Cleansing sticks. Have you heard of them? After reading this Allure article, I sent a note out to the W&D team to see if they wanted to test out the newest way to clean your skin. I think I was in a hotel when I read the article and so tired from the day, I’m almost positive I thought the idea would somehow make cleaning my face seem like less of a chore. So, we set out to test and try all the sticks on this list. As we brought home and exchanged the different cleansing sticks between the team, we were excited to compare and contrast our findings at the office. While cleansing sticks may sound like a fancied up way of saying soap and water – a couple of these beauty sticks really lived up to the hype and made new customers out of the W&D team.

Julep’s ‘Love Your Bare Face’ was the first stick we tried, and Bridget, our Director of Events was the first to work out the kinks of usage. The lesson here? Read the directions. You may think you know how to clean your face after doing it for thirty-ish years, but in Bridget’s case, not so much. Directions are important. Instead of reading how this stick should be used and applied, she started applying the stick directly to her face. It wasn’t lathering, it felt sticky, and overall, things were not going so well. She then took a step back from the sink and decided it was time to read the side of the cleansing stick. Well, you are supposed to wet your face and hands first, and then rub the stick onto your hands. From there, transfer the cleansing gel from your hands to your face and lather + rinse with warm water. Who would have thought following directions would lead to success? Well, after Bridget gave us the crash course on how to use the stick – we all came back and collectively agreed– we love this stick. Our faces felt unbelievably fresh and clean. And I think it’s safe to say, we’re addicted to the Julep stick after one use, we even considered bringing it into work so we could do lunchtime cleanses.

The second stick we tried was the Su:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick – and for this one, we all read the directions first. When using this stick, you are directed to wet your face, then apply the stick directly to your face and lather in a circular motion. With this cleansing stick, you get a bit of exfoliant as you cleanse, due to the shriveled up bits of rose petals in the formula (fancy, huh?).  Perhaps because of the ingredients, this stick felt the most natural, and we experienced a similar fresh and clean feeling as the Julep stick. Honestly, though, even after using the Miracle Rose stick, we all had very clean skin, and yet, we still wanted to wash our faces again with the Julep stick.

Finally, we gave the Boscia Charcoal Cleansing stick treatment a whirl. We’ve all been interested in activated charcoal and the skin benefits it offers because charcoal cleansing is very “in” right now. But to be honest, this was our least favorite cleansing stick. While our pores felt slightly clean, it didn’t give us the same overall clean feeling as the Julep or Su:M37. This stick almost made us feel like we wanted to wash our faces again. It would be great to use once or twice a week, but not for a daily cleanse.

Overall lessons? Read directions. Research before buying – everyone’s skin and experience is different, so doing a little research beforehand about what type of product will work best with your skin will make the investment worth it. (And when did cleansers have to become an investment? But alas, here we are). And finally – don’t fall into ‘buying whatever is trendy’ trap. I’ve had that $300 Sephora bill before – it’s never worth it.

Image from Julep Beauty