Everyone’s going nuts for cleansing balms, and for good reason. Traditional makeup removers can often dry skin out, but this amazing new-ish product will leave your face feeling clean, soft, supple, and nourished. It simply melts into your skin as soon as it touches your face, removing makeup and impurities before you can say “I’m on the cleansing balm bandwagon.”
Cleansing balms not only cleanse the skin, but leave it moisturized as well. This makes them ideal for mature skin that tends to lean on the dry side. Of course, you’ll still have to apply your regular daily moisturizer afterwards, but a good cleansing balm can serve as a great extra source of hydration.
Some cleansing balms don’t even need to be rinsed off with water, so after your makeup is removed and your skin is clean, you can just allow whatever product is left to absorb in. If you have sensitive skin, there are cleansing balms that use only natural and organic products that won’t cause any irritation. Take a look at our top picks below to find a cleansing balm best for your skin and your budget.
Keep scrolling for Woman’s World’s picks for the best cleansing balms for mature skin.
We write about products we think our readers will like. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the supplier.
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1. Boots No 7 Cleansing Balm
Boots No 7 Cleansing Balm
Where to buy: $8.09, Target
No 7’s Radiant Results nourishing cleansing balm is an economical cleanser that dissolves and smooths away makeup, impurities and pollutants, leaving the skin perfectly cleansed, soft and supple, without any residue. Made with vitamin complex and grapeseed oil, this formula promises to give you radiant and healthier looking skin in just one week.
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2. Sensitive Skin Cleansing Balm The Body Shop
Best Cleansing Balm for Sensitive Skin - The Body Shop
Where to buy: $9.60, The Body Shop
Another budget-friendly cleansing balm is this sumptuous cleansing butter from The Body Shop. Its main ingredient, chamomile, has anti-irritant properties which have been proven to effectively soothe sensitive skin. You have to rinse it off with water or wipe it away with a wet muslin cloth, but it still doesn’t dry out the skin.
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3. Cleansing Balm Ponds
Cleansing Balm Ponds
Where to buy: $9.98, Walmart
Cleansing balms shouldn’t be hard to come by, and this Ponds version works a treat, and is available at most drugstores. One happy customer, Ashley, left this review: “I absolutely cherish this cleansing balm! The price is on point and you get a ton of product since it only takes a tiny bit to get all of your makeup off right away! I highly recommend it to anyone that wears long wear makeup that is tough to remove.”
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4. Cleansing Balm for Oily Skin - Oh K Cleansing Balm Stick
Cleansing Balm for Oily Skin - Oh K Cleansing Balm Stick
Where to buy: $14.99, Ulta
While most of the cleansing balms on this list work wonders for mature skin which tends to be dry, it’s not only teenagers who can suffer from oily skin and acne. This Oh K! cleansing stick is the ideal cleansing balm for acne prone skin. Upon application, it transforms into a cleansing balm oil and when you wash it off, you’re left with clean, oil-free, yet soft, skin.
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5. Heimish Amazon’s Choice Cleansing Balm for Sensitive Skin
Amazon’s Choice Cleansing Balm for Sensitive Skin - Heimish
Where to buy: $15.85, Amazon
With over 570 reviews on Amazon, the Heimish cleanser is the Amazon’s Choice product for “cleansing balm.” This hypoallergenic cleansing balm is made with shea butter, citrus herb oil, coconut extract, lime, daffodil, jasmine, rose, and donkey milk (hey, if it’s good enough for Cleopatra…), and without mineral oil, making it ideal for sensitive skin.
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6. Clean it Zero Cleansing Balms for Face
Clean it Zero Cleansing Balms for Face
Where to buy: $17.05, Amazon
This much-loved cleansing product has a sherbet-like texture, enriched with vitamins E and C. Once it's smoothed into the skin it turns into a hydrating oil cleanser. It will remove even waterproof makeup without dehydrating the skin, and is free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, alcohol, and artificial coloring.
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7. Best Cleansing Balm Korean Beauty Skincare
Best Korean Skincare Cleansing Balm
Where to buy: $19.86, Amazon
The Melt Away regenerative cleansing balm from The Crème Shop, is an unscented, age-defying makeup remover, cleanser, and moisturizer in one. It promises to melt away make up, including waterproof mascara and kiss-proof lipsticks, brighten the complexion, and lessen the appearance of scars and redness.
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8. Moringa E Nature Cleansing Balm Cruelty Free
Moringa E Nature Cleansing Balm Cruelty Free
Where to buy: $23, Amazon
Free from parabens, mineral oil, and artificial fragrances, this cleansing balm from E Nature is an oil-based, sherbet-type cleansing balm that melts into your hands so that you can massage it effortlessly into the face to dissolve makeup and impurities. All the E Nature moringa cleansing balm ingredients are vegan and cruelty-free.
