We adore multitasking options around here—and cleansing balms tend to perform other tasks quite well. Take this balm infused with lotus extract, jojoba seed oil, and avocado seed oil. It can help melt away stubborn makeup, hydrate day and night, and doubles as a deep-conditioning face mask. 

Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm, Beautycounter ($72)  

The brand is famous for their proprietary tulip complex that is rich with antioxidants and amino acids for barrier support and protection. (It's infused into all their products, including this jelly face wash.) The blend also contains hyaluronic acid for an extra splash of hydration and suppleness.  

Royal Tulip Cleansing Jelly, Bloomeffects ($39)

There is a reason this brand is so beloved by professionals, celebrities, and skin care fans alike: It does the work. It's really all thanks to the high-tech plant stem cell complex, which helps restore and care for your barrier. The ingredient has been shown to reduce wrinkles, redness, inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and more. 

The Cleansing Balm, Augustinus Bader ($74)

We know you love vegan milks in your coffee and smoothies, so may we interest you in having it in your face wash as well? Oat milk is deeply soothing for the skin (oats and colloidal oats are a mainstay in beauty, after all). Plus, this contains a coconut yogurt extract to balance skin and reduce redness, while vitamin E adds a blast of antioxidants.

Beauty Milk Melt Vegan Oat Cleanser, BYBI ($17)   

Did you know that silver makes for a great skin care addition? Well, silver hydrosol is one of the active ingredients in this dewy blend, and it has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. That's not all, however, this also contains oat, sweet almond oil, vitamin E, and argan oil—which are what account for the decadent hydration. 

La Lune de Velours, Argentum Apothecary ($138) 

One of the reasons cleansing balms are so popular is because of their transforming textures. This one starts off as a solid (almost like a butter that you scoop out of the jar), then melts into an oil when applied to the face. As an oil, it's able to break up stubborn makeup on the skin. And for the grand finale? It slips into a milk when blended with water to rinse off your face.

Cleansing Balm, John Masters Organic ($36)

May we interest you in a spa in a jar? Yes? OK, here's a dissolving butter that slinks into skin and smells of relaxing and refreshing eucalyptus. The formula also contains vitamin E, jojoba oil, avocado oil, and clove leaf oil—which make it just as good for the skin as for your senses. 

Dissolve Cleansing Balm, Versed Day ($17.99)

A powerhouse of botanical oils, this blend delivers exactly what you want. There's sweet almond oil for tending to mature skin, fair trade shea butter for texture and hydration, coffee seed oil for tone, and baobab oil for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.

Sweet Almond Cleansing Oil Balm, Nyakio ($25)

For those looking to amp up dull, tired skin: This uses papaya enzymes, which are naturally exfoliating to help slough off excess dead skin cells (but does so oh-so-gently!). Then it blends together turmeric and moringa oil for their antioxidant and brightening effects. The oil base comes from sunflower and ginger root oils. 

Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm, Farmacy ($47.69)

If you have oil and acne-prone skin, don't be shy: You, too, can embrace the joy that is a cleansing balm. The special ingredients in this option are the antibacterial olive leaf, coconut, and blood orange that purify the pores by banishing acne-causing bacteria when massaged into skin.

Blood Orange Cleansing Balm, 100% Pure ($39)

If there is one thing I wax poetic about, it's the skin microbiome: If you want healthy skin, you have to tend to the trillions of microflora that live on your skin. This uses fermented oat extract, which can help nurture the biotics on your skin. Then it supports your lipid layer with a cocktail of botanical oils. 

Oil-to-Milk Cleanser, Cocokind ($18.99)

So cleansing balms tend to run more expensive than your average face cleanser (namely because they're made with more expensive ingredients). But you can find quality options on a budget. This one runs a clean $15 and certainly holds its own with sea buckthorn oil, camellia oil, and shea butter.

Cleansing Balm, Good Molecules ($15)

Mature skin deserves extra care and attention: It's often more sensitive, drier, and more prone to damage. Because of this, we encourage people to use only the most gentle of face washes. This uses rosa centifolia and chamomile flower oil to improve skin's elasticity and tone, and sweet almond oil and shea butter to condition and hydrate. 

Nourishing Cleansing Balm, Haoma ($85)