All scans / Cleansers / e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser ingredients: is it worth it?
It’s a gentle gommage cleanser, not a true treatment exfoliant.
It’s a gentle gommage cleanser, not a true treatment exfoliant.
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The efficacy score is driven mostly by microcrystalline cellulose plus Quaternium-60 for mechanical peeling, with glycerin and glycols making the rub-off action less abrasive; it does not have an acid system, so there is no pH-dependent exfoliation to credit, and the plant extracts sit too low to meaningfully move the needle. The added fragrance and allergen load slightly hurt the formula’s skin-friendliness, which keeps the score solid but not exceptional.
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DemythSkin rates e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser 2.8/5 for efficacy and 3.9/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool. 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 (8)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Quaternium-60, Butylene Glycol, Carbomer, Glycerin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Leaf Extract, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Fruit Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (17)⌄
- Water (Aqua)
- solvent base
- Propylene Glycol
- humectant solvent
- Microcrystalline Cellulose
- mechanical peeling agent
- Quaternium-60
- film former
- Butylene Glycol
- humectant solvent
- Carbomer
- thickener gel base
- Glycerin
- humectant
- Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
- soothing extract component
- Carica Papaya (Papaya) Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
- Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Fruit Extract
- botanical extract
- Caprylyl Glycol
- humectant preservative booster
- Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
- Ethylhexylglycerin
- preservative booster
- Fragrance (Parfum)
- fragrance
- Benzyl Salicylate
- fragrance allergen
- Hexyl Cinnamal
- fragrance allergen
- Linalool
- fragrance allergen
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Microcrystalline Cellulose: Mechanical exfoliation in a gommage-style cleanser; supported by the brand and retailer descriptions of a peeling cleanser.
Glycerin: Well-established humectant that helps reduce dryness and improves slip during cleansing.
Fragrance (Parfum): Declared fragrance in the authoritative INCI, along with listed fragrance allergens.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser: common questions
Is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser worth it?
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser scores 2.8 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Underpowered) and 3.9 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. It’s a gentle gommage cleanser, not a true treatment exfoliant.
What are the key active ingredients in e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser?
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser as documented irritants: Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool. This product does contain fragrance.
How is e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Gentle Peeling Exfoliating Cleanser 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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