According to Somme Institute, their Nourishing Cleanser gently cleanses the skin, removes surface oil, debris, and makeup while leaving skin balanced and refreshed without causing dryness or dehydration.
The key ingredient is the company’s patented MDT5, which is a matrix of stable, potent, re-engineered vitamins that are encapsulated within peptides. Other significant ingredients are mild synthetic cleansers that remove oils and debris, orange and lime extracts serve as antioxidants and free radical scavengers, and soybean extract, which is an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties (Somme Institute, n.d.).
After checking the ingredient list, Somme Institute Nourishing Cleanser does boast some great ingredients, but there are also some that seem questionable. For example, sodium lauryl sulfate (a surfactant), is rated as a “poor” ingredient because of the irritation it can cause in amounts of 2% or more. Methylisothiazolinone, a preservative, is also known to be sensitizing; however, the irritation primarily occurs with leave-on products. There are also botanical extracts, such as ylang ylang, geranium, and jasmine that are soothing to many but can also be irritating to some. However, there are also benefits, such as geranium oil having antibacterial/anti-acne properties (Begoun, 2016).
Despite the possible irritation some of the ingredients may cause for a small number of people, cleanser does not remain on the skin for any extended period of time. Therefore, I don’t think there is a major issue, unless your skin is hypersensitive.
Also, even with sodium lauryl sulfate as an ingredient, it wasn’t in a high enough concentration to even result in foam or lather. In other words, this is similar to a cream cleanser in that it doesn’t get really foamy. However, my skin felt cleaner that it does with most cream cleansers, but not tight or dry. It does have a very light scent, but since it’s barely discernible, it should be fine even for those who are sensitive.
So, what’s the bottom line? When Somme Institute claimed the synthetic cleansers are mild and not drying, they weren’t lying. If you need a cleanser that actually leaves your skin feeling clean without drying it out, this may be just what you need!
Somme Institute Nourishing Cleanser is available at SpaceNK, Nordstrom, Dermstore.com, and SommeInstitute.com. It retails for $40.00 for 8 oz.
Sources:
Begoun, P. (2016). Ingredient Dictionary. Retrieved from www.paulaschoice.com.
Somme Institute (n.d.). Somme Institute: The Highly Recommended Brand. Somme Institute.
See also:
Somme Institute Skincare: First Impression
