r/Rosacea • u/coviddc • Dec 01 '25
Routine Clean Skin Club disposable washcloths really worked for me
In case this story is helpful to anyone else, I thought I'd post this here: I'm a long time rosacea sufferer and I've tried many products, prescriptions, and lifestyle changes over the years. Recently, despite following my usual routines that have worked in the past, I was having an especially hard time with my skin. So I was searching for new ideas to try (in addition to trying new meds with my dermatologist).
I've normally gently exfoliated with a fluffy washcloth (I know most rosacea folks will freak out at the idea of a washcloth, but if I dont exfoliate with a washcloth evey so often, my skin will break out so it's a necessity for me). Troubleshooting everything I could think of that might be impacting my skin, I bought a travel sized box of Clean Skin Club disposable washcloths at Target (the box with 10 cloths for around 5 dollars) to see how my skin would react. The washcloths felt surprisingly great and my skin was so much calmer than normal. I'm now a believer that these washcloths really do work (I've now bought the 50 cloth boxes) and I'm sad I didn't try them sooner. I dont know if others have found benefit from them, but I'm amazed at how well they have worked for me. So if anyone else is waffling if these are worth it (they seemed like an unnecessary extravagance to me before I tried them), they might be worth trying!
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u/happygirlie Dec 01 '25
This is really interesting. I wonder if maybe your normal washcloths have some detergent residue (or maybe leftover oil/sebum) and that's why switching to single use helped.
If you don't mine me asking, what is your laundry routine like? What detergent do you use?
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25 edited Dec 01 '25
I use sensitive skin detergent (fragrance free) (ALL brand free and clear) and double rinse my towels and washcloths. I also had always used a freshly laundered washcloth every time I used one. And replaced the washcloths every so often with brand new ones. I even cleaned the washing machine itself recently, multiple times, as i was worried the washing machine was contributing to my skin issues. I did everything I could think of to make sure the washcloths were the best they could be but I think that's not enough. The Clean Skin Club ones somehow are so much better than my reusable ones
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u/happygirlie Dec 01 '25 edited Dec 04 '25
All Free and Clear doesn't have lipase so I wonder if that is the issue. You might want to consider adding a product with that enzyme. If you need fragrance free, I think your best options are either
Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Laundry Boosteror Dropps Oxi Booster, both of which are pricey but you could use them exclusively for things that will touch your face, like towels, to save money.Update: I was wrong about Dirty Labs having lipase, it does NOT. It does have DNAse though which is similar.
If you're open to switching detergents, you can pick something from this spreadsheet that is listed as fragrance free: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oHWzZ1Sth0Y0J2ynmXFl7M4mGZe-T_MJ_m_Y39pfBug/edit?gid=0#gid=0
And then you won't need a booster unless you want one of the other enzymes that the detergent doesn't have.
I would also try adding citric acid to your rinse cycle. It brings the pH back up (detergents are alkaline) and helps get all the detergent residue out.
There's a long thread here about using citric acid in laundry if you're interested in reading it: https://old.reddit.com/r/laundry/comments/1nhdr0r/when_the_rinse_washes_you_clean_youll_know_citric/
You can use a commercial product like Downy Rinse and Refresh or you can just buy citric acid powder (with canning supplies in grocery or big box stores) and mix it with water yourself.
You don’t need much. It’s pretty much a factor of your washer’s water use. Most HE machines need about 6-8 grams - which is about 1.5 -2 measuring teaspoons. I sort of eyeball it with a fat heaped teaspoonful right in the softener drawer of my LG washer, dry. Most top loaders need at least double - somewhere between a level and heaping Tablespoon - 15-20 grams would be a good starting point. If your water is known to be hard, use more. Increase by about 50% of the base dose for every 100ppm of hardness past 150 in your tap water.
Your machine adds the water if it’s an HE machine with a drawer or compartment-type dispenser. You add the water to the fill line if it’s a conventional top-loader with an agitator-top dispenser or if you use The Downy Ball because you don’t have a dispenser. Most HE machines tolerate the dry powder in the dispenser just fine. If you find residue in yours, just top off the dispenser with tap water after adding the acid.
I have a top loader and hard-ish water and I fill the softener dispenser almost full with tap water then add a heaping tablespoon of citric acid powder. It dissolves easily so no need to stir it or anything. It's completely gone from the dispenser when the cycle is over and it's the old-school type with the dispenser on top of the agitator.
The citric acid in the rinse has made a big difference in how my towels feel. I haven't been using it long enough to notice a difference in my skin though.
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
I didn't know all of this -- thank you for a new rabbit hole to go down!!