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9. Cleansing Balm REN
Cleansing Balm REN
Where to buy: $29, Sephora
This rose-infused, REN cleanser is a great cleansing balm for dry sensitive skin. It goes from balm to oil to cream while melting away dirt and even the heaviest of makeup. It leaves the skin purified, hydrated, and refreshed. For some extra loving, you can spread on a thin layer and leave it on for 10 minutes as a hydration mask.
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10. Clinique Cleansing Balm “Take The Day Off”
Clinique Cleansing Balm “Take The Day Off”
Where to buy: $30, Ulta
The vegan and lightweight Clinique cleansing balm has no parabens, phthalates, fragrances, or synthetic colors. One of the many 5-star Clinique cleansing balm reviews, titled “Holy Grail Cleansing Balm” reads, “I have backups of this. That's how good it is. I've used cleansing oils. I've used other cleansing balms (rolls eyes), NONE compare to this. You just scoop out… and put all over your dry face. And boom, your Makeup has been melted. Rinse off (and there's no greasy feel)... It's so simple.”
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11. Farmacy Cleansing Balm
Farmacy Cleansing Balm
Where to buy: $34, Sephora
The Farmacy Green Clean makeup removing cleansing balm instantly melts away even the most stubborn makeup. Made with natural ingredients such as sunflower and ginger root oils, turmeric, moringa extract, papaya enzymes, and lime, bergamot, and orange essential oils, it leaves skin sparkling clean, soft, and hydrated.
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12. Dry Skin Cleansing Balm Pixi
Dry Skin Cleansing Balm Pixi
Where to buy: $40.99, Amazon
If you’re looking for the best cleansing balm for dry skin, try the Pixi super nourishing cleansing balm with sweet almond oil and vitamin E. This balm-to-oil cleanser removes every trace of makeup and dirt, and leaves behind a silky-smooth residue which will absorb into the skin and leave it hydrated and supple.
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13. Cleansing Balm Estée Lauder
Cleansing Balm Estée Lauder
Where to buy: $47, Ulta
Estée Lauder has come through yet again with this purifying and revitalizing lightweight advanced night micro cleansing balm that turns into a silky oil as you massage it into your face. It rinses off easily with warm water, removing makeup, dirt, and pollutants from deep within the skin’s surface.
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14. Cleansing Balm Emma Hardie
Cleansing Balm Emma Hardie
Where to buy: $56.72, Amazon
A lot of happy customers have been referred to the Emma Hardie cleansing balm by beauty influencers who are obsessed with this product. “I love love love (did I mention love?) this product,” says Caren. “The balm is luxuriously thick, the smell is a light but intoxicating spicy floral, and my face feels cleaned, hydrated and pampered every time I use it... I also love the included washcloth, soft on one side and muslin on the other. And in terms of price point? I think it's fair, relatively speaking — a little goes a long way and it's a super balm, at a much lower cost than many comparable products.”
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15. Cleansing Balm Beautycounter
Cleansing Balm Beautycounter
Where to buy: $58.65, Beautycounter
A great little multi-tasker, this cleansing balm with vitamin C, and raspberry and cranberry seed oils, removes makeup, thoroughly cleanses the skin, and can be used as a replenishing overnight mask. One of the Beautycounter reviews reads: “I love this cleanser — it is worth every penny. It doesn't dry my skin, cleans thoroughly and leaves no residue behind. I only need a tiny bit to cleanse my whole face and neck so the jar lasts forever… Five stars!”
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16. Cleansing Balm Elemis
Cleansing Balm Elemis
Where to buy: $64, Ulta
Users of the Elemis cleansing balm have reported that the product left their “dry skin feeling soothed with moisture,” and “looking comfortable, never tight.” The Elemis cleansing balm ingredients have been formulated with five rose extracts collected from around the world, and it is suitable for even the most sensitive skin.
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17. Cleansing Balm Eve Lom
Cleansing Balm Eve Lom
Where to buy: $80, Sephora
On the pricier side, but worth it, the Eve Lom is an extremely hardworking cleansing balm. With its combination of essential oils, it deep cleans and removes makeup, decongests pores, exfoliates, tones, and soothes the skin, leaving a beautifully smooth, bright, and even complexion.
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18. Anti-Aging Cleansing Balm Omorovicza
Anti-Aging Cleansing Balm Omorovicza
Where to buy: $110, Sephora
If you’ve decided that you’ve had enough of sub-par products that don’t cleanse your face or adequately remove your makeup without drying out and irritating the skin, and you’re ready to splash out on something that works, then the Omorovicza cleansing balm is the product for you. Containing Hungarian Moor mud from the healing waters of the largest thermal lake in Europe, Lake Heviz, it’s specially formulated to cleanse and detoxify the skin, making it firmer, more supple, and youthful.
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