Hyaluronic Acid Can Actually Dehydrate Your Skin (Here's When)
The internet's favorite hydrator has a counterintuitive dark side — in dry air, a humectant with nothing to seal it can pull water out of your skin instead of into it.
Supporting role for Dryness
What Makes This Different
It is a true cream milk in a market of 'milky' gels — no sulfates, no foaming surfactants at all, just fatty alcohols and two mild nonionic emulsifiers doing the cleansing, with snow mushroom placed fifth and glycerin second. That construction, fragrance-free and eight ounces for fifteen dollars, is unusually close to a dermatology-brand syndet cream at a drugstore price.
Thayers
Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser Review
Foam-Free Comfort Cleanse
cleanser lotion drugstore Paraben Free Cruelty Free Vegan
A real cream milk — no sulfates, no foaming surfactants, fatty alcohols and two mild emulsifiers doing the cleansing — with snow mushroom placed fifth and glycerin second, fragrance-free, eight ounces for fifteen dollars. Dry and sensitive skin will find it as comfortable as a dermatology-brand cream cleanser at half the price. Oily skin will call it a moisturizer that rinses off, and not be entirely wrong.
Made in United States Launched 2024 Best for fall-winter PAO: 12 months
Run it through our tools Clashes with my routine? Pregnancy-safe? Find a cheaper dupe Patch-test it first
With two years of retail history and several hundred reviews there is a fair picture of how the cleanser performs on dry and sensitive skin, but the snow mushroom's benefits are supported by ingredient-level studies rather than tests of this product, and the brand's dermatologist testing is unpublished. The assessment therefore rests on the ingredient list, the well-established behaviour of emulsion cleansers and user feedback, not on independent clinical data.
Verdicts All dryness products →All dehydration products →All sensitivity products →
How well it fits each concern
Verdict by concern tap a concern for the case
Supporting rolefor DrynessIn your profileYou chose · Rinse-off lotion: Glycerin gets seconds of contact, so this supports a routine for dryness rather than treating it.
The case for it
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate has trial-supported standing for this concern.
- It is in a rinse-off product, so it gets seconds of contact rather than the leave-on exposure the evidence assumes.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: The same active in a leave-on form would be judged on its evidence rather than its contact time.
Same rule for everyone. “Supporting role” is the verdict on 8,197 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R6 decided 2,017 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- R6 — Contact time cannot deliver a leave-on claim; the product is judged on its job (cleansing without aggravating). Explicit exceptions (BPO wash, SA cleanser, medicated shampoos) never reach this rule because their rows set rinse_off_ok. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate
- Standing
- supported — its mechanism is established
- Form
- contact limited — studied range 2–20%, from the trials on the row; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~1 weeks
- Tolerability
- gentle
- Row checked
- against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)
The studies behind the evidence row
- International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook — declared function — Personal Care Products Council
- Harry's Cosmeticology / Baran & Maibach Textbook of Cosmetic Dermatology — humectant, emollient and occlusive classification — standard reference text
Supporting rolefor DehydrationIn your profileYou chose · Rinse-off lotion: Glycerin gets seconds of contact, so this supports a routine for dehydration rather than treating it.
The case for it
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate has trial-supported standing for this concern.
- It is in a rinse-off product, so it gets seconds of contact rather than the leave-on exposure the evidence assumes.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: The same active in a leave-on form would be judged on its evidence rather than its contact time.
Same rule for everyone. “Supporting role” is the verdict on 8,197 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R6 decided 2,017 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- R6 — Contact time cannot deliver a leave-on claim; the product is judged on its job (cleansing without aggravating). Explicit exceptions (BPO wash, SA cleanser, medicated shampoos) never reach this rule because their rows set rinse_off_ok. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate
- Standing
- supported — its mechanism is established
- Form
- contact limited — studied range 20%, from the trials on the row; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~1 weeks
- Tolerability
- gentle
- Row checked
- against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)
The studies behind the evidence row
- USP glycerin monograph / Fluhr et al., glycerol and the skin (review) — glycerin is the reference humectant, drawing and holding water in the stratum corneum — reference work
Good choicefor SensitivityIn your profileYou chose · No fragrance, drying alcohol, declarable allergens or sensitising preservatives in this lotion — the profile sensitive skin looks for.
