ADVERTISEMENT INFO: SOME PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS POST ARE PR (GIFTED) AND LINKS USED ARE AFFILIATE LINKS. I RECEIVED NO MONEY TO WRITE THE BLOGPOST. PLEASE READ DISCLAIMER
The Inkey List Hydrating Cream To Milk Cleanser says it’s accepted by the National Eczema Association (NEA) on the brand website. But what is the NEA? And what does accepted by them even mean?
We will take a look at that and discuss if you should care even if you don’t suffer from eczema.
What The Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser claims
A cream-to-milk cleanser that melts away makeup, impurities, and pollution fast. Skin feels clean, hydrated and fresh. No stripping. No drama. No BS. Accepted by the National Eczema Association, it’s suitable for even the most sensitive skin.
What is the National Eczema Association (NEA)?
The National Eczema Association is a non.profit organisation dedicated to eczema awareness and research. Their target group is medical professionals as well as people suffering from eczema and their caregivers. On their website you’ll find both scientific informations as well as lifestyle tipps and general education. They also have an advisory board that judges products based on a list of things they deem harmful for eczema sufferers and give the „Accepted by the NEA“ seal to those that are found suitable for use.
Now I can’t say anything about this list, the approval process or the way skincare is selected for approval. It could very well be a process you need to pay for, which always feels a little biased. Or it couldn’t, I simply have no idea. The „Accepted by the NEA“ seal isn’t as rare as I initially thought though. When you look at their website, you’ll find 112 different cleansers, with well-known brands like The Ordinary, Byoma and La Roche Posay among them.
Facts about The Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser
Prize and size
The cleanser is packaged in a pump bottle in the typical sleek black and white design. The pump works really well for distributing a good amount of product and can be locked for traveling. One bottle contains 180 ml and is available for 18 € on the website here.
Texture and smell
The product itself is unscented, which does not mean it has no scent. Like many other unscented products I get a faint whiff of something plasticky, which is most likely the ingredients own scent without the masking of added fragrance. It is very subtle though, so not something to worry about.
Quite fitting for the name „cream to milk“, the cleanser has a creamy and slightly off-white look to it when pumped out of the bottle.
How to use The Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser
According to the website, you massage it onto dry skin, then wet your hands with water, emulsify it while keeping on massaging until it turns into a milk, and then rinse it off. That works quite well, but I admit I’m not the biggest fan of the texture it turns into once you emulsify it. What is supposed to feel milky feels a tad slimy to me – not in a way that would deter me from using it, but I am simply not the biggest fan.
While it does rinse clean with a slight layer on the skin I have come to know from hydrating cleansing options – it feels like a layer of protection, if you understand what I mean, not like residue – I prefer taking it off with a wash cloth. That doesn’t remove the feeling of protected skin, but helps me get rid of mascara and liner leftovers a little better. Despite the „melts away makeup“ claim, I found it to struggle with heavier eye makeup. The liner I wear right now is waterproof, so I might forgive that, but my mascara is just a regular one and if I don’t go in with a wash cloth I wake up with panda eyes and smudged mascara. To be fair, the website will tell you to keep it away from the eyes and list it as second cleanse in „The Inkey Way to Double Cleanse„, right after The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm (full review here), so I assume it isn’t designed to be used for makeup removal, but I admit when I read the claims I had expected it to work better here.
Even though the website recommends keeping it away from the eyes, I don’t think it is unsafe to use there. I noticed some mild stinging when my eyes were already irritated (I wear contacts and stare at the computer screen all day long), but more often than not it felt absolutely fine.
Still, I prefer it either as a second or as a morning cleanse.
In terms of keeping the skin hydrated, it didn’t fully live up to my expectations either. It is certainly not stripping, so if you are used to foaming gel cleansers, you will notice a difference in how your skin feels, but if I had used it and didn’t follow up with my regular skincare routine immediately, my skin would get a little tight. Now keep in mind that my skin isn’t as oily as it used to be all through my youth, especially in the colder months it can dry a little easier than it used to, but it still is far from being dry.
