Speed Review: Dermalogica PreCleanse Wipes

Regular readers will recall that it's not so long ago that I reviewed Dermalogica PreCleanse, a lightweight cleansing oil (click here to read the review). I was impressed with the cleansing oil so when I heard that the brand was introducing an extension to the PreCleanse range, in the form of cleansing wipes, I was intrigued, despite not normally liking cleansing wipes.

The wipes are presented in a sleek grey packet in the Dermalogica signature minimalist style. I usually prefer wipes to have a clip fastening which I find to be more effective at preventing wipes drying out, however, Dermalogica PreCleanse Wipes have a sticker which is sufficiently adhesive. I liked that it was easy to remove one wipe at a time as opposed to them being placed in the packet in a concertina effect, whereby numerous wipes are often pulled out at once.

The fabric of the wipes themselves is average- it was relatively easy to rip under my "tear test" and they were on the drier side, which I don't like as it encourages excessive rubbing of the skin. Having said this, they had a slight oiliness which provided "slip" when passing over skin. They have a strong scent which I didn't find particularly pleasant but it's not unbearable and doesn't linger on the skin following use.

They're better than some wipes at removing eye makeup, however, I didn't find them to be thoroughly effective and still needed to use a separate eye makeup remover following use.

To use, the wipes are passed over the skin as with normal cleansing wipes & this leaves an oily residue on the skin. I noticed that the majority of my makeup was removed onto the wipe. Then, the wipe is dampened with water before passing over the face again to remove the remaining makeup and oily residue. This two-step process is unusual for wipes, although I seem to recall some wipes following this procedure when first launched onto the market. I did find that my makeup was removed more effectively than with most wipes. The idea is that you then perform a second cleanse with your usual cleanser.

My skin wasn't left feeling dry or tight as it can after using some other wipes, although I still needed to moisturise following use.

Dermalogica PreCleanse wipes are different to any other cleansing wipes that I've tried and definitely live up to the PreCleanse name. In this respect, I feel that they deliver on the claims.

They're a nice idea and by no means did I hate them. My problem with the wipes is this: I'd only use cleansing wipes in a worst case scenario, i.e. on those occasions when I'm too tired or worse for wear to perform a full cleanse, when they're better than nothing. These wipes lack the convenience of traditional cleansing wipes because there's still a number of steps to be performed following use and I don't feel that they'd be suitable as a one-step solution owing to the oily residue that's left on skin.

I also feel that it's a waste of money to buy them to use as the first step to incorporate into a cleansing routine- at £14.60 for 20 wipes, these are at the expensive end of the scale for cleansing wipes and I feel that the money would be better spent on a good quality balm cleanser which would be sufficient to offer a good, thorough cleanse.