The case for it
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate has no evidence row yet for this concern — it is in the research queue.
- The formula carries none of the triggers this concern is sensitive to.
What would change this: A researched evidence row for the lead active would replace this with a verdict.
Same rule for everyone. “Good choice” is the verdict on 1,938 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule F2 decided 1,938 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.
Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →
Show the work
- Rule
- F2 — Gentle = no weighted deduction fired and fit ≥ 90. · the full register
- Carrying active
- Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate
- Standing
- not assessed
- Form
- plausible
- Tolerability
- gentle
Also listed for Compromised Skin Barrier — the actives here (Glycerin, Botanical Extracts, Tremella (Snow Mushroom) are in our research queue for that concern; there is no verdict until their evidence rows are written. That is a gap in our table, not a mark against the product.
Does the jobDoes what a cleanser is for: surfactant mildness, rinses clean without stripping. Not measured from the label: pH match to skin.
A verdict is DermApproved’s assessment of how well a product’s ingredients fit a concern — never a claim about what the product treats. Evidence dots and collected reviews sit beside it and are never blended in. Rules 0.5.1 · evidence table ev-2026.09-r228 · how we decide
Assessment
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ True cream milk with no sulfates or foaming surfactants — cleans by emulsification
- ✓ Glycerin second and snow mushroom fifth leave a genuinely soft, cushioned rinse
- ✓ Fragrance-free with no essential oils or declared allergens
- ✓ Removes sunscreen and light makeup without tightness
- ✓ Ideal partner under retinoids and acids for dry or irritated skin
- ✓ Eight-ounce pump for fifteen dollars lasts about four months
- ✓ Two years of retail history and several hundred reviews behind it
Cons
- ✗ Does not foam, which many users read as not cleaning
- ✗ Leaves a slight film that oily skin experiences as residue
- ✗ Not enough alone for long-wear foundation or waterproof mascara
- ✗ Polysorbate and stearate emulsifiers make it unsuitable for fungal-acne-prone skin
- ✗ Snow mushroom's benefits rest on ingredient-level rather than product-level evidence
- ✗ Rinses more slowly than a gel, so shower use takes an extra moment
Review
Full Review
Look for the surfactants in this cleanser and you will not find any of the usual ones. No sulfates, which the label boasts about; but also no glucosides, no isethionates, no betaines, no taurates — none of the mild-but-foaming molecules that every 'gentle' gel cleanser of the last decade has been built on. What there is instead is cetearyl alcohol at third place, stearyl and cetyl alcohols further down, glyceryl stearate, and two nonionic emulsifiers, polysorbate 20 and PEG-40 stearate, sitting well into the list. That is not a foaming wash with the foam turned down. It is a light lotion that happens to rinse off, and everything good and everything frustrating about the Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser follows from that.
Start with the good, because there is a lot of it for the right face. Cream cleansers of this construction are what dermatologists have recommended to dry, eczema-prone and reactive patients for decades, precisely because they clean by emulsification rather than by surfactant stripping: the fatty alcohols and glyceryl stearate form a milk that dissolves sebum and light makeup into itself, and the polysorbate and PEG-40 stearate let that milk rinse away with water, carrying the day's grime with it. Nothing in that process pulls lipids out of the skin barrier the way a lathering surfactant does. Glycerin is the second ingredient, high enough that a real amount stays behind after rinsing, and the snow mushroom polysaccharide — the Milky collection's signature, and the reason the range went viral — sits at fifth, where it leaves a slippery, cushioned film that survives the water. Sodium hyaluronate follows at tenth. The result on dry skin is genuinely different from a gel: you rinse, you pat dry, and your face does not ask for moisturizer with the urgency it usually does. For someone whose winter cheeks flake after every wash, that difference is the whole product.
