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Walgreens Gentle Cleanser ingredients: is it worth it?
Competent cleanser with a questionable surfactant choice—not the gentle formula its name implies.
Competent cleanser with a questionable surfactant choice—not the gentle formula its name implies.
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The efficacy score is 3.6/5 because the formula should remove oil, sunscreen, and makeup effectively, but Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate appears very high in the list as a primary surfactant and can be substantially more stripping than a genuinely mild amino-acid system. Glycerin and the later panthenol/aloe ingredients offer limited rinse-off support, while the vitamin C derivative, vitamin E derivative, botanical extracts, and gluconolactone should not meaningfully raise efficacy because they are low-position, brief-contact ingredients. No published pH was found, so appropriate pH cannot be credited. Fragrance and colorants reduce safety, although they do not make the cleanser clean less effectively.
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DemythSkin rates Walgreens Gentle Cleanser 3.6/5 for efficacy and 3.3/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Parfum. 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 (12)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, Decyl Glucoside, Citric Acid, Benzophenone-4, Polysorbate 20, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Gluconolactone, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Propylene Glycol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Spinacia Oleracea Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Medicago Sativa Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, CI 61570, CI 19140
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Water
- solvent
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- secondary surfactant
- Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
- primary surfactant
- Glycerin
- humectant
- Sodium Chloride
- viscosity adjuster
- Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
- Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
- secondary surfactant
- Parfum
- fragrance
- Sodium Benzoate
- preservative
- Decyl Glucoside
- mild surfactant
- Citric Acid
- pH adjuster
- Benzophenone-4
- UV stabilizer
- Polysorbate 20
- solubilizer
- Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
- chelating agent
- Gluconolactone
- humectant and conditioner
- Panthenol
- humectant and conditioner
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder
- skin conditioning agent
- Propylene Glycol
- humectant and solvent
- Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
- botanical antioxidant
- Spinacia Oleracea Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
- Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
- Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
- Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
- botanical extract
- Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
- vitamin C derivative
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Humectant commonly used to reduce cleansing-related dryness
Panthenol: Skin-conditioning humectant with soothing and barrier-supportive evidence
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.
Walgreens Gentle Cleanser: common questions
Is Walgreens Gentle Cleanser worth it?
Walgreens Gentle Cleanser scores 3.6 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Modest) and 3.3 out of 5.0 for safety (Some Risk) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Competent cleanser with a questionable surfactant choice—not the gentle formula its name implies.
What are the key active ingredients in Walgreens Gentle Cleanser?
Walgreens Gentle Cleanser contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does Walgreens Gentle Cleanser contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Walgreens Gentle Cleanser as documented irritants: Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Parfum, Benzophenone-4. This product does contain fragrance.
How is Walgreens Gentle 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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