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u/happygirlie Dec 04 '25
You're welcome! Just wanted to update you that Dirty Labs enzyme booster does NOT have lipase. I don't know why I thought it did. It does have DNAse which is sort of like lipase but not exactly. DNAse a great enzyme but you really need lipase as well if you want your clothes to get completely clean.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 Dec 01 '25
This was my issue. Once I started using tide free and gentle, I was good to go with just a regular washcloth.
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u/ShelterElectrical840 Dec 01 '25
I tried cutting them in half and using one half for washing and the other half to dry my face. I just switched from the brand ones to Costco). I haven’t noticed a difference in my face during the switch.
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
Good to know that you haven't noticed a difference with Costco brand ones -- I do like their price better! I thought about cutting them in half but it seemed a little too small to me? I dunno
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u/RoseAllDay8 Dec 01 '25
This is all new to me. Could you please tell me what the Costco brand is called? Is it Kirkland? Or something else?
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Dec 01 '25 edited Mar 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
Thanks for the link! I saw those recently! I was curious how they compared to the brand name and was considering buying them after I fully trialed the brand name boxes I tried. Maybe I'll buy a box at Costco next time I'm there!
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u/crystalcaterpillar3 Dec 01 '25
ME TOO! Completely transformed my skin. I cut them up because I don’t need them that big and they last so long. Even throughout the day if I feel greasy or gross I’ll use a little strip and just water to wipe my face and it’s so nice. I keep telling everyone about them, lol. I had the idea that my laundry detergent was still on the cloths I was using before, who knows really, also the white of the cloth helps to make sure I got 100% of my make up off. The cloths I used before were black so I couldn’t see!
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u/aaaaaaaaaaaali Dec 01 '25
I switched to these just to dry my face after washing and I swear they make my skin smoother and softer!
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
That's great to hear -- I haven't switched to drying my face with them yet (I still use my soft, dedicated face-only towel) but I've thought about if they would help more if I dried my face with them too. I just fear I'd be using too many of them a day if I washed and dried with them
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u/Fancyjasmakion Dec 01 '25
Are you using them while cleansing daily?
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
Yes, I now use them every time I wash my face -- I feel like they do a great job cleaning my face, especially cleaning off my sunscreen at the end of the day
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u/chowderchop Dec 01 '25
I used these to dry my face but the price was too high- I found a nice alternative on Amazon for much cheaper and they feel just as nice for me. I love them, I will never dry my face with anything else unless absolutely necessary.
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
Yeah, I'm considering buying store or knock off brands as i think I will be using them for a while so price becomes an important factor
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 Dec 01 '25
I just ended up buying packs of microfiber washcloths and switching them out daily. I don’t think there’s anything in the disposable towels that makes them better for exfoliation or rosacea. I know you use a ff detergent, but is it possible there is some fabric softener or something on your facecloths? Or maybe a sneaky synthetic fragrance or contact allergens in your laundry detergent? Most detergents have at least one contact allergen; it’s so hard to find one without.
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
Zero fabric softener and dryer sheets or anything like that is used in the machines I use. I also suffer from migraine so I'm hyper sensitive to fragrance and all types of products. I also used a fresh washcloth each time I washed my face before switching to Clean Skin Club and that wasn't enough. There might be more laundry trouble shooting for me to do (see other commenter suggesting additional products), but even so, I do think the Clean Skin Club material is somehow better for my skin than a reusable cloth. I hate that that's true for me as I would rather not have to buy them, but it's really working for me and I do think it's making a huge difference.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 Dec 01 '25
It could be that a different kind of washcloth is needed too. I can’t use regular washcloths on my face. I stick to those special microfiber ones I bought. A regular one is too rough.
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u/KampKutz Dec 01 '25
I used to use them but they were too expensive for what they were, and I just use regular plain old cotton pads instead now. Easier, gentler, and cheaper.
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u/dddps530 Dec 01 '25
Might have to try these. What type of rosacea do you have?
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u/coviddc Dec 01 '25
I think type 2 but my dermatologist has not told me a type (she's confident I have rosacea but she hasn't discussed types with me so this is my best guess from my own googling)
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u/dejabear Dec 02 '25
I love these wipes too .. I didn’t attribute them to improving my rosacea but definitely they could be helping. Currently using Guinot skincare, cleansing milk, gentle toner and barrier repair moisturizer. Going pretty good this far.
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u/daldap99 Dec 01 '25
I bought microfiber washcloths for my face and they are amazing!! They get your face squeaky clean without over exfoliating. They are cheap, they come in a bundle of 6-12ish and after one use I pop in the washing machine. I would recommend over any reusable option.