Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash - Original

My love! I like to try out a new face wash every now and then, but this is the one I keep running back to. Castile soap and tea oil is a winning combination for my oily-skinned, acne-prone peeps out there. I have used cleansers for my skin type that leave my face dry, itchy, peel-y, and uncomfortably tight. "Thoroughly Clean" is an apt name for this product, as it REALLY strips all the crap out/off of your skin. However, unlike most harsher formulations, this cleanser doesn't suck the life out of my face. After rinsing, my skin is left pleasantly dry and very, VERY clean! Though I can definitely see how this cleanser could irritate dry, normal, or even combo skin, I maintain it is a magic elixir for us oily folks.

My only complaint about this product is one common to all castile soaps: it takes a bit of time to rinse off and can leave a residue behind if you don't rinse it thoroughly. This isn't a problem for me in the shower at night, but when I'm washing my face in the sink in the morning, I really need to make sure I take that extra 30 seconds to focus on rinsing. If I'm in a hurry, I will probably reach for something that rinses off more quickly. You'll know your skin is clean when it squeaks!

Lastly, the price is definitely right--especially for an all-natural soap. If you want to buy this in-store, check out Whole Foods. If you struggle with oily skin and/or acne, give this cleanser a whirl. You may just find out why they sell it in a 32-ounce bottle.

Not for those with sensitive or dry skin. The tea tree oil left my cheeks extremely dry and itch and my skin continued to get irritated the next day.

On the upside, it's really good at cleaning, I felt very fresh and liked the scent quite a bit!

Tough skin or oily skin I can see this working for.

Ugh man I was so excited to try this. I didn't read reviews on here first, but I did read them on the Walgreens site and Amazon as well. Seeing that it had pretty good ratings, I had high hopes. A local health food store sells the bigger size in the pump bottle, but they also sell a smaller 4 oz which is what I got, and I'm glad I got the smaller one.

My skin is kinda normal-oily and acne prone.

First off, it's very watery. I can see how the pump bottle would be annoying for such a liquidy product. It foams up very well though, so a little goes a long way - even with my smaller 4 oz, it'll take a hot minute to use the whole thing.

Smells herbal-y. Not a bad smell, but a reasonably strong one.

This cleanser strips my skin soooo much though, which is the reason for my low rating. If I used this every day, my skin would HATE me. I get that it's called "thoroughly clean" so I guess I should have expected that, but dang there are a lot of cleansers that give you a good deep clean without making your face angry.

I'll use up the bottle I have, but I can only really use it once every few days. I might try using it on my shoulder area and see if it does anything for that, but I shall not be repurchasing this cleanser.

I have the one that is, supposedly, suitable for sensitive skin, with grapefruit juice and all, it smells wonderful and I really like the consistency, but it leaves my face ultra dry and really uncomfortable, maybe it is nice for sb who likes that squicky clean feeling, but I just want to wash of dirt and make-up off my face and I don't want my face to loose its hydration so I won't be repurchasing nor recommending.

I am 27 years old and have been dealing with hormonal acne for over 10 years. I have been trying to find a skin care system that is more natural and saw good reviews on this product. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I gave it about a month. My skin looked a little better in the first week of using it but over the next few weeks my breakouts became so bad that I finally stopped using this cleanser 3 days ago. As soon as I stopped my acne became less angry and inflamed looking. It wasn't overly drying and my skin is usually dried out very easily. The scent is strong but I don't mind the smell of tea tree oil so that part did not bother me. I also don't care for the packaging. It needs to be in a foam pump, as the consistency is like water. Luckily I had one and used that instead. I will continue to use this on my body, but definitely not on my acne prone face.

Love it! I have combination skin so I need something that will "thoroughly clean". This does just that. I love how nourished and smooth my skin feels. The only problem I have with it is if I use too much, my skin feels slightly tight. I just make sure to follow with a moisturizer.

Um, no. This cleanser burned my eyes. I felt like I was putting acid on my face. It's very watery so beware when dispensing the product onto your hands. Its going to splash everywhere. The smell is pretty strong but I could deal with this. Its found my face was tight after using this. The biggest turn off was the fact that it irritated my eyes beyond anything tolerable. Too bad since I'm a fan of natural skin care. Err!

Very nice face wash. I use it at night only, washing thoroughly twice a day can strip the skin of its natural oil and cause more oil and more sensitivity. My skin is prone to breakouts and this does not causes any problems. It leaves my skin fresh, clear and smooth. It will last a long time since you only need a small pump. Don't forget to massage into your skin and DO NOT use cold water, even if it says it on the instructions. Lukewarm water is always better for your face. Those two advices (wash once and use lukewarm water) have been given to me by a professional.

I went back to Whole Foods (Vancouver) to originally purchase the Suki foaming cleanser cause I LOVE IT! Smells like fruity peach! But because the Suki bottle is so small I decided to buy and try something else too so I didn't have to go back again. This is a nice face wash. Pretty cheap compared to the rest. I've used this for about a month now and it barely moved. Seems like it's gonna lasts a long time since the size of the bottle is big. I only need one little pump and be careful, it can squirt everywhere lol. I love how this is filled with different types of oils but also foams up a bit. I NEED foam in my life because I wear make-up, and wiping it with facial wipes just doesn't cut it. Only thing I don't like is the smell. But that's how all tea tree oil products smell like so I try not to mind it as much.

Before I started this whole organic skin care stuff. I was using any skin cleanser/face wash. For example Clean and Clear. But for some reason this year, all those drugstore products made my skin sooooooo dry. To the point it was flaking and breaking me out. This however does not dry my skin out.

I love this. It feels more like a treatment, as it is to be massaged in for one minute, and it is not "soapy." It is definitely not as drying as other oily face washes I have tried, and I feel really good about using a product that is natural and does not test on animals. I currently have the tiny bottle, but I am looking foward to buying the larger size pump bottle; pumps are so easy to use! I honestly feel like I am at the estheticians; it smells so nice and natural with a great clean feel afterwards.