Bioderma sebium foaming gel is a purifying cleanser for those who have oily or combination skin. Bioderma claims that this cleanser is gentle and doesn’t dry the skin.
We’ve previously reviewed Bioderma Sebium Hydra (A moisturiser from the same product range) which include a good combination of ingredients to keep the skin hydrated during agressive acne treatments.
Contrary to the popular belief, when a person suffers from acne prone skin it’s always better to use a gentle cleanser able to remove skin dirt and impurities without drying it out. That happens due to the fact that the more dry the more dehydrated the skin will be so it will produce more sebum to compensate moisture loss. So let’s see how this cleanser performs!
Texture and appearance
This cleanser comes in a gel texture that easily spreads over the skin with water. Once you start cleansing the skin, it forms some bubbles as it name says (foaming).
Once the skin is cleaned and the cleanser it’s removed with water it doesn’t leave any residue and it’s not noticeable in the skin.
Effectiveness
Bioderma claims this cleanser isn’t drying, and I agree with that, it is one of the most gentle cleansers for acne prone skin that i’ve tried together with Aderma Phys-Ac cleanser.
I consider it gentle enough for any oily or acne prone skin including for those who are on isotretinoin. It may leave the skin more hydrated due to its hydrating sugar components.
The cleanser can effectively remove oil and impurities from skin, but I don’t consider it as effective as other more aggressive cleansers that I’ve tried at removing heavy sunscreens and it may need 2-3 washes to remove some sunscreens.
Ingredients analysis
This cleanser offers a minimal formula with not too many unnecessary ingredients, we have to take into account that it includes fragrance and a color pigment which from my point of view shouldn’t be included in any product.
This cleanser is free from parabens, common allergens and comedogenic ingredients.
Mix of gentle surfactants
This cleanser contains a mix of gentle surfactants (excluding sodium laureth sulfate that is not as harsh as other surfactants but it could dry out dry skin types) in this case it seems like a good choice since it does not leave skin dehydrated and can clean it properly.
But as i’ve mentioned before, I feel like you need more amount of the product to get a perfect clean than what I expected.
Mannitol, xylitol, rhamnose and fructooligosaccharides
They are different types of sugar alcohol that act as skin conditioners and humectants providing moisture to the skin.
Zinc sulfate and copper sulfate
They’re antimicrobial and they act limiting the proliferation of certain bacteria that could aggravate skin conditions like acne.
However there’s little research regarding the use of these ingredients in the skin care field and there’s a concern about zinc sulfate causing skin to dry out, but it doesn’t happen in this case.
Odor and packaging
Packaging is perfect, since it comes in 200ml and 500ml versions and both have a pump dispenser.
It has a light and pleasant odor, but I don’t consider necessary to include fragrance in cleanser, specifically in cleansers for acne prone skin since it only poses a risk for some allergies and skin irritation.
Moreover, since most people use a moisturizer after cleansers, the odor will be imperceptible.
Price value
You can find bioderma sebium foaming gel for just 5-8€ in its 200ml version and 8-12€ its 500ml. That’s a bargain which makes this gel one of the cheapest options you can find if you want to buy a good cleansing gel.
The verdict
At this point, I’ve to admit that this cleansers is one of the gentlest cleansers that I’ve used for acne prone skin and for its price and its good ingredient selection it wouldn’t be easy not to recommend it.
I recommend it for those who have a sensitive acne prone skin and want a good formula free of allergens and any other problematic ingredient.
However as I’ve said in other products reviews, if you plan to remove heavy water resistant sunscreens, it won’t probably be the best choice since you’ll have to use it two times or more.