I first heard about Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish in 2013. A colleague mentioned it in the context of a conversation about skincare, described it as the best cleanser she'd ever used, and said she'd been using it for years. I noted it down and then didn't buy it, for reasons I can no longer reconstruct. Over the following decade I heard about it from at least a dozen other people — friends, family members, beauty editors in magazines, strangers on the internet. Every time, the description was essentially the same: it's the best cleanser I've ever used, I've tried everything else and I keep coming back to this.
I finally bought it last year. I am forty-one years old and I wasted ten years of good skin on inferior cleansers. This is my honest account of what happened when I stopped procrastinating.
What the Hot Cloth Method Actually Is
Before I tried it, I didn't fully understand what made Cleanse and Polish different from other cream cleansers. The answer is the method rather than just the formula. You apply the cream cleanser to dry skin, massage it in to dissolve makeup and impurities, then remove it with a muslin cloth that's been soaked in warm water. The warm cloth opens the pores slightly, the texture of the muslin provides gentle exfoliation as you wipe, and the combination of the cream and the cloth removes everything — makeup, SPF, pollution, the day — in a single step.
The two pure cotton cloths included with the 200ml tube are the essential part of the kit. They're not decorative — they're functional. The texture is fine enough to be gentle on the skin but substantial enough to exfoliate effectively. I rinse mine after each use and wash them weekly, and they've held up perfectly.
The Formula: What's In It and Why It Works
The Cleanse and Polish formula is a rich cream that melts into the skin on contact. It contains cocoa butter, eucalyptus, rosemary, and chamomile — a combination that smells genuinely beautiful and has real skincare benefits. The cocoa butter provides the emollient base that dissolves makeup and impurities; the botanical extracts soothe and calm the skin during cleansing.
What it doesn't contain is equally important: no harsh surfactants, no alcohol, no synthetic fragrance. It's a formula designed to clean the skin without stripping it, which is the fundamental problem with most cleansers — they remove the bad stuff but also remove the good stuff, leaving skin tight and dry. Cleanse and Polish leaves skin feeling clean but not stripped, which is a different sensation from most cleansers and takes a moment to adjust to.
The First Week: What I Actually Noticed
I ordered through Altoe and it arrived quickly. I started using it that evening — applied to dry skin, massaged for about a minute, removed with the warm muslin cloth. My skin felt immediately different from how it felt after my previous cleanser — clean but soft, not tight. I looked in the mirror and my skin looked slightly brighter, which I attributed to the gentle exfoliation of the cloth.
By the end of the first week, the difference was more pronounced. My skin was noticeably smoother — the texture had improved in a way that I'd previously only achieved with dedicated exfoliating products. My pores looked smaller. The slight dullness that I'd been managing with serums and treatments was reducing without any additional products. I was getting better results from my cleanser than I'd been getting from my entire previous skincare routine.
Six Months On: My Skincare Routine Has Simplified
I've been using Cleanse and Polish for six months. In that time my skincare routine has simplified significantly — I've stopped using a separate exfoliator because the muslin cloth provides enough gentle exfoliation daