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Dr. Loretta Micro-Exfoliating Cleanser Ingredients Explained

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Published on July 25, 2023

Overview

What it is

Face cleanser with 15 ingredients that contains BHA

Cool Features

It is cruelty-free and reef safe

Suited For

It has ingredients that are good for fighting acne, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, oily skin, reducing pores and scar healing

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates

Fun facts

Dr. Loretta is from United States.

We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.

You should know

Here's our breakdown of the notable ingredients, benefits, and concerns we determined from the ingredients in this product. Click any item to learn more.

Notable Ingredients

BHA

Benefits

Hydrating
Good For Oily Skin
Redness Reducing
Reduces Irritation
Reduces Large Pores
Scar Healing
Acne Fighting
Brightening (2)

Concerns

Drying (2)
Acne Trigger (2)
Irritating
Rosacea (2)
Eczema

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

Ingredients Overview

Here's our quick-to-read summary of the ingredients in this product. Keep scrolling if you'd like to learn more about what each ingredient does!
Ingredient
Features
1
Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning
BHA IconPreservative IconCan worsen Dry Skin IconGood for Oily Skin IconMay cause irritation IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps fight Acne IconMay worsen Eczema IconMay worsen Rosacea IconHelps brighten skin Icon
2
Skin Conditioning, Solvent
3
Cleansing
4
Masking
Can worsen Dry Skin IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconMay worsen Rosacea Icon
5
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
0 / 0
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps brighten skin Icon
6
Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising
7
Cleansing, Emulsion Stabilising
8
Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning
4 / 0
Fragrance IconOil IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon
9
Emulsion Stabilising, Masking
10
Emollient, Emulsifying
11
Buffering, Masking
AHA IconMay cause irritation IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconGood for Scar Healing IconMay worsen Rosacea IconHelps brighten skin Icon
12
Buffering
13
Skin Conditioning
Helps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation Icon
14
Skin Protecting
15
Emollient, Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Ingredients Explained

This product contains 15 ingredients. Click on any ingredient to learn more about it
1
What it does: Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

This multitasking property makes it a great ingredient for cleaning out pores, controlling oil production, and reducing inflammation.

Unlike AHAs which are water soluble, Salicylic Acid is oil soluble. This means that it's able to exfoliate the inside of pores and reduce blackheads.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing a Salicylic Acid into your routine.

In general, Salicylic Acid is a great ingredient for oily acne-prone skin.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun-sensitivity, we still recommend wearing SPF.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Learn more about Salicylic Acid
2
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
3
What it does: Cleansing
Community Rating: Liked

Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate is a cleansing ingredient. It is a surfactant, meaning it helps gather dirt, oil, and other pollutants. This helps them be rinsed away easily.

4
What it does: Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt.

This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

There is much debate on whether this ingredient is comedogenic. The short answer - comedogenic ratings don't tell the whole story. Learn more about comegodenic ratings here.

The concensus about this ingredient causing acne seems to be divided. Research is needed to understand if this ingredient does cause acne.

Scrubs may use salt as the primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride
5
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
6
What it does: Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising

We don't have a description for Cocamide Mipa.

7
What it does: Cleansing, Emulsion Stabilising
Community Rating: Mixed

Decyl Glucoside is a glucose-based surfactant. Surfactants help clean the skin by trapping oil, sebum, and dirt to be washed away.

It is created from the fatty acids in coconut oil.

Decyl Glucoside also helps stabilize the ingredients in a product by preventing them from separating.

This ingredient is biodegradable and non-toxic. This ingredient is commonly found in baby shampoos.

Decyl Glucoside is sometimes used to stabilize the UV filter Tinosorb.

Learn more about Decyl Glucoside
8
What it does: Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Cocos Nucifera Oil is obtained from the kernels of the coconut fruit. In other words, this is coconut oil.

Coconut Oil is rich in fatty acids with lauric acid making up the majority of these. It also contains linoleic acid. Due to this high fatty acid content, coconut oil helps trap moisture and soften skin.

Despite being antibacterial, coconut oil may not be great for acne-prone skin. It is comedogenic and may clog pores. This ingredient may not be safe for malassezia or fungal acne.

Coconut Oil should not replace your sunscreen for UV protection. Studies show it only blocks about 20% of UV.

This oil is non-volatile and has a light scent.

The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.

Learn more about Cocos Nucifera Oil
9
What it does: Emulsion Stabilising, Masking

Guar gum is made from the guar bean, a plant native to India. It is considered a form of polysaccharide and naturally contains sugar.

This ingredient is often used to thicken a product or create a gel-like consistency.

It also has emulsion properties to help keep ingredients together.

Learn more about Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba Gum
10
What it does: Emollient, Emulsifying
Community Rating: Mixed

Glyceryl Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid, a fatty acid from coconut.

Glyceryl Caprylate is used for its emollient and emulsifier properties.

As an emollient, it helps hydrate your skin. Emollients work by creating a barrier on your skin to trap moisture in, helping to keep your skin soft and smooth.

Glyceryl Caprylate helps keep the ingredients such as oil and water together as an emulsifier.

Learn more about Glyceryl Caprylate
11
What it does: Buffering, Masking
Community Rating: Disliked

Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).

If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.

As an AHA, Citric Acid removes the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and look more even.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

Learn more about Citric Acid
12
What it does: Buffering
Community Rating: Mixed

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

Learn more about Sodium Hydroxide
13
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.

Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.

It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.

Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
14
What it does: Skin Protecting
Community Rating: Liked

We don't have a description for Salix Nigra Bark Extract.

15
What it does: Emollient, Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning

This ingredient is an emollient and emulsifier.

Due to its thick oil / waxy texture, it has emollient properties. Emollients help hydrate skin by creating a thin film. This film prevents moisture from escaping.

Glyceryl Undecylenate is created from glycerin and undecylenic acid.

Undecylenic Acid is a fungal treatment, but is not as effective as newer medications.

Due to this, it may not be Malassezia folliculitis safe.

Learn more about Glyceryl Undecylenate
Embed Ingredients

Here's what our community thinks of the 15 ingredients in this product ✨

40% are loved or liked
20% have mixed ratings
20% are disliked or very disliked
20% have no rating yet
Verified by SkinSort

We're dedicated to providing you with the most up-to-date and science-backed ingredient info out there.

The data we've presented on this page has been verified by a member of the SkinSort Team.

Read more about us

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