Personal care products have gone up a lot and Cetaphil (multipurpose cleanser and makeup remover) has now been reformulated in a way that’s irritating to a lot of people, so here you go.
While it’s often considered as a moisturiser sorbolene was created as a gentle soap free cleanser and can remove makeup because of the oil in it - like dissolves like. I have even used it in the past to remove eye makeup.
Disclaimer: Despite being gentle and unscented some people (unfortunately including me) can still be sensitive to sorbolene and find it causes stinging and redness.
I have no idea whether this is due to the glycerin, the fact that it contains a small amount of detergent, or something else. ie. a damaged skin barrier, a reaction to a preservative, or just some kind of allergy.
You might want to do a patch test first (which is a good idea for any new product) and be aware it wasn’t originally made to be left on your skin.
However if your skin doesn’t have these sensitivities?
It’s a great multipurpose product that removes makeup, can be used as a gentle cleanser or baby wash, and may be used as a basic face/body lotion if it does not cause you issues to do so.
Try a small $2-3 bottle. If it works for you, spending $8 for a 1L multipurpose bottle may help you save heaps on all the specialised products.
The Redwin 1l sorbolene used to regularly be on special for half price at Woolworths. It’s on special now 1.1l for $6.60. Edit:$5.50 at CW, and Enya is $4.39 for 1l
Some people use sorbolene as a soap in the shower. Less harsh than soap, and no soap scum, so easier to clean.
My parents had a skin doctor who swore that the entire cosmetic industry was a farce and that none of the products would do any better than moisturising with sorbolene.