Review | Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash

Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash is a gel cleanser that has been inspired by one of Kiehl’s most-loved products, the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner (the one that has real calendula flower petals in the bottle, that have all been inserted by hand!).

Because the toner has such a good rep, I was super excited to try out the Calendula Deep Cleansing Face Wash. What I love about the cleanser is that it’s soap and sulfate-free, and is gentle yet effective. The colourant-free, soap-free formula contains no parabens, and includes ingredients such as glycerin (which helps to keep your skin hydrated) as well as soothing Calendula. It is packaged simply, in the Kiehl’s old world apothecary style, complete with a pump dispenser. All quite charming.

I did some poking around and found out that calendula can help to heal scrapes, bruises, and burns, as well as minor infections of the skin. It can also stimulate the production of collagen at wound sites and help minimize scarring. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and is skin soothing. Sounds good to me!

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How it worked

For a sulfate-free facial wash, it foams nicely and cleans my skin perfectly. I have dry skin, so it’s probably not the best face wash for me, because my skin does feel a bit tight after washing it. I have heard from other bloggers and friends that for their normal to combination skin, it works like a charm. The face wash leaves my skin feeling clean in a gentle way, if that makes sense at all, and the overall experience of washing my face is nice and calming. Sometimes I’ll use this cleanser on its own, and other days as step 2 of my double cleansing routine. The bottle lasts a really long time (even half a pump works up a lather good enough to wash my whole face), so ends up being economical (for a good face wash from an upmarket brand). It goes for R395 for 200ml. The only thing that I really don’t like is the smell – the herbal scent (albeit feint) hasn’t won me over.

final thoughts

If you want a gentle face cleanser that is soap and sulfate-free, and that does the job, this is definitely one to consider.