THE NEWGEN MAKEUP REMOVER

Gentle, efficient and skin-loving, cleansing balms help soothe skin that’s irritated by makeup and wearing a mask.

Cleansing balms help soothe skin that’s irritated by makeup and mask-wearing.

You probably have a cleansing oil that you can’t live without, but a cleansing balm may just end up becoming your new go-to makeup remover to get rid of makeup and dirt build-up.

It used to be that only those with drier skin would use a cleansing balm because of its emollient-rich formula. Sensitive skins too, favoured it, because it gave extra love in the moisture department.

Everyone else, though, wasn’t terribly keen – mainly because it was troublesome to use: Most cleansing balms of the past required you to remove the gunk with a muslin cloth or face towel, which was neither fast nor efficient.

But all that’s in the past. The new generation of cleansing balms is much easier to use. No muslin cloth or towel needed, for one – just emulsify with water and rinse off. And their easy-to-rinse formulas mean you can skip double-cleansing.

Plus, they’re designed to be used on most skin types, including oilier skin. The gentler formulas are also skin-loving, with added actives that slough off dead skin, unclog pores and brighten the complexion.

Why is this all important? Two words: mask wear. Makeup artist Larry Yeo says a cleansing balm is good if your skin gets easily irritated because of contact with your mask. It soothes the skin and leaves it moisturised, which is great if you suffer from skin flare-ups as a result of the new normal.