It is also, properly, fragrance-free. No perfume, no essential oil, no declared allergen components; the only scent is a faint, clean sweetness from the elderflower water that occupies fourth place as a botanical stand-in for part of the water phase, and it vanishes on rinsing. No alcohol, no silicone, no sulfate, no paraben. The ingredients with any sensitisation record at all — cetearyl alcohol and polysorbate 20 — are rare offenders and standard in the cream cleansers sold in pharmacies for exactly this audience. For sensitive skin, that is about as clean a list as a fifteen-dollar drugstore product gets.
Now the frustrating part, which is the same fact seen from the other side. It does not foam, at all, and a large share of people have been trained since adolescence to read foam as cleaning. The first wash with this milk feels like rubbing a thin moisturizer over the face and then rinsing off a moisturizer, and reviewers who came to it from gels regularly report that their skin does not feel 'clean' afterward. What they are noticing is the absence of squeak, which is the absence of stripping, and most of them adjust within a few washes; some never do, and that is a legitimate preference rather than a misunderstanding. The film the snow mushroom and fatty alcohols leave behind, which dry skin experiences as comfort, oily skin experiences as residue, and there is no arguing anyone out of how their own face feels. The cleansing power is also modest in absolute terms: it will handle sunscreen, tinted moisturizer and the ordinary day, and it will not reliably remove long-wear foundation or waterproof mascara without an oil or balm going first. On a heavy-makeup night it is a second cleanser, not a first.
One more caveat, narrow but real: polysorbate 20, PEG-40 stearate and glyceryl stearate are all on the list of emulsifiers that Malassezia yeast can metabolise, so anyone managing fungal acne — the small, uniform, itchy bumps that ordinary acne treatment makes worse — should choose a cleanser without them. For everyone else, including most acne-prone skin, they are irrelevant.
The Milky collection is worth a word of context. Thayers spent 173 years as a witch hazel company, was bought by L'Oréal in 2020, and for a few years afterward its new products were sensible extensions of the old identity. Then in 2024 the Milky Hydrating Toner — snow mushroom, hyaluronic acid, a milky texture in a red-capped bottle — went viral on TikTok and became the brand's first hit that had nothing to do with witch hazel. The cleanser followed to complete the routine, and it is in some ways the more interesting product, because a hydrating toner is easy to make and a genuinely non-stripping cleanser is not. With this, Thayers is competing directly with the gentle cream cleansers of the dermatology brands, and doing it at eight ounces for fifteen dollars, which works out to about four months of twice-daily use from one pump bottle. That is very good value, and the two years of retail history and several hundred reviews since launch say the formula holds up.
So the verdict depends entirely on whose sink it sits beside. If your skin is dry, sensitive, eczema-prone, retinoid-irritated or simply tired of feeling tight after washing, this is one of the best cheap cleansers you can buy, and the fragrance-free formula makes it safe to recommend broadly. If your skin is oily, if you wear heavy makeup without a first cleanse, or if you cannot make peace with a wash that will not foam, the brand's own gel cleansers will suit you better. The milk knows what it is. The trick is knowing whether you are its person.
Formula
Key Ingredients
The hero actives that drive this product's performance.
| Ingredient | Function | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tremella Fuciformis (Snow Mushroom) Polysaccharide | Fifth in the list — unusually high for a botanical humectant — the snow mushroom polysaccharide is the Milky range's signature: a large, branched sugar that holds water on the skin surface in a way often compared to hyaluronic acid, and in a cleanser its real job is to leave a slippery, cushioned film that survives the rinse and keeps skin from tightening. | Not yet assessed |
| Fatty Alcohol and Ester Emulsion Base (Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate) | Cetearyl alcohol at third place, with stearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate and cetyl alcohol behind it, gives away what this cleanser actually is — a light lotion rather than a foaming wash; these waxy fatty alcohols are the milk, and they cleanse by emulsifying oil and makeup into the cream rather than by lathering it away. | Not yet assessed |
| Polysorbate 20 + PEG-40 Stearate | The only genuinely surfactant-like ingredients in the formula, both nonionic and both mild — enough to let the milk rinse off with water and carry sebum and light makeup with it, and far too little to foam, which is why the cleanser feels like a moisturizer being washed off and why oily skin may find it insufficient. | Not yet assessed |
| Glycerin + Sodium Hyaluronate | Glycerin second in the list and hyaluronate at tenth are the humectant backbone that lets the brand claim 'instant and lasting hydration' from a rinse-off — the glycerin level is high enough that a measurable amount stays behind after rinsing, which is the practical basis of the soft, un-stripped after-feel. | Established mechanism for Dryness · established mechanism |
| Sambucus Nigra (Elderflower) Flower Water | Fourth in the list, elderflower water replaces part of the plain water phase — a soothing floral hydrosol with a mild antioxidant tradition that gives the formula its 'natural origin' credentials, contributes a faint sweetness without any listed fragrance, and does no measurable work beyond that in a cleanser. | Not yet assessed |
Ingredient standings describe the active at treatment-level doses and vehicles; this product's own condition grades weigh its actual formula.