Ingredients of The Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser
sii|h 0 0, Ethylhexyl Palmitate emo 0 2–4, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate emo|amic, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides emu|surf, Betaine 
h, Polyglyceryl-3 Dicitrate/Stearate emu|surf, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer vc, Isohexadecane emo|solv, Pentylene Glycol solv|h, Propanediol solv|h, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emo, Hydroxyacetophenone aox|pres, Oryza Sativa (Rice Starch), Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Cetearyl Olivate emu, Polysorbate 80 emu|surf 0 0, Sorbitan Olivate emu, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Sorbitan Oleate emu 0 3, Xanthan Gum vc, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil aox|emo, Inulin , Polyquaternium-10 vc, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate h, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Phenoxyethanol pres, Lecithin emo|emuHover the mouse over an ingredient for short explanation. Read more on INCIDecoder.
Now when you look at the ingredient list (which will always only tell you a small part of what there is to know about the product), it behaves just as I would have expected: Not the most thorough cleanse, but not stripping either, a little hydrating, but not too much. There is Glycerin as humectant – a very good one, but slightly less effective as it gets in parts washed off again – and Betaine made from Sugar Beet, again working as a humectant. The Shea Butter you will find has emollient properties, probably adding to that feeling of a protective layer, and Rice Bran Oil aiming to protect the skin as well. The Inulin you’ll see is a probiotic, meaning food for the good bacteria making up your skin microbiome. The skin microbiome is a very interesting topic of research as it apparently influences skin health in a meaningful way, but as I already said in my post of the skin microbiome here, there is still way too much we don’t know about what makes a microbiome „good“ to effectively influence it with topical products.
More info: How to read the skincare ingredient list.
Does it live up to its claims?
In parts.
It isn’t stripping and leaves the skin feeling fresh, but it certainly doesn’t melt away makeup. At least not all of it.
How does it compare to…
the face theory Vitamin C Cream Cleanser
I am not sure if they make that one anymore, and if they do it surely has different packaging as face theory rebranded shortly after sending me products to test, but I still hold this cleanser in find memory. It was one of the first cream cleansers that really excited me, and while it probably wouldn’t get the NEA approval as it contains fragrance, I as someone without eczema loved the subtle citrus scent. (More info: Is fragrance in your skincare bad for you?) It also has a lovely texture, making it my favourite out of the two, but if money is tight, The Inkey List surely is the better value per money.
You can read my full review of the face theory Vitamin C Cream Cleanser here.
pixi Rose Cream Cleanser
Again, this option wouldn’t get the NEA seal, as it also contains fragrant essential oils – if you had expected something rose scented though, you would be disappointed. It smells quite medicinal. pixie version feels like a cream and is very gentle and hydrating, but judging by the ingredient list is more of a clay based cleanser. That makes it an interesting option for those with congestion prone skin that is also treated with stronger actives and subsequently prone to dehydration. It also means it wouldn’t be my first choice to use it around the eyes to remove makeup. And again, The Inkey List has the better value for money here.
You can read my full review of the pixi Rose Cream Cleanser here.
Would I repurchase and which skin types do I recommend The Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser to?
To sum it up, the Inkey List Hydrating Cream to Milk Cleanser is a really nice cleanser, but not mind-blowing. It is great for those that have more irritated or sensitive skin, basically those of us that are more mature and use actives – or those that are simply born that way – and want a gentle cleanse. It isn’t mind-blowing hydrating though, and it also isn’t the most thorough cleanse, so it’s probably not the best for those that wear either heavy makeup and want to be done in one cleanse or that have really oily skin. But for everyone else, perfectly fine.
For me, I really like it, but I don’t love it, so I think it’s just one of these cleansers that I will happily keep on using until they are gone and then forget about them.
Shop The Inkey List skincare here
Don’t forget to check out the Discount Code Page on top if you want to save some money on your next skincare purchase, or click here to let me build a personalized skincare routine for you.
If you want to get more involved and pick my next topics or see exclusive behind the scenes content, don’t forget you can head over here and become a YouTube Channel Member!
