The Best Budget Cleansers For Dry Skin

I make no secret of the fact I like expensive skincare. My favourite cleanser is the Omorovicza thermal cleansing balm, which comes in at a painful £60 a jar. But I realised something recently, despite my favourite cleaner being an expensive one, a lot of the others on my shelf that I really enjoy, are very cheap. Looking at my products I’d like to try list, I found two more budget friendly cleansers too. Not mid-priced, the textbook definition of affordable. So, I picked up those two and thought I’d do a roundup of my favourite budget cleansers for dry skin.  

Just for reference, the two new ones are the ones from the Inkey List and The Glow Hub. Both were tested for a few weeks of consistent use before they were added to my list for this post. Two of the others have been repurchased many times over the years, and the final one has been in my collection for several months.  

Suggested Post: My Favourite Cruelty Free Beauty Brands

Budget cleansers for dry skin? 

Well, I have dry skin and these are some of my favourites, so they’re budget cleansers for dry skin. A couple of them are good for all skin types, which I’ll mention below, but I make no promises that anyone with oily skin will love these.  

What I’m looking for 

All of these cleansers are oils or balms, my preference is generally for a balm, with oils coming a close second, but I never use cream cleansers. It’s a personal preference, but I never feel like creams give my skin what it needs.  

What do you mean by budget?  

Affordable means something different to everyone, so I want to be clear. All of these cleansers are £10 or less, or slightly over £10 but cheaper than £10 per 100ml. For example, one is £11, but it’s a 200ml bottle, so it’s still incredible value.  

Ingredients 

Quality ingredients aren’t something I’m willing to pass on, regardless of the price. The main ingredients in each of these are all oils. They’re not all 100% natural, but an ingredients list that starts with some long chain polymer that’s essentially a plastic is a big no for me.  

My skin is incredibly sensitive, so there’s going to be a brief section on potential irritants and issues for each one too. By virtue of the fact they made this list, they’re all safe on my sensitive skin. But what irritates mine may not be what irritates yours.  

I’ve listed the base oil for each of these below, as I think that’s important when it comes to the balm texture. My beloved Omorovicza is almond oil based, and so are my two favourites on this list and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.  

Oh and each one of these cleansers is cruelty free or vegan, I’ll highlight which down below, but none of these have been tested on animals.  

The Best Budget Cleansers For Dry Skin  

Una Brenan Superfacialist Vitamin C Cleanser  

• Price: £10.99 
• Volume: 200ml  
• Formula: Oil  
• Skin Types: normal to dry 
• Base oil: sunflower seed oil 
• CF or Vegan 

I feel like the majority of people will be aware of this one. It’s sold everywhere from Feel Unique to Boots, to Sainsburys and it’s been around a very long time. I’ve had one of these in my stash consistently for at least 6 years now.  

Unfortunately, my skin is sensitive to vitamin C, so i can’t use this as an everyday product. But I love this as a quick/ lazy day cleanse. It has a lot of slip, as you’d expect from an oil.  

This one does leave a slight residue, which I don’t mind on dry skin. But this one isn’t ideal for oily skin types.  

As I mentioned, I have issues with vitamin C, but this one also contains several citrus ingredients that could be a potential irritant.  

The Glow Hub Calm and Soothe  

• Price: £10 
• Volume: 120ml  
• Formula: Gel to Oil  
• Skin Types: normal to dry 
• Base oil: sunflower seed oil 
• CF or Vegan  

This cleanser confuses me a great deal and I’m slightly concerned that in an attempt to explain why, it’s going to sound like I don’t like it. And I do like it, it’s just not what I expected.  

Let’s start with the texture, it claims to be a gel to oil. And it is, but it’s very thick. This one has a pump which dispenses a thick gel. When you start to massage that gel into you skin, it becomes a very thick and heavy oil. It doesn’t have the same level of slip and fluidity that you typically get from an oil. It’s a bit harder to move around. 

The first time I used this I expected it to leave a heavy residue and much to my surprise, it didn’t leave anything. No added moisture at all, not drying or striping, but I wouldn’t know I’d just had something on my skin after I’d rinsed. For that reason, someone with an oilier skin may like this one, but I recommend it for normal to dry based on the heavy texture of the oil.  