Full INCI List
Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sambucus Nigra (Elderflower) Flower Water, Tremella Fuciformis (Snow Mushroom) Polysaccharide, Stearyl Alcohol, Potassium Phosphate, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polysorbate 20, Cetyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol
✓ Pregnancy Safe ✓ Fragrance Free✓ Alcohol Free✓ Oil Free✓ Silicone Free✓ Paraben Free✓ Sulfate Free✓ Cruelty Free✓ Vegan✗ Fungal Acne Safe
Cetearyl AlcoholPolysorbate 20
Cetearyl alcohol (rare)
Compatibility
Skin Match
Routine Step
cleanser
Time of Day
AM & PM
Layering Tips
Massage onto damp skin for thirty seconds and rinse with lukewarm water — no need to foam it — then go straight to toner while the skin is still slightly dewy; in the evening it can follow a cleansing oil or stand alone on light-makeup days.
Results Timeline
Soft, comfortable, un-tight skin from the very first wash; people switching from foaming cleansers usually notice less morning dryness and flaking within the first week, and there is no further change to wait for — it maintains rather than treats.
tonermoisturizersunscreenretinoidexfoliant
Planning a combo? Check it against what you already use
Sample AM Routine
- Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser
- Toner
- Serum
- Moisturizer
- Sunscreen
Sample PM Routine
- Cleansing oil or balm
- Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser
- Toner
- Treatment
- Moisturizer
Evidence
Science & Expert Perspective
The Science
Cream and milk cleansers occupy a distinct place in the cleansing literature because they remove soil by a different mechanism from surfactant washes. This formula contains no anionic or amphoteric surfactant; its cleansing agents are an oil-in-water emulsion base of cetearyl, stearyl and cetyl alcohols with glyceryl stearate, plus two low-irritancy nonionic emulsifiers, polysorbate 20 and PEG-40 stearate. Lipophilic soils — sebum, sunscreen filters, makeup binders — dissolve into the emulsion's lipid phase during massage, and the nonionic emulsifiers allow the loaded emulsion to disperse in rinse water. Controlled comparisons of emulsion cleansers against surfactant cleansers consistently show lower removal of stratum corneum lipids and lower post-wash transepidermal water loss, which is the mechanistic basis for their long-standing recommendation in atopic dermatitis and dry-skin care. The trade-off, equally documented, is lower removal efficiency for heavy or film-forming soils.
The humectant content is meaningful for a rinse-off. Glycerin at second position implies a concentration at which deposition on the skin after rinsing has been measured in wash-off studies, contributing to short-term surface hydration; sodium hyaluronate at tenth adds surface water-binding. Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide, the snow mushroom component listed fifth, is a high-molecular-weight branched glucuronoxylomannan with water-holding capacity comparable to hyaluronic acid in laboratory assays and small studies reporting improved skin hydration in leave-on use; in a rinse-off, its film-forming property is the relevant one, producing the cushioned after-feel and reducing the sensation of tightness. Sambucus nigra flower water is a hydrosol with a traditional soothing and antioxidant reputation and no clinical evidence of effect in a cleanser. Tocopherol is present as an antioxidant for the lipid phase.
