Review: Avène Cleanance K Exfoliating Hydrating Cream-Gel

Slightly late post today but as it’s still Thursday we’ll gloss over that. Today I’ll be reviewing one of the purchases from my most recent Escentual haul, the Avène Cream-Gel exfoliator. This works much the same way as other chemical exfoliators and contains various different acidic ingredients to help smooth out the skin. I’ve included a picture of the ingredient list so you can see for yourself. It also has Avène’s thermal spring water in it too.

The idea is to use it once a day on clean, dry skin and massage it in. I prefer using this at night, but you could just as easily use it in the morning before make-up. If you did so, I’d advise using a SPF as your skin could be more sensitive to sunlight. The smell is interesting but not offensive and it sinks in quickly. It does sting a little on any ‘open’ areas of skin and obviously don’t get it in your eyes. I’d imagine that would really hurt!

Does it work? Yes, it does. I’ve not touched my ‘manual’ exfoliator since using this. My skin has been smooth and flake free. I stopped using it for a couple of nights recently as I’m having a bad break out (not the fault of this) and the flakes immediately came back so I started using it again. It’s recommended for oily skin and has possibly helped my spots heal quicker but I couldn’t say for sure. It’s certainly hasn’t made my skin any worse. I don’t find it to have got rid of any blackheads but that might come with prolonged usage. I use it after cleansing at night instead of a toner and then apply the rest of skin care over it. I don’t find it to be at all drying. 

Overall, this is a really good product. When my tube runs out I’ll definitely consider getting another one, but I can be fickle with skin care. If you’ve not tried chemically exfoliating yet then this might be a good place to start. 

Avène Cleanance K Exfoliating Hydrating Cream-Gel is normally £10.50 but is on sale for £8.40 until midnight tomorrow so go, go, go!