Another thing to note – this cleanser is from a line that’s designed for sensitive skin, yet it’s fragranced. The fragrance isn’t heavy and it didn’t irritate my skin, but still. Sensitive line and fragrance don’t go hand in hand.  

Q&A Rosehip Cleansing Oil  

• Price: £10 
• Volume: 100ml 
• Formula: Oil  
• Skin Types: all 
• Base oil: sweet almond oil 
• CF or Vegan 

Spoiler: this is my favourite budget cleanser for dry skin. Out of all of the ones on my list, this is my favourite for daily use.  

This is a very typical oil cleaner, it has a lot of slip and rinses well. But the major selling point for this one is how my skin feels after. It leaves my face feeling healthy, plump and nourished without leaving any slimy residue on the skin.  

Major packaging win too – this one comes in a dark class bottle, which is better for ingredient stability. It definitely feels like a more premium product than its pricetag suggests.  

The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm  

• Price: £9.99 
• Volume: 150ml 
• Formula: Balm  
• Skin Types:  All
• Base oil: Sweet almond oil  
• CF or Vegan 

This cleanser is exactly what you want/ need from a budget friendly option. The toothpaste style packaging is very cheap and cheerful and I assume it will be hard to get the last of the product out, so not ideal, but it’s kind of nice to know that no expense has been wasted in that area.  

The balm is the perfect thickness. It melts into the skin instantly, it’s smooth and gentle, the oat formula is perfect for sensitive skin. It’s lightly nourishing without being greasy, it leaves skin feeling super soft. I haven’t had a bad sensitivity flare up since I’ve been using this, but I can imagine it being perfect for irritated skin.  

I know the whole point of this post is that all of these options are affordable, but at £10 a tube, this one is such a bargain. If your skin is dry and sensitive, I couldn’t recommend this one enough.  

Boots Botanics Cleansing Balm  

• Price: £8.99 
• Volume: 60ml 
• Formula: Balm  
• Base oil: olive  
• Skin Types: Dry  
• CF or Vegan

Ladies and gentlemen, she’s THICK. The texture of this one puts a lot of people off, even those with dry skin. It’s heavy, and leaves residue in a fairly considerable amount. I only use this in winter when my skin is in its most dry state and at that point, the residue/ any extra moisture is welcome. It feels like an additional layer. I don’t love that stripped ‘clean’ feel from a cleanser and I don’t know anyone with dry skin who does, but if that’s you, you’ll hate this.  

But if you like an additional moisture barrier, this one is great. Price per ml, this one is a lot more expensive than some of the others mentioned here, but a little goes a very long way. A tub typically lasts me about 5-6 months of once a day use when I’m using this as my primary evening cleanser.  

The base oil in this one is olive, which is why it’s heavier than some of the others. As it’s from the Botanics line, she’s full of natural ingredients, 97% organic and not a single chemical filler ingredient. It does contain smaller amounts of citrus and some essential oils to be aware of if you’re sensitive to those ingredients.  

Are any of these as good as higher end?  

Based on formula alone, I would happily use both the Q&A and Inkey List options as my daily cleanser in place of my more expensive options. Whenever I’m using another cleanser and have a sensitivity flare up, I always go back to my Omorovicza as it’s ‘safe’ and gentle. If you’re looking to try premium skincare brands without the full price commitment, a World Duty Free discount code can help make luxury products more accessible. I’m yet to use either of the two I’ve just mentioned in a flare up, so I can’t say for sure that they’re firm replacements. But I can definitely alternate those two alongside my firm favourite to make the expensive one last longer without seeing any negative impact on my skin. I don’t like the toothpaste packaging of the Inkey List cleanser, I don’t think it’s practical and I definitely wouldn’t be comfortable travelling with it, so it loses a couple of points there in terms of long-term use, but it’s a great option to leave in the bathroom.  

Have you tried any of these budget friendly cleansers for dry skin? Are any of these your favourites too? 

Until next time, 

Sophie  

11