The tolerance profile is favourable. The formula contains no fragrance, essential oils, ethanol, sulfates or parabens; preservation is by potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and phenoxyethanol at conventional levels. Cetearyl alcohol is an uncommon contact allergen documented in patch-test series, and polysorbate 20 has isolated reports; both are ubiquitous in dermatological cream cleansers. Polysorbate 20, PEG-40 stearate and glyceryl stearate are fatty acid esters of chain lengths that Malassezia species can metabolise, which is the basis for excluding the product in Malassezia folliculitis. Evidence supports the cleanser as a low-irritancy, barrier-sparing option for dry and sensitive skin with modest cleansing power; it does not support any treatment claim beyond that.
Dermatologist Perspective
Non-foaming cream and milk cleansers are the standard clinical recommendation for dry, atopic, rosacea-prone and retinoid-irritated skin, and dermatologists routinely prefer them over syndet gels for patients whose barrier cannot tolerate even mild surfactants; a fragrance-free emulsion cleanser built on fatty alcohols, glyceryl stearate and nonionic emulsifiers, with a substantial glycerin content, fits that recommendation closely and compares reasonably with the pharmacy-brand cream cleansers clinicians usually name. The two limitations a dermatologist would mention are the ones the formula implies: cleansing power is modest, so patients wearing occlusive sunscreen or makeup are advised to double cleanse, and the ester emulsifiers make it a poor choice for patients with Malassezia folliculitis. Oily and acne-prone patients are generally directed to a gel with mild surfactants instead, since a lipid-rich milk leaves a film they find uncomfortable. For patients starting retinoids or in-office procedures, a cleanser of this type is often suggested specifically to reduce the dryness that leads to discontinuation.
Guidance
Usage & Recommendations
How to Use
Dampen the face with lukewarm water and dispense one pump of the milk into the palms. Smooth it over the face and neck and massage gently for thirty to sixty seconds — it will not foam, and does not need to — paying attention to the nose, chin and hairline where sunscreen collects. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water, using a soft cloth if a faint film remains, and pat dry. Follow with toner while the skin is still slightly damp, then serum, moisturizer and sunscreen in the morning. Use morning and evening; on days with long-wear foundation or waterproof sunscreen, remove those first with a cleansing oil or balm and use the milk as the second step. It can be used around the eyes with care. Keep the pump closed in the shower and store away from heat.
Value Assessment
Fifteen dollars for an eight-ounce pump is a strong price for a fragrance-free cream cleanser of this quality: one pump covers the face, so twice-daily use stretches to about four months, and the monthly cost is a few dollars. The dermatology-brand cream cleansers it most resembles cost the same or more for similar or smaller volumes, and most drugstore alternatives at this price are foaming syndets rather than true milks. What the money buys is a barrier-sparing emulsion base, a real dose of glycerin and snow mushroom, and a formula with nothing in it to irritate; what it does not buy is cleansing power for heavy makeup, which means oil-cleanser users should budget for a first step. Value is excellent for dry and sensitive skin and poor for oily skin, which will not use up the bottle. One size, sold at drugstores, big-box stores and the brand's site at a consistent price.
Who Should Buy
Dry, sensitive, eczema-prone or retinoid-irritated skin that wants a fragrance-free cleanser that removes the day without leaving the face tight, and anyone who has found even 'gentle' foaming gels drying. It suits people who prefer a lotion-like wash and are willing to double cleanse on heavy-makeup days.
Who Should Skip
Oily or acne-prone skin that wants a squeaky-clean rinse will find the milk leaves a film, and anyone managing fungal acne should avoid the polysorbate and stearate emulsifiers. People who need one cleanser to remove waterproof makeup in a single step should look at an oil or balm instead.
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Product Details
Texture
A thin, white, milky lotion — closer to a light body lotion than a gel — that spreads easily, does not foam, and rinses to a soft, faintly cushioned finish.
Scent
None added; a faint, clean, slightly sweet note from the elderflower water and fatty alcohols that disappears on rinsing.
