Does Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash Cleanse Skin Too… Well?

You know that squeaky feeling you get after using a powerful cleanser? That’s what happened when I used Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash. And it’s NOT a good sign… Wait, what? You do want your cleanser to remove every last trace of dirt, grime, and makeup. But when your skin is squeaky clean, your cleanser has removed more than grime. It has removed the sebum that keeps your skin naturally moisturised. Does that mean you should avoid this cleanser? Not so fast… It’s not for my skin type, but could suit someone with more resistant, oilier skin than me. So is this cleanser right for YOU? Let’s find out:

Key Ingredients In Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash: What Makes It Work?

POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE TO CLEANSE SKIN

Potassium hydroxide (or lye) is a powerful cleansing agent that easily removes everything from the skin. The catch? It’s highly alkaline (read: can cause irritations if you have sensitive skin). Needless to say, it shouldn’t be used around the eyes. I’d say most skin types shouldn’t use it all. This is 2020. There are gentler cleansers that can do the job without irritating skin.

Related: Still Using Soap To Wash Your Face? Read This

SODIUM METHYL COCOYL TAURATE TO CLEANSE AND LATHER

Don’t let the long name fool you. Sodium Methyl Coco Taurate is much gentler than Potassium Hydroxide. While potassium hydroxide may do the heavy lifting, sodium methyl cocoyl taurate helps remove its fair share of dirt, too – without drying out or irritating skin. Plus, it produces a nice lather.

GLYCERIN TO HYDRATE SKIN

Cleansing is a traumatic process for skin – especially when Potassium Hydroxide is involved. Glycerin is here to make it easier on the skin. As the cleansing agents do their cleansing job, glycerin attracts moisture from the air into your skin, helping it to stay hydrated during the process.

Related: The Complete Guide To Glycerin In Skincare

Need help creating the best skincare routine for you oily skin? Sign up to the newsletter below to receive the “Oily Skincare Routine Cheatsheet” (it includes product recommendations, too!).

