so I can’t just use something heavy and pore clogging like coconut oil. No cleanser was leaving my skin feeling ‘right’ and comfortable. Nothing had been working for me anymore in this department. When this happens, it’s a strange and very uncomfortable feeling. Cleansing is actually one of the most ‘upsetting’ actions for your skin. Yes, it removes dirt and excess oils but it also disrupts your natural ‘protective’ lipid barrier. If this barrier is compromised because of harsh skin treatments, inflammation, illness, weather and hormonal woes (the dehydrated yet oily skin conundrum) it can be very difficult to find a cleanser that doesn’t make these underlying problems worse. With all this in mind, you can understand my surprise when I found that the Alpha H Balancing Cleanser was actually the perfect cleansing ‘remedy’ for all my problems. How?!? Find out by reading on! 😁

Balancing Cleanser Soothe, Calm and Balance Alpha-H’s award-winning Balancing Cleanser is rich in Vitamin E and Aloe Vera which help to completely remove all traces of face and eye makeup and correct the skin’s pH balance. A creamy three-in-one cleanser, Balancing Cleanser works to correct the skin’s natural pH balance, effectively replacing the need for separate eye makeup remover, face wash and toner. Vitamin E is well known for its ability to help repair and hydrate skin and neutralise free radicals, while Aloe Vera rejuvenates and moisturises the complexion. This perfectly balanced formulation helps to repair a stripped or impaired acid mantle and will not remove your skin’s naturally occurring oils and moisture. Instead, Balancing Cleanser soothes and comforts dry, tight or irritated skin, and reduces the evaporation of moisture from the skin’s surface. Non-foaming and free of harsh surfactants, Balancing Cleanser gently sweeps away toxins and debris, and is suitable for use on all skin types; especially those who have dry, dehydrated or sensitive skin. Balancing Cleanser is suitable for use in the morning and evening and is both safe and gentle enough for use on the sensitive eye area. Ingredients Aqua (Water), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Extract, Sorbitan Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetyl Alcohol, Lauryl Glucoside, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Parfum (Fragrance).

The first surprise is that even though the cleanser is called a ‘balancing cleanser’, it’s not referring to the balancing of oily skin. It’s referring to the balancing of all skin types; gently cleansing, restoring the skin’s pH levels and soothing skin thanks to the additions of vitamin E and Aloe Vera in the formula. The ingredient list is very short. Short ingredient lists are usually a great indicator that a cleanser will be suitable for sensitive skin (the less ingredients, the less likely one of them will irritate your skin further).

It’s not a foaming cleanser. It’s a light cream cleanser that isn’t heavy and doesn’t leave a thick film on the skin post cleansing. Those films often leave me wondering if my skin is clean (it’s probably a psychological thing – I know logically my skin is clean but if my skin feels ‘heavy’ under that film and not so fresh, I wonder….). The most wonderful thing about this cleanser is that it leaves my skin feeling SO comfortable post cleansing. Your lipid barrier is left intact. Yet, skin feels fresh and clean even when I’m feeling or looking particularly oily 💦🌟

One of the ingredients that helps skin to feel soothed and more comfortable post cleanse, is Aloe Vera. When we think of Aloe Vera, we think soothing, calming and healing 🙏 It’s definitely one of those medicinal plants my mum would recommend as a ‘home remedy’ (*tip* not all aloe varieties work in the same way however, so that’s something to keep in mind if you use it fresh from the garden – with some Googling, you’ll find out which aloe plants contain the special actives that give you the best results when using aloe topically). Science is now baking up our thoughts and beliefs about Aloe Vera being a soothing and healing plant for the skin. While Aloe Vera is mostly made up of water, the mucus like gel contains glycoproteins and polysaccharides. This bioactive substances help speed up the healing process by minimising pain and inflammation (sun burn!) and polysaccharides stimulate growth and repair. Vitamins C and E in aloe gel improve the strength of the skin tissues and pack a powerful, hydrating punch to dehydrated or aging skin.

Some of the most promising research on aloe focuses on Biopeptide Aloe Complex (BAC) for oily and acne-prone skin. Basically, BAC uses aloe polysaccharide as a vehicle to enhance cutaneous penetration for optimized delivery of active ingredients into the skin. Bonus: this material has also been shown to increase fibroblast and collagen production! (source: Futurederm)

All of the goodness that comes from Aloe Vera, makes it a fabulous ingredient for highly sensitised skin, as well as oily and acne prone skin. Everyone will benefit from Aloe Vera and this cleanser!

I use about a ten cent piece amount of the cleanser every cleanse. When paired with my Foreo Luna, the cleanser works brilliantly for a ‘deeper cleanse’. Without my Foreo Luna, it provides more of a gentle yet effective cleanse. I don’t use it to remove my makeup. I know Alpha H mentions that it can be used to remove eye makeup, which is nice, but I use an oil cleanser to remove all makeup before cleansing again anyway (double cleansing). Because the cleanser is so gentle, it doesn’t irritate eyes which is a great bonus. It will pick up any remaining residue around the eyes too.

The Balancing Cleanser has a very faint and subtle herbal scent. It probably would be the perfect cleanser if the formula didn’t contain fragrance but alas. Maybe it’s a very gentle fragrance that’s unlikely to cause irritation… it doesn’t irritate my skin even when sensitive, but fragrances are considered to be potential irritants, so this is something to keep in mind. There is a limited edition rose scented Balancing Cleanser atm, which I would love to try.

You get 185ml of product in the tube. It’s a decent amount I think! I love that Alpha H is a globally well known Australian brand 🐨🦘🌱 (thanks to their cult product, Liquid Gold).  You can pick up the cleanser at Cult Beauty, Adore Beauty and via the Alpha H website of course. The cheapest place to pick up the cleanser is Adore Beauty, where the cleanser costs $37.36 AUD (the rrp in Aus dollars is $43.95).

The Alpha H Balancing Cleanser with Aloe Vera is easily one of my favourite top two cleansers atm! It’s not crazily expensive, it works a treat no matter how my skin is feeling and it’s a trusted Australian brand to boot! How good is that 😁💦💕 What other cleanser make up this top two? The Rationale Proceramide Cleanser. The Rationale cleanser is very expensive however… BUT, it’s like a skin treatment in a cleanser. It’s amazing. I’ve recently repurchased it and have fallen in love with it all over again. When I want to use a ‘lighter’ cleanser however, I use the Alpha H Balancing Cleanser. If you’re after an all natural, gentle cleanser the whole family will love and use, then I recommend MooGoo’s Natural Milk Wash.

That’s it for today Beauties 🥰🥰 I hope you enjoyed the post and maybe found out about a new product that might just work brilliantly for you!

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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