Packaging
A tall white 8 oz plastic bottle with a red pump — the Milky collection's red-and-white look — that dispenses a controlled dose and stands in the shower without fuss.
satinnon-greasy
What to Expect on First Use
The first wash feels strange to anyone used to foam: the milk spreads like a moisturizer, nothing lathers, and it rinses off leaving skin soft with a slight slip. Most people adjust within a few washes; dry skin tends to notice less tightness immediately, while oily skin may feel it has not been cleaned.
How Long It Lasts
Roughly four months of twice-daily use from the 8 oz pump, since one pump covers the face.
Best Season
fall winter
Cruelty-freeVeganDermatologist-tested
Background
The Story Behind This Product
The Milky collection began with Thayers' Milky Hydrating Toner, which went viral on TikTok in 2024 and became the brand's first hit product not built on witch hazel. The cleanser followed to complete a snow-mushroom-and-hyaluronate routine for dry and sensitive skin, marking the moment L'Oréal's Thayers stopped being a one-ingredient company and started competing with the gentle-cleanser brands dermatologists recommend.
About Thayers Legacy Brand (20+ years)
Thayers has traded since 1847, when Connecticut physician Henry Thayer began selling witch hazel remedies, and it remains one of the oldest continuously operating skincare brands in the United States. Under L'Oréal since 2020 it has broadened well beyond witch hazel, with the Milky collection built on snow mushroom and hyaluronic acid; its formulas are dermatologist-tested in-house, though not the subject of published independent trials.
Brand founded: 1847 · Product launched: 2024
Myth vs. Reality
Common Myths
Myth
A cleanser that does not foam is not cleaning your skin.
Reality
Foam is a by-product of certain surfactants, not a measure of cleansing. This milk lifts sebum and light makeup by emulsifying them into the cream and rinsing them away with polysorbate and PEG-40 stearate; it cleans adequately for daily use, though heavy makeup needs an oil or balm first.
Myth
Snow mushroom is a natural replacement for hyaluronic acid.
Reality
Tremella polysaccharide is a genuine humectant with a comparable water-binding profile in laboratory tests, but the clinical evidence for it on skin is small. In a rinse-off its main contribution is the cushioned slip that keeps skin from feeling stripped, and this cleanser includes sodium hyaluronate as well rather than relying on the mushroom alone.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Thayers Hydrating Milky Cleanser remove makeup?
It removes light makeup, tinted moisturizer and mineral sunscreen by emulsifying them into the milk, but with no foaming surfactants it is not designed for long-wear foundation or waterproof mascara — use a cleansing oil or balm first on those days.
Is the Thayers Milky Cleanser good for oily skin?
Not particularly. The fatty-alcohol milk leaves a faint cushioning film that dry and sensitive skin love and oily skin tends to read as residue; oily or acne-prone skin usually does better with the brand's pH Balancing or Blemish Clearing gels.
Is the Thayers Milky Cleanser fragrance-free and safe for sensitive skin?
Yes on both counts — no fragrance, no essential oils, no sulfates and no alcohol; the elderflower water gives a faint natural note only. The main ingredients with any sensitisation history, cetearyl alcohol and polysorbate 20, are rare offenders and are standard in dermatology cream cleansers.
Can I use the Thayers Milky Cleanser with retinol or acids?
It is one of the better cleansers to pair with them: with no actives, no foaming surfactants and a glycerin- and snow-mushroom-rich base, it adds nothing to the exfoliant load and helps offset the dryness retinoids and acids cause.
Why is the Thayers Milky Cleanser not fungal-acne safe?
The formula contains polysorbate 20, PEG-40 stearate and glyceryl stearate, which are among the esters and emulsifiers that Malassezia can feed on. Most skin is unaffected, but anyone managing fungal acne should choose a cleanser without those emulsifiers.
Reviews
What Reviewers Tend to Say
Recurring themes our editors read across retailer reviews of this product — summaries in our words, not quotations, and not a substitute for your own patch test.
Removes makeup without leaving skin tight
Feels like washing with a light lotion
Fragrance-free and safe on eczema-prone faces
Big pump bottle lasts for months
Does not foam, which some users read as not cleaning
Leaves a film that oily skin dislikes
Not enough on its own for heavy or waterproof makeup
Part of Thayers' Milky collection, the range that went viral on TikTok in 2024