All scans / Cleansers / Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel ingredients: is it worth it?
A competent cleanser wearing an unnecessarily fragrant botanical costume.
A competent cleanser wearing an unnecessarily fragrant botanical costume.
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The efficacy score is 3.6/5: multiple effective cleansing surfactants should remove daily grime well, and the system avoids the explicitly harsh primary surfactants targeted by this rubric, but the rinse-off format provides no meaningful lasting treatment benefit and the formula's pH is not disclosed. Glycerin offers modest support against a stripped after-feel, while the essential-oil-heavy fragrance system does not improve cleansing performance. The safety score is 3.8/5 because lavender, lemon, bergamot, and citronella oils increase avoidable fragrance-sensitization risk, especially for reactive skin.
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DemythSkin rates Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel 3.6/5 for efficacy and 3.8/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil. Most people tolerate them; patch test if your skin reacts easily.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (11)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water/Aqua/Eau, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella) Oil, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Betaine, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Capryloyl Glycine, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Methylpropanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA.
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (22)⌄
- Water/Aqua/Eau
- Formula solvent
- Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
- Primary cleansing surfactant
- Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
- Cleansing surfactant
- Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract
- Botanical cleansing extract
- Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil
- Fragrant botanical oil
- Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract
- Botanical extract
- Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil
- Fragrant citrus oil
- Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil
- Fragrant citrus oil
- Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella) Oil
- Fragrant botanical oil
- Glycerin
- Water-binding humectant
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- Secondary cleansing surfactant
- Coco-Betaine
- Secondary cleansing surfactant
- Hydroxyethylcellulose
- Viscosity controlling polymer
- Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
- Mild cleansing surfactant
- Capryloyl Glycine
- Cleansing and conditioning agent
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
- Foaming cleansing surfactant
- Methylpropanediol
- Solvent and humectant
- Ethylhexylglycerin
- Preservative booster
- Caprylhydroxamic Acid
- Preservative
- PPG-5-Ceteth-20
- Solubilizing emulsifier
- Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjusting agent
- Disodium EDTA
- Chelating agent
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Humectant that helps attract and retain water in the outer skin layers.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine: Commonly used mild co-surfactant that supports cleansing and foam formation.
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate: Anionic cleansing surfactant used for soil and oil removal.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
A cheaper cleanser that scores as high or higher
A different formula for the same concern (cleansing) that scores at least as high on both efficacy and safety.
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel: common questions
Is Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel worth it?
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel scores 3.6 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Modest) and 3.8 out of 5.0 for safety (Mostly Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. A competent cleanser wearing an unnecessarily fragrant botanical costume.
What are the key active ingredients in Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel?
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel as documented irritants: Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Cymbopogon Nardus (Citronella) Oil.
How is Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
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