Review: Rationale Proceramide Cleanser

You may have seen on my Instagram page, that I went to see a dermatologist recently about some skin concerns, including breakouts. I got prescribed some antibiotics, plus a very strong 1% retinol and benzyl peroxide gel. All of this added together with the fact it is Winter and the heating is just sucking all the moisture out of the air, means my skin is dry and suffering. Like seriously dry – I wake up with such flaky, itchy and dehydrated skin, it is crazy… thank GOODNESS I bought the Rationale Proceramide Cleanser for Winter a few weeks ago. This isn’t a regular cream cleanser Beauties, this cleanser is next level!

The Proceramide ‘Emulsion’ is and looks like a standard cream cleanser. It comes in a pump bottle, which is great. This is what Rationale promise the cleanser will do for your skin;

PROCERAMIDE CLEANSER inundates the skin with a cascade of nourishing lipids, boosting hydration and firmness while gently cleansing away surface impurities and make-up. Infused with powerful antioxidants, bioactive Ceramides and Australian PhotoRepair Botanicals, this ultra nourishing formulation simultaneously purifies the skin and stimulates production of hydrating, protective ceramides in situ. –  Simultaneously boosts skin hydration, firmness and softness while cleansing –  Gentle cleansing – no detergents –  Non-irritant solvent formula –  Gently removes all makeup, including eye makeup –  Boosts ceramide levels in the skin –  Contains antioxidant vitamins –  Helps soothe and calm skin –  Suitable for most sensitive and/or acne-prone skins

First of all, you will notice that Rationale state the cleanser is also suitable for acne prone skin – YES! This proves, that the moisture and hydration will not make breakouts and acne worse! Ceramides are like the ‘glue’ that holds your skin cells together, making your skin strong, plump and able to keep moisture in your cells. The best way to describe this cleanser, is that it is a cream, but the cream feels silky. The cream glides onto the skin and washes off without any greasy film left on the skin. Skin feels clean, seriously plump and hydrated. Like with the Catalyst Cleanser, it almost feels like the cleansing part of your routine is just as much of a ‘treatment’ as the other parts of your routine (the more traditional ‘active’ products you might be using – essences, serums, moisturisers etc).

Ceramides AP, EOP, EOS, NP, NS –  A complete complement of skin-identical ceramides that elicit cleansing, hydration and barrier fortifying functionsPropanediol –  An organic solvent derived from corn –  Solubilises and emulsifies oil, dirt and makeup and rinses off the skin –  Stimulates ceramide synthesisHyaluronic Acid –  A glycosaminoglycan found extensively in the intercellular matrix –  Involved in cell proliferation and migration –  Ultra hydratingSandalwood Seed Oil – A rich source of Ximenynic Acid which has potent anti-inflammatory effects – Down-regulates sebum production – Increases microcirculationBlue Cypress Seed Oil – Potent anti-inflammatory – Anti-irritant – Reduces redness and soothes the skinBlack Cypress Oil – Antimicrobial – Hydrating – Balances oil flowRetinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Beta-Carotene + Cholecalciferol – Oil-soluble antioxidants that are immediately accepted into intercellular lipid matrix – Reduce irritancy – Stimulate elastin synthesisBitter + Sweet Orange –  Natural cleansing agents with bacteriostatic properties –  Purifying and refreshingCastor Oil –  Natural solvent with barrier lipid propertiesAustralian Photoprotective + Repair Botanical Extracts – Water Soluble: Crown of Gold,Flame Tree,Mountain Pepper Berry,Rosella, Waratah, Banksia, Native Snowflower, Davidson Plum, Kakadu Plum and Finger Lime Caviar • Lipids: Black Cypress, Blue Cypress,Native Sandalwood and Native Peach

I like to apply the cream cleanser onto my skin, massaging it in for a minute or so. I find this makes sure that my skin is getting all of the goodness possible from the cleanser. When your skin almost hurts because it is so dry, doing this, is seriously soothing. It also works well with my Foreo, which is great, as this gives you options! You will notice that Rose flower water (and not just any rose water, Rosa Damascena – the best!) is at the top of the ingredient list, instead of just being regular H2O, making it sound and feel luxe. Don’t let all the flower and extracts scare you though – the cleanser doesn’t smell like an essential oil bomb went off. It smells a little ‘fresh’ (maybe from the blood orange and finger lime?) but also ‘creamy’ which tones it down (there’s also sandalwood extract, which is pretty darn fancy). One to two pumps is all that you need – sometimes I use to much product I must admit, just because my skin is dry at the moment, I want to figuratively smother my body in this cleanser 😉

 The cleanser takes light makeup off easily (think bb cream, tinted moisturiser) but I haven’t tried using it to remove stubborn or more long-wearing makeup. I don’t think it would fair all that well because it is quite gentle and the Rationale site mentions that for tough makeup, two washes might be needed. I’m not sure why it’s called a ‘preparatory cleanser’, possibly because it preps your skin for the rest of your routine (yes, this must be it 😉 ). I generally just use an oil based cleanser to remove makeup before using the Proceramide Cleanser, so I get all the benefits of the ingredients. The ingredient list is pretty impressive, because it looks like every ingredient in the formula is there to do a job. For this reason and because it provides my skin with so much relief, I think it is worth the $92 pennies that it costs (for 200ml). I found a ‘dupe’ of sorts for the Catalyst Cleanser (check out that review here), but haven’t found anything that comes close to this cream cleanser. I should also add, that I first tried this cleanser a while ago (I had a travel sized ‘sample’) when my skin wasn’t this dry and was your typical combination skin, getting the odd breakout here and there. Even then, my skin looooved this cleanser and it didn’t break me out at all.

You can buy the cleanser online from the Rationale website or at various skin clinics and dermatologist officers. I never thought I would get ‘excited’ or love a cleanser as much as I do this one, but it’s true 🙂 Have you have had a cleanser rock your world beauties? Let me know!

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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