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first aid beauty face cleanser with fab antioxidant booster review

Cleansers are very simple creatures. They have only one job to do. Remove all traces of dirt from skin without drying it out.

Yet, it’s incredible how many miserably fail. I lost count of the number of cleansers that left my skin feeling uncomfortably tight, dry, and red.

Not First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser with FAB Antioxidant Booster. It’s by far the gentlest cleanser I’ve ever come across. It’s so gentle that I even doubted its cleansing power.

Can all that grime that stubbornly sticks to your face really be rinsed away with a light caress? Let’s find out:

What’s In First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser With FAB Antioxidant Booster?

SODIUM COCOYL ISETHIONATE TO CLEANSE SKIN

Don’t let the chemical name scare you. Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is one of the gentlest surfactants out there (it’s derived from coconut oil).

Studies have shown “it’s mild and less damaging to the skin barrier than soaps and surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).” That makes it safe even for people with sensitive skin.

But what does it do here? Surfactants help water mix with oil and dirt, so they can be rinsed away. Result? Clean, soft skin.

GLYCERIN TO HYDRATE SKIN

To make the cleansing process even gentler, First Aid Beauty added glycerin to the mix. What’s that?

It’s a humectant, a fancy way of saying it draws moisture from the air and binds it into your skin. The extra moisture keeps your skin softer and hydrated during the cleansing process.

Related: The Complete Guide To Glycerin In Skincare

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ANTIOXIDANTS TO FIGHT PREMATURE WRINKLES

First Aid Face Cleanser With FAB Antioxidant Booster isn’t lying when it says it contains antioxidants. It has green tea and licorice, to mention just a couple.

Antioxidants are little molecules that fight free radicals, the nasty buggers that destroy collagen and give you wrinkles. FAB right?

Not so quickly. Those antioxidants really help us age more slowly. When left on the skin. In a cleanser, they’ll end up down the drain within a few minutes. What a waste!

Related: The Complete Guide To Green Tea In Skincare: Do You Really Need It?

Texture

Thicker than a lotion but airier than a gel. Pearlescent. Slightly foaming.

Fragrance

It’s fragrance-free.

How To Use It

It’s the first step of your skincare routine.

Performance & Personal Opinion

First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser with FAB Antioxidant Booster doesn’t foam much, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t do a good cleansing job. In the morning, that is. Huh?

This cleanser effortlessly removes all the dirt that has accumulated on my face during the night. It ain’t much. It’s not like I’m sleeping in mud. Heck, even the mere thought of camping is enough to make my skin crawl.

But I do wear makeup. I know, what a revelation! But, yeah, I can’t use this to remove it. On foundation-free days, when I’m just sporting a bit of blush on my cheeks and a dab of concealer on my undereye area, it’ll do just fine. But a full face of makeup? No way. It won’t remove it.

Frankly, I didn’t expect it to. The problem with gentle cleaners is that they’re too gentle to remove heavy oils, like those in your makeup. You need more cleansing power for that, but that gets irritating fast. It’s up to you to know if the trade-off is worth it.

One workaround is to use a gentle oil, like squalane or jojoba to remove your makeup. But stay away from anything fragranced (no essential oils!).

I’m more than happy to use this cleanser only in the mornings. I think it’s a fab cleanser for dry and sensitive skin. It doesn’t strip the natural oil skin needs to stay healthy and function properly, and doesn’t irritate it.

If you prefer to use the same cleanser both in the morning and at night, though, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Unless you don’t wear makeup. Then, you can wash your face with this anytime.

Related: What Is The Oil Cleansing Method And Should You Use It?

review first aid beauty with fab antioxidant booster

Who Is This For?

  • Sensitive skin who can’t tolerate most cleansers
  • Dry skin looking for a gentle morning cleanser

Who Is This NOT For?

  • Oily/acne-prone skin
  • Anyone who wears a full face of makeup

Packaging

Blue, red, and white tube. Practical and hygienic.

Does First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser With FAB Antioxidant Booster Live Up To Its Claims?

CLAIM TRUE?
A fragrance-free, gentle cleanser that effectively removes makeup, dirt and grime, leaving skin soft and supple.  It removes dirt and grime, but not makeup.
The whipped texture transforms into a sumptuous cream when blended with water. I’m not sure I’d call it “whipped” and it dissolves when you mix it with water.
Infused with a powerful Botanical Antioxidant blend, it helps safeguard skin against environmental aggressors while also calming irritated skin. It could do this IF these ingredients stayed on your skin. But they’re rinsed down the drain together with the dirt and grime.
This non-stripping, pH-balanced formula works to maintain skin’s natural acidity and helps reduce flare ups, never leaving skin feeling tight or dry. True.

Price & Availability

$21.00/£15.00 at Feel Unique, Look Fantastic, Sephora, and Ulta

Do You Need It?

It depends. If you have very sensitive skin and are struggling to find a cleanser that doesn’t leave your skin tight, red, and irritated, this is a good option to consider. But you may have to use a separate makeup remover.

Dupes & Alternatives

Ingredients

Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Hydrogenated Coconut Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Stearyl Alcohol, Allantoin, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopherol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium PCA, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, EDTA.

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.