The Rest Of The Formula & Ingredients

• Water/Aqua/Eau: The main solvent in the product, it helps to dissolve other ingredients in the formula.
• Myristic Acid: A cleansing agent that removes dirt, excess oil and impurities. It’s gentler than most cleansing agents.
• Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate: It enhances the texture of skincare products.
• Behenic Acid: A fatty acid with emollient properties that keeps skin soft during the cleansing process.
• Lauric Acid: It enhances the texture of skincare products, by preventing it from separating into its oily and watery components.
• Palmitic Acid: A fatty acid often used in soaps and cleansers to keep skin smooth.
• Stearic Acid: A fatty acid with emollient and texture-enhancing properties. It makes both your skin and the texture of the cleanser smoother.
• Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract: Derived from oats, this extra has anti-inflammatory properties that soothe redness and irritations.
• Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract: Another extract with skin-soothing properties. It’s meant to make the cleansing experience easier on your skin.
• Rubus Chamaemorus (Arctic Cloudberry) Seed Oil: A berry oil that moisturises skin.
• Oxycoccus Palustris (Arctic Cranberry) Seed Oil: A berry oil said to fight fine lines and wrinkles. In reality, it’s just moistuirising.
• Luffa Cylindrica Seed Oil: A moisturising oil with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Here, it just makes skin softer and smoother.
• Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract: On the plus side, it has antioxidant properties that fight free radicals. On the downside, its fragrant components can irritate skin. In a cleanser, it just gets rinsed off down the drain, so it earns a yellow rating here.
• Buddleja Davidii Extract: Known as summer lilac, it has antioxidant properties. But they don’t work in a cleanser.
• Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil: A moisturising oil that strengthens your skin’s protective barrier and makes skin softer and smoother.
• Angelica Archangelica Root Water: It makes skin softer and smoother.
• Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter: This natural butter strengthens the skin’s protective barrier to moisturise skin, make it softer and smoother, and more resilient to irritations.
• Laminaria Digitata Powder: A type of algae that hydrates skin.
• Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil: A natural oil even oily skin loves. It strengthens your skin’s protective barrier and makes skin softer and smoother.
• Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids: It has mild cleansing properties to remove impurities from your skin.
• Propylene Glycol: It has hydrating properties that makes skin soft.
• Xanthan Gum: It thickens the texture of skincare products.
• Menthone Glycerin Acetal: A menthol derivative that makes the cleanser smell nice, but can cause irritations in sensitive skin.
• Disodium EDTA: A chelating agent. It neutralises the trace minerals in the water that would otherwise spoil the formula.
• Ascorbyl Palmitate: A form of Vitamin C, it has antioxidant properties. I’m usually a fan of this ingredient, but here it doesn’t do anything. Yellow rating!
• Ethylhexyl Palmitate: An emollient that makes skin softer and smoother.
• Tocopherol: A form of Vitamin E. It has antioxidant properties, but it won’t do much here.
• Retinol: This is one of my fave skincare ingredients for its powerful anti-aging properties. It fights free radicals and boost collagen. But here, it’s completely useless. It just gets rinsed off down the drain. *sighs*
• Polysorbate 20: Derived from lauric acid, the primary fatty acid in coconuts, it has another cleansing agent.
• Lecithin: A natural component of the skin’s barrier, it makes skin softer and smoother.
• PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides: A mild cleaning agent with skin-softening properties.
• Pentylene Glycol: A humectant that increases your skin’s moisture levels, keeping it well hydrated during the cleansing process.
• Perfluorodecalin: It’s a solvent that dissolves other ingredients. There’s some concern it may cause skin-aging free radicals, though.
• Glycosphingolipids: Natural lipids that strengthen your skin’s protective barrier and make skin softer and smoother.
• Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate: It’s a YVB filter. Not sure what it’s doing here?
• Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane: A.k.a. Avobenzone, a UVA filter. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t do anything useful here.
• Ethylhexyl Salicylate: Another UV filter that doesn’t do anything in a cleanser.
• Butylene Glycol: It’s a humectant that makes skin more hydrated. Plus, it’s a solvent that helps dissolve other ingredients.
• Potassium Phosphate: It helps to adjust the pH of a skincare products.
• Alcohol: A solvent that also makes the texture thinner. It can be drying and irritating in high concentrations, but that can be counteracted by moisturiser afterwards.
• Phenoxyethanol: A gentle preservative that kills the bacteria and fungi that may develop in your skincare products, thus keeping them safe for longer.
• Benzoic Acid: A preservative and pH adjuster.
• Dehydroacetic Acid: A synthetic preservative effective in tiny doses. It inhibits the growth of germs, bacteria, and other nasties.
• Ethylhexylglycerin: It makes skin softer and smoother. It also has preservative-like properties that help skincare products last longer.
• Polyaminopropyl Biguanide: Another preservative that helps skincare products last longer.
• Potassium Sorbate: It prevents mild and other fungi from growing in your skincare products.
• 1,2 Hexanediol: A synthetic preservative that helps the cleanser last longer.
• Caprylyl Glycol: A humectant that increases skin’s moisture level, keeping it softer and smoother.
• Sodium Benzoate: A preservative that extends the shelf life of your skincare products.
• BHT: Another preservative that extends the shelf life of your skincare products.
• Butylphenyl Methylpropional: It imparts skincare products with a floral scent. It makes the cleanser smell nice, but it can irritate skin.
• Linalool: It gives the cleanser a floral and spicy scent, but it can irritate skin.
• Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde: A fragrant ingredient that smells like lily of the valley. You’ve guessed it, it can irritate sensitive skin.
• Benzyl Salicylate: It has a sweet floral scent, but it can irritate sensitive skin.
• Hexyl Cinnamal: It smells like jasmine, but it can irritate sensitive skin.
• Geraniol: Another fragrant ingredient with a floral scent that irritates skin.
• Limonene: A fragrant ingredient that makes skincare products smell citrusy. It’s lovely, but irritating.
• Citronellol: Another fragrant ingredient that makes the cleanser smell nice. Like all other fragrant ingredient on this list, it must be listed separately because it’s a common allergen.
• Eugenol: The main fragrant component in clove, it makes the cleanser smell good. And yes, it’s a common allergen.
• Fragrance (Parfum): The most irritating ingredient used in cosmetics. It’s made up of all the ingredients mentioned above – and more (the law requires only to list the common allergens separately). But it makes the cleanser smell divine.
• Blue 1 (Ci42090): A colorant that gives a blue colour to the texture.
• Red 33 (Ci 17200): A synthetic dye that gives a reddish colour to the cleanser.

