Cleansers & Exfoliants

No. New Zealand banned the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads in 2018. All exfoliating products sold legally in NZ now use natural exfoliants. EcoWarehouse stocks only products with natural exfoliating ingredients.

Fine particle exfoliants are most suitable for the face: finely milled rice bran, oat flour, kaolin clay, fine sea salt, and bamboo powder are all effective and gentle. Coarser exfoliants like ground walnut shell, pumice, or apricot kernel are better suited to the body where skin is thicker and less reactive.

For most skin types, one to two times per week is optimal for facial exfoliation. Over-exfoliating — more than three times per week for physical exfoliants — can disrupt the skin barrier, causing redness, sensitivity, and increased oil production. Sensitive skin types should exfoliate once per week maximum.

A cleanser removes dirt, oil, makeup, and surface impurities without removing dead skin cells. An exfoliant removes dead skin cell build-up from the surface, improving texture, brightness, and product absorption. Both have different roles: cleanse daily, exfoliate one to two times per week.

Counterintuitively, yes. The oil cleansing method works on the principle that like dissolves like — plant oils dissolve and lift sebum and oil-based impurities from the skin surface more effectively than foaming cleansers, which can strip the skin's protective barrier and trigger increased oil production. Jojoba oil closely mimics the skin's natural sebum and is a popular oil-cleansing choice for oily skin.

Kaolin is a naturally occurring, very fine clay mineral used in cleansers and face masks for its ability to absorb excess oil and impurities from the skin surface without over-stripping. It is the gentlest of the cosmetic clays and is suitable for sensitive, normal, and oily skin. It is non-irritating, non-comedogenic, and completely natural.