Cleansing has always been my favourite skincare step.
It’s the one I have the most memories of. The one most closely tied to habit, and the beliefs we absorb about what “good skin” should feel like.
As a teenager, my routine revolved around St Ives apricot scrub. Scrubbing was the point. If your skin felt polished and tight afterwards, it was working. The Body Shop passionfruit cleansing gel was another firm favourite. Fresh, fruity, and gloriously squeaky clean.
Breakouts were treated with everything 'Clearasil', often layered on top of everything else for good measure. Tightness wasn’t a side effect. Can you believe it was the goal?
That was the culture many of us grew up in. Clean meant stripped. Effort meant results.
As my awareness grew around animal cruelty and cosmetic testing, I ventured into Lush. Most of it was far too strong for my nose, but Angels on Bare Skin stayed with me for a long while. It felt gentler and kinder, but was still a physically exfoliating.
I’m fairly sure Anne French made an appearance at some point too. And it was around then that I realised that a simple moisturiser, something like Oil of Olay, could be used to cleanse. It removed makeup easily, rinsed away without residue, and didn’t leave my skin feeling parched.
That felt quietly radical at the time.
In truth, I wore very little makeup through my twenties and thirties. Lipstick doubled as blush. A little eyeliner. Most days, I used nothing but water to wash my face.
What I didn’t realise then was that my skin tolerated this simplicity because it could. Youthful skin recovers quickly. It produces lipids more readily, and the barrier repairs itself with relative ease.
Midlife skin does not behave in the same way.
When cleansing habits outlast skin physiology
Thankfully, cleansers have evolved. Formulations today are far more sophisticated than what many of us used growing up. But habits are slow to change.
Many of us still carry the idea that if skin doesn’t feel tight after cleansing, it isn’t properly clean. And when skin starts to feel uncomfortable, the instinct is often to cleanse more thoroughly, not less.
In midlife, this is where problems quietly begin.
As oestrogen levels decline, the skin produces fewer natural lipids. Barrier recovery slows down. Nerve endings become more sensitive. What once felt refreshing can now feel uncomfortable, and aggravating.
That tight feeling after cleansing is no longer neutral. It’s information.
Why does skin feel tight after cleansing in midlife?
From a skin physiology perspective, tightness after cleansing usually signals lipid loss.
The outer layer of the skin relies on a delicate structure of lipids to retain moisture and protect against irritation. Surfactant-rich cleansers, particularly when combined with hot water or frequent use, can dissolve these lipids faster than the skin can replace them.
In younger skin, recovery is relatively swift. In midlife skin, it often isn’t.
This is why skin can start reacting to products it previously tolerated well. The issue is often not the serum or moisturiser. It’s the condition of the skin they’re being applied to.
Why pushing harder rarely helps
When skin feels unsettled, many women respond by trying to correct it.
Cleansing more thoroughly.
Adding harsh exfoliation.
Switching products frequently.
These responses are totally understandable. But they tend to keep the skin in a low-grade state of stress. Skin does not build resilience through force. It builds it through support.
A cleanser’s role is not to purify the skin at all costs. It is to remove surface debris while leaving the barrier intact enough to recover, repair and function.
A supportive approach to cleansing in midlife
Supportive cleansing doesn’t need to be elaborate.
It looks like:
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Gentle cleansing that doesn’t strip
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Lukewarm water
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Fewer steps, not more
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Replenishing lipids while the skin is still receptive
This is not about doing less care. It’s about doing the right kind of care, consistently.
This is the rhythm I return to again and again, both personally and in product development.
I wrote more about this approach in Care That Fits Into Real Days
The busy-day version
On real days, when energy is low and routines need to hold themselves, simplicity matters most.
One gentle cleanse.
One supportive serum.
Evenings rather than mornings, if that’s where care fits more naturally.
You can explore the simple two-step ritual I rely on here:
Where nourishment fits
When cleansing stops stripping, the skin becomes more responsive to nourishment.
Lipid-rich formulas help replenish what cleansing can unintentionally remove. Over time, this steadier approach supports barrier comfort and tolerance.
Just enough support, repeated often enough to matter.
A quieter definition of “clean”
Cleansed skin does not need to feel tight to be clean.
If your skin feels calm after cleansing.
If it settles more quickly.
If reactions reduce rather than escalate.
That is cleansing doing its job.
Skincare isn’t indulgent or frivolous. It’s how skin is supported over time.
And if your skin feels slightly unsettled right now, returning to gentler care is often the most skilful place to begin.
If your skin feels tight after cleansing
This is the point where I recommend returning to a gentle, oil-based cleanser.
Followed by steady, lipid-rich support.
The Hux + Mū Signature Ritual was designed for skin that feels
easily unsettled, dry or sensitive. Two steps. Used consistently. No excess.
You can explore it here → The Hux + Mū Signature Ritual