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Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser ingredients: is it worth it?
This is a heavily fragranced, borderline-harsh cleanser that cleans, but does your barrier and sensitive skin absolutely no favors.
This is a heavily fragranced, borderline-harsh cleanser that cleans, but does your barrier and sensitive skin absolutely no favors.
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Efficacy-wise, it uses a mix of amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants that will remove makeup and sunscreen adequately, but the inclusion of an anionic sulfate (Sodium Trideceth Sulfate) high in the list plus a long roster of essential oils means cleansing comes with an elevated irritation and barrier-disruption risk, and there are no meaningful barrier-support ingredients to compensate.
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DemythSkin rates Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser 3.3/5 for efficacy and 3.1/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower 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 (6)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water , Sodium Lauroamphoacetate , Sodium Trideceth Sulfate , Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil , Coco-Glucoside , Coconut Alcohol , PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate , Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil , Geranium Maculatum Oil , Guaiacum Officinale Wood Extract , Cymbopogon Martini Oil , Rosa Damascena Extract , Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil , Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil , Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil , Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil , Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil , Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil , Piper Nigrum (Pepper) Seed Extract , Polysorbate 20 , Glycerin , Carbomer , Triethanolamine , Methylparaben , Propylparaben , Imidazolidinyl Urea , Yellow 5 (Ci 19140)
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Water
- Solvent
- Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
- Primary surfactant, cleansing
- Sodium Trideceth Sulfate
- Anionic surfactant, cleansing
- Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil
- Emollient skin-conditioning oil
- Coco-Glucoside
- Non-ionic surfactant, mild cleansing
- Coconut Alcohol
- Co-surfactant, foam booster
- PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
- Thickener and solubilizer
- Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Geranium Maculatum Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Guaiacum Officinale Wood Extract
- Botanical extract, fragrance
- Cymbopogon Martini Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Rosa Damascena Extract
- Botanical extract, fragrance
- Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil
- Essential oil fragrance component
- Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil
- Botanical oil, fragrance
- Piper Nigrum (Pepper) Seed Extract
- Botanical extract, fragrance
- Polysorbate 20
- Solubilizer and emulsifier
- Glycerin
- Humectant for hydration
- Carbomer
- Viscosity controller, thickener
- Triethanolamine
- pH adjuster and neutralizer
- Methylparaben
- Preservative
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Capable of improving stratum corneum hydration and barrier function in cleansers and leave-on products; see studies on humectant-containing syndet cleansers for barrier support.
Sodium Lauroamphoacetate: Amphoteric surfactant often used in milder cleansing systems compared to traditional sulfates, with better skin barrier compatibility.
Sodium Trideceth Sulfate: An anionic sulfate-type surfactant associated with stronger degreasing and potential barrier disruption when used prominently in cleansers.
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.
Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser: common questions
Is Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser worth it?
Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser scores 3.3 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Mid) and 3.1 out of 5.0 for safety (Some Risk) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. This is a heavily fragranced, borderline-harsh cleanser that cleans, but does your barrier and sensitive skin absolutely no favors.
What are the key active ingredients in Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser?
Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser as documented irritants: Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Imidazolidinyl Urea.
How is Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial 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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