Claims vs. Reality
Contains Tea Tree Oil from Australia to help protect skin from pimples naturally. A 2-in-1 facial cleanser and make-up remover. Effectively removes light makeup, dirt, and impurities while fighting acne-causing bacteria. Contains gentle cleansing beads to lightly exfoliate the skin.
A highly functional 2-in-1 purifying cleanser designed to eliminate the need for a separate makeup remover. It relies on a strong anionic surfactant (Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate) paired with gentle co-surfactants to generate a dense foam. The inclusion of Jojoba Esters and Cellulose provides tiny, bursting microbeads that physically exfoliate the skin while Tea Tree Oil neutralizes surface bacteria. Highly effective, but potentially stripping for dry barriers.
The Reality: The robust combination of Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate creates a high-efficiency solvent matrix that easily solubilizes daily cosmetic polymers and sunscreen cleanly.
The Reality: The purifying wash accelerates superficial clearing and redness reduction, but deep physical pitted scars demand clinical fractional CO2 lasers entirely.
The Reality: The integration of Cellulose and Jojoba Esters creates soft, physical friction spheres that dislodge dead keratin flakes without tearing the skin barrier safely.
👍 Formulator Pros
- Provides an incredibly thorough makeup removal process without the oily, foggy-eye residue typical of heavy cleansing balms.
- Combines multiple acne-fighting angles (Tea Tree) with physical exfoliation (Jojoba Esters) in a highly affordable drugstore format.
- Provides an immense 150ml volume, making it highly cost-effective for generous daily washing routines.
👎 Potential Downsides
- Contains Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, which, despite being buffered, is an ingredient some sensitive-skin purists actively avoid.
- The physical bursting beads require careful, gentle massage to prevent micro-tearing on fragile, active acne nodes.
- Struggles to completely break down extreme waterproof mascara compared to a pure lipid cleansing oil.
Is This Right for You?
Verify this formulation matches your specific skin profile before buying.
| Daily Light Makeup Wearers | ✅ Yes | The 2-in-1 surfactant technology effortlessly sweeps away daily foundation, sunscreen, and pollution in a single wash step cleanly. |
| Hyper-Oily and Congested Skin Maps | ✅ Yes | The robust surfactant blend and physical microbeads vigorously obliterate heavy afternoon oil pools and deeply embedded grease flawlessly. |
| Sufferers of Active Acne Breakouts | ✅ Yes | The daily infusion of Australian tea tree oil suppresses micro-bacterial spread across the skin profile smoothly. |
| Severe Open Weeping Tissue Wounds | ❌ No | Rubbing physical cellulose beads over un-buffered raw bleeding tissue introduces severe localized smarting risks entirely. |
✅ Perfect Match
❌ Better Avoid
How It Feels & Absorbs
How to Layer It
Step placement, ingredient interactions, and what to expect over time.
To maximize the makeup removal power, apply the gel directly onto dry skin first. Massage the microbeads over your foundation for 20 seconds, then add water to foam it up and rinse everything away flawlessly.
Can Combine With
Enemies — Do Not Mix
⏳ Timeline Expectations
Inside the Bottle
Heroes and formulation notes — not just the raw INCI list. Hover chips for details.
Full Formula Scan
Automatically parsed and cross-referenced with the Glowwe Lab database.
| # | Ingredient | What It Does | Safety | Irr / Com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Water Solvent | Base solvent. | Safe | 0 / 0 |
| 02 | Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate Surfactant | Powerful anionic surfactant that creates copious foam but carries a significant risk of epidermal lipid barrier stripping if not heavily buffered safely. | 3 / 0 | |
| 03 | Acrylates Copolymer Functional / Support | The elite, water-resistant film former. | Safe | 0 / 0 |
| 04 | Glycerin Hydrator / Humectant | A natural skin-identical moisture sponge. | Safe | 0 / 0 |
| 05 | Coco-Betaine Cleanser / Surfactant | The gentle, natural coconut surfactant. | Safe | 1 / 0 |
| 06 | Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate Cleanser / Surfactant | The rich, dense foaming cleanser for sensitive skin. | Safe | 0 / 0 |
Common Questions
What the community asks most — answered with formulation facts.
Do I need to wash my face again after using this?+
No, it is formulated as a 2-in-1 product. It removes your light makeup and cleanses your pores simultaneously, saving you the extra step of double-cleansing safely.
Are the microbeads made of plastic?+
No! Aiken uses environmentally friendly Cellulose and Jojoba Esters for their microbeads. They physically burst and dissolve as you wash, meaning they are completely safe for the ocean and will not cause micro-plastic pollution cleanly.
Will this cleanser leave my face feeling tight?+
It might, especially if you have dry skin. It uses Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate which is a very strong cleansing agent. You MUST follow up with a hydrating toner immediately safely.