Face wash for combination skin

Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser has the best record for combination skin, with 22 of 25 shoppers saying it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky. Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash follows at 39 of 48, then Clinique All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser at 25 of 31, while the four washes behind them range from 73% to 78%. Each record counts just shoppers who said they have combination skin.

  • 295 store reviews counted
  • Ulta and Sephora shoppers
  • Dec 2011 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it clean oily areas without drying the rest? What shoppers said
  1. Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser 25 said either way
  2. Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash 48 said either way
  3. Clinique All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser 31 said either way
  4. Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser 32 said either way
  5. philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser 42 said either way
  6. First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser 37 said either way
  7. Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser 23 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for tightness or greasiness. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser Best record Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser 22 of 25 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky See price & reviews on Amazon

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser

Drunk Elephant

Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser

22/25 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

Its record rests on a smaller group of shoppers than the ones behind Origins or Clinique. Of its 30 reviews, 17% praise makeup removal, while 13% say it costs too much and 7% mention a strong scent.

What buyers praise

  • Removes makeup 17%
  • Leaves skin fresh 10%
  • Lasts a long time 10%
  • No irritation 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 13%
  • Strong scent 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 22 of 25
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light13 of 15
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 5
  • Medium-tan to tan3 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked13 of 14
2 Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash

Origins

Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash

39/48 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

19% of its 53 reviews say it leaves skin fresh, 19% say it lasts a long time and 9% praise makeup removal.

What buyers praise

  • Leaves skin fresh 19%
  • Lasts a long time 19%
  • Removes makeup 9%
  • Good value 6%
  • No irritation 6%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 15 of 22
  • Sephora 24 of 26
  • Brand site 1 of 1 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination14 of 16
  • Oily3 of 3
  • Dry3 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light15 of 16
  • Medium-tan to tan4 of 5
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked11 of 13
3 Clinique All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser

Clinique

All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser

25/31 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

On irritation, 7% of its 55 reviews say it didn't irritate and 4% say it irritated or stung, while 5% call it good value.

What buyers praise

  • No irritation 7%
  • Good value 5%
  • Leaves skin fresh 5%
  • Lasts a long time 4%
  • Removes makeup 4%

What buyers complain about

  • Irritates or stings 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 3 of 5
  • Sephora 22 of 26
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light15 of 18
  • Light-medium to medium3 of 3
  • Medium-tan to tan2 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked11 of 13
4

Fresh

Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser

25/32 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

Makeup removal splits its reviewers, with 26% of its 35 reviews praising it and 11% saying it left makeup behind. Reviews first posted on Fresh's own site were more positive, at 14 of 15, and we show them but don't count them.

What buyers praise

  • Removes makeup 26%
  • No irritation 11%
  • Lasts a long time 9%
  • Leaves skin fresh 6%

What buyers complain about

  • Leaves makeup behind 11%
  • Strong scent 6%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 4 of 4
  • Sephora 21 of 28
  • Brand site 14 of 15 shown, not counted
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light12 of 13
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 5
  • Medium-tan to tan2 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked8 of 8

Share of 35 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

5 philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser

philosophy

Purity Made Simple Cleanser

Best for a fresh feel afterward

31/42 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

Skin feels fresh after it, say 24% of its 46 reviews, and 15% praise makeup removal. On the downside, 9% mention a strong scent and 4% say it costs too much.

What buyers praise

  • Leaves skin fresh 24%
  • Removes makeup 15%
  • No irritation 13%
  • Good value 7%
  • Lasts a long time 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Strong scent 9%
  • Too expensive 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 9 of 13
  • Sephora 22 of 29
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light9 of 14
  • Light-medium to medium12 of 13
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked14 of 16
6 First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser

First Aid Beauty

Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser

27/37 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

Shoppers who complain point to the smell (11% of its 46 reviews) and to irritation or stinging (9%). On the plus side, 17% say it leaves skin fresh and 9% praise makeup removal.

What buyers praise

  • Leaves skin fresh 17%
  • No irritation 11%
  • Removes makeup 9%
  • Good value 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Strong scent 11%
  • Irritates or stings 9%
  • Leaves makeup behind 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 6 of 10
  • Sephora 21 of 27
  • Brand site 3 of 5 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination13 of 16
  • Oily3 of 4
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light8 of 11
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 5
  • Medium-tan to tan3 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked6 of 6
7

Youth To The People

Superfood Cleanser

17/23 say it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky

Its record of 17 of 23 works out to 74%, just above First Aid Beauty's 73%, but fewer shoppers stated a result for it, so it ranks last. 13% of its 30 reviews say it leaves skin fresh, and 10% praise makeup removal.

What buyers praise

  • Leaves skin fresh 13%
  • Removes makeup 10%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 17 of 23
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light4 of 5
  • Medium-tan to tan1 of 3
By age (reviewers who gave one)
  • Under 404 of 5
  • 40 and over2 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked6 of 7

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 109,841 reviews at Ulta and Sephora. We searched them for tightness or greasiness and read the newest matching reviews, up to 40 per product and store, posted between Dec 2011 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser Sephora (30 reviews counted)
  2. Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash Ulta and Sephora (53 reviews counted)
  3. Clinique All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser Ulta and Sephora (55 reviews counted)
  4. Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser Ulta and Sephora (35 reviews counted)
  5. philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser Ulta (46 reviews counted)
  6. First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser Ulta and Sephora (46 reviews counted)
  7. Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser Sephora (30 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which face wash works for combination skin?

Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser has the best record (22 of 25), followed by Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash (39 of 48), then Clinique All About Clean Foaming Face Cleanser (25 of 31). Next come Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser (25 of 32), philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser (31 of 42), First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser (27 of 37) and Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser (17 of 23), in that order.

Is Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash good for combination skin?

Mostly, yes. 39 of 48 shoppers with combination skin said it cleaned their oily areas without leaving dry areas tight or flaky. More of them stated a result for it than for any other wash here.

What if a face wash stings or leaves my skin red?

A cleanser that stings, burns or leaves your skin red is worth stopping. Persistent skin trouble is a question for a dermatologist. Skin reacts differently from person to person, so a wash that suits other shoppers can still bother you.

Which of these face washes are sold on Amazon?

Every wash here except Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser and Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser has an official Amazon listing, sold by the brand or by Amazon itself. Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser is the best pick sold on Amazon at 22 of 25, and it is also the leader. For Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser, we could not confirm the exact Amazon listing, so its button searches Amazon for it. For Fresh Soy Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser, we could not confirm an Amazon listing.

Related problems

Face wash Face wash for oily skin Top pick: La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser 186 buyer reports Face wash Face wash for dry skin Top pick: philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser 245 buyer reports Face moisturizer Moisturizer for combination skin Top pick: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream 363 buyer reports Foundation Foundation for combination skin Top pick: Too Faced Born This Way Foundation 286 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.