SVR Sensifine Dermo-Nettoyant Versus La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo Nettoyant

Beaware of pH
I used this cleanser for a couple of years and used to love it because the ingredients were wonderful. Then, my skin became really...

Beaware of pH
I used this cleanser for a couple of years and used to love it because the ingredients were wonderful. Then, my skin became really dry and rough, and I found that this cleanser has a ph of 9, which is well above the skin's healthy pH. A good cleanser should be between 4.5-5.5 (better to be slightly acidic). Because the SVR cleanser's pH is so alkaline, it dries out the skin and does not perform as it should. Thought me that INCI is not all that matters when it comes to skincare!

I bought this cleanser because I needed an FA safe cleanser that would be EXTREMELY gentle, because I was just starting to use tret+clindamycin...

I bought this cleanser because I needed an FA safe cleanser that would be EXTREMELY gentle, because I was just starting to use tret+clindamycin prescription. After using it, there's no "clean" feeling, it actually creates quite a thick film on the skin to prevent moisture loss. I enjoyed that a lot, because my skin was really upset at the time. I love the value, the size of it is huge. It really is a very gentle formula with few ingredients and not much room for irritation. A couple of things to be aware of:

1) INCI here is wrong: there's no Ceramide Ns in this product, instead there's 1,2-hexanediol, which acts as a preservative and a humectant.
2) I wrote to SVR about the pH value because of the other reviewer (that claimed the pH was 9) and SVR wrote it's 6.2-6.8, so just on the acidic side. This is a French brand with a long tradition and EU is known for strict cosmetic regulations. A product described as "for sensitive, intolerant and polyallergic skin" would never come close to stores if it had a pH value of 9.

All in all it's a perfect cleanser for when the skin is extremely sensitive. I give it one star less just because it's not my everyday cleanser anymore (too heavy for everyday once my skin settled into tret) and because I'd actually prefer if there were ceramides in it like it says on here, since it's also one of the reasons I bought it.