Texture

This cleanser has a creamy texture that slightly foams and produces a decent amount of lather. FYI, more leather doesn’t mean better cleansing properties. I know you like to see the lather, but that’s not what cleanses your skin.

Fragrance

It smells clean and crisp, like you would expect a cleanser to smell. It’s not overpowering either. Personally, I’m not a fan of fragrance in skincare products in general. It’s one of the most irritating ingredients used in skincare, so I’m happy to do without it. But if you like your products to smell nice, you’ll like this.

How To Use It

Like every cleanser, it’s the first step of your skincare routine. Add water to a tiny amount of cleanser and work it into a lather before massaging it onto your face. Rinse off with lukewarm water. Easy.

Packaging

This cleanser comes in a sleek, icy blue tube that reminds you of Iceland. It’s sleek and practical. I don’t have any complaints about it. Oh, in case you’re wondering, mine is a mini-size that came in a gift set. The full size is bigger.

Performance & Personal Opinion

Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash is a creamy cleanser that leaves skin squeaky clean. Really squeaky clean. I wouldn’t say it dries out my skin, but it does strip a bit more natural oil from it than most cleansers do. This (coupled with Potassium Hydroxide) could be a sign the pH of this cleanser is higher than it should be. In the long run, a high pH can disrupt the skin’s protective barrier and cause acne.

If you’re always breaking out and don’t know why because your skin routine is on point, a cleanser that cleanses too much is usually the culprit. I couldn’t test the pH with pH strips, so I can’t tell you for sure its pH is bad for skin. I can only tell you what it did for me. It removed too much oil. It didn’t dry out my skin just because I stopped using it after a week. It’s obvious we’re not a match.

Related: Why You Should Use Low pH Cleanser (And My Fave Picks)

What I Like About Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash

• Removes every last trace of makeup, dirt, and impurities
• Smooth, pleasant-to-use texture
• Practical packaging

What I DON’T Like About Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash

• Harsh and drying, strips skin bare of the natural oils it needs to stay soft and supple
• Fragrance may irritate sensitive skin

Who Should Use This?

I have a feeling the pH of this is too high. Plus, it has too many harsh cleansing agents – and all the oils and emollients in here aren’t able to counteract the dryness. I can’t really recommend it to anyone. Especially if you have dry or sensitive skin, avoid!!

Does Skyn Iceland Glacial Face Wash Live Up To Its Claims?

Price & Availability

$32.00 at Skyn Iceland

The Verdict: Should You Buy It?

Nope. You do need a cleanser (obviously!), but no matter what your skin type is, there are gentler options around (check out the Alternatives section below).

Dupes & Alternatives

• CeraVe Foaming Cleanser ($14.99): A little stronger than all the other cleansers in this list, it effortlessly removes dirt, excess oil and makeup without drying out or irritating skin (unless it’s sensitive). Available at Beauty Bay, Boots, Sephora, and Ulta
• Corsx low PH Good Morning Gel Cleanser ($11.00): A gentle pH-balanced (5.5) foaming cleanser that gets rid of excess oil and impurities without drying out skin. Available at Sokoglam and YesStyle.
• Paula’s Choice Perfectly Balanced Foaming Cleanser ($22.00): A cream-to-foam formula that uses a mix of surfactants and a few drops of oil to remove every last trace of makeup, dirt, and excess oil from the skin. Available at Dermstore, Paula’s Choice, Sephora, and SpaceNK

About Gio

Hi, I'm Gio. I'm a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is skin coach and writer on a mission to help you achieve your best skin day ever - every day. I bust skincare myths and debunk marketing jargon to help you figure out what's worth the splurge and what's best left on the shelf - using science, not hype. I also offer skincare consultations to help you create the best skincare routine for your unique needs.