Dermalogica UltraCalming Cleanser review: the one I keep going back to

I should say from the start that I am not a beauty expert, and this is not a product I discovered last month and rushed to review. The Dermalogica UltraCalming Cleanser is something I have grown up around. My mum and my aunt were both Dermalogica reps, and they are religious with their skincare, so I watched them use this properly for years before it was ever mine.

I got my own bottle when my mum gave me one, and I fell for it. I have used it on and off for about four years since. It is a cream cleanser aimed at sensitive and redness-prone skin, and for me it does one job better than anything else I have tried: it takes every last bit of makeup off.

That is the honest headline. It is not cheap, and I will come back to that, but it is the cleanser I keep going back to.

What it is

The Dermalogica UltraCalming Cleanser is a non-foaming cream cleanser. It pours out like a thin lotion rather than a gel, and it stays creamy when you massage it in rather than lathering up.

Dermalogica sells it for normal, dry and sensitive skin, and the marketing is all about calming redness and not stripping the skin. It carries a scent, and the formula includes lavender as part of that calming blend, which is worth flagging up front because lavender is one of the fragrance ingredients that reactive skin sometimes reacts to. It has never bothered mine, but I would rather you knew.

In the UK it comes as a 250ml bottle at around £42, and a bigger 500ml bottle at around £65. I use the 500ml.

How I use it

Evenings only. My whole reason for using it is to get my makeup off at the end of the day, so it does not make sense on a bare morning face, and skipping it in the morning makes the bottle last a lot longer.

I use a small amount on dry or slightly damp skin, massage it in to break the makeup down, then rinse it off with warm water. If I have worn a heavy base I go over my eyes a second time to be sure. That is it.

I am not loyal to it every single night. I rotate it with a CeraVe cleanser, which I will get to, so the "on and off" is genuine. When I want my makeup properly gone, though, it is the Dermalogica that comes out.

What it did for my skin

At one point I was breaking out and could not work out why. My skin would look fine at night and then I would wake up with new spots. What I eventually realised was that the cleanser I was using at the time was not taking all my makeup off, so it was sitting in my pores overnight and clogging them.

Switching to this fixed that side of things, because it genuinely clears my makeup off. Once my skin was properly clean at night, the morning breakouts settled right down and my skin has been tighter, softer and clearer for it.

I want to be careful here, because that is my skin responding to being properly cleaned, not a cleanser treating a skin condition. If you have persistent breakouts, that is a conversation for a GP or a pharmacist, not something to pin on a cleanser.

Beyond the makeup removal, it is the feel that keeps me using it. There is no tingling afterwards, none of that tight, squeaky feeling I get from harsher washes. My skin feels soft, smooth and fresh, not dried out. For an oily to combination face like mine, a cleanser that does not strip me is half the battle, because when my skin feels stripped it just makes more oil to compensate.

What I did not like

I have very little bad to say about it, and that is only because I have used it for years and know exactly what it does. A review with no criticism is useless, though, so here is the real one: the price.

It is expensive for a cleanser. Around £42 for the 250ml is a lot to spend on a step you rinse straight back off, and I understand why people balk at it. I think it is worth it over time, and the bigger bottle helps, but I am not going to pretend it is a budget buy, because it is not.

That is genuinely the only sticking point for me. If money were no object I would not change a thing about it.

Dermalogica UltraCalming Cleanser vs CeraVe Foaming Cleanser

These are the two I rotate, so this is the comparison I can make from real use.

The CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser is a fraction of the price and I rate it. The texture is smooth, it leaves my skin feeling hydrated rather than stripped, and for a morning wash or a day I have not worn makeup it does everything I need.

Where it falls short for me is makeup removal. It does not manage to shift all of my makeup the way the Dermalogica does, and given that makeup left on my skin was what broke me out in the first place, that is the thing I care about most in the evening.

So it is not really one beating the other. CeraVe is my cheap, everyday, no-fuss clean. Dermalogica is the one I trust to get a full face of makeup off before bed. They do different jobs, and I am happy owning both.

Who should skip it

• Anyone on a tight budget who mainly wants a morning or no-makeup cleanser. A cheaper cream or foaming wash will do that job, and the CeraVe is proof of it. The Dermalogica earns its price on makeup removal, so if that is not what you need it for, you are paying for something you will not use.
• Anyone who reacts to fragrance. It is scented and it contains lavender. My skin is fine with it, but if scented products have caught you out before, patch test it or look for a fragrance-free option instead.
• Anyone who loves a big foamy lather. This is a cream cleanser and it stays creamy. If that squeaky-clean feeling is what tells you your face is clean, you will not get it here.

Is it worth the money?

For me, yes, but only because of what I use it for.

At around £42 for 250ml it is a premium price, and I would not tell someone to spend that on a cleanser they only use to rinse off in the morning. What makes it worth it in my house is that it does the one job I most need doing, taking my makeup off completely, and it does it without upsetting my skin. That saved me from a run of breakouts, and I do not take that lightly.

I buy the 500ml at around £65 rather than the 250ml at around £42, because it works out cheaper per millilitre and I am not constantly repurchasing. A small amount cleanses my whole face, so even the bigger bottle lasts me a good while. Bought that way, it feels less painful than the shelf price suggests.

Would I buy it again

Yes, with my own money, and I already do. I have not found a cleanser that removes my makeup as well as this one for less, and I have looked. Until I do, this is the one that stays in my routine.

Five out of five from me. The price is the only asterisk, and for what it does on my skin it has earned that.

Common questions

Does it remove makeup? Yes, that is its whole strength for me. A full face comes off in the evening without scrubbing, and it does not leave the film that was clogging my pores before.

Does it foam? No. It is a non-foaming cream cleanser that stays creamy as you massage it in.

Is it good for sensitive skin? Dermalogica markets it for sensitive and redness-prone skin and my own skin stays calm on it, no tingling or stinging. It does contain fragrance and lavender though, so patch test if you are very reactive. I am not a dermatologist.

Is it good for oily or combination skin? It works for mine. It clears the oil and makeup without stripping me, which stops my skin overproducing oil to make up for it.

How much is it? Around £42 for 250ml in the UK, with a larger 500ml bottle at around £65 that works out cheaper per millilitre, which is the one I buy.

---

One honest note: I am a content creator, not a dermatologist. This is my experience on my own skin over about four years, not medical advice. If you are dealing with ongoing breakouts, redness or any skin concern, please speak to a GP or a pharmacist rather than relying on a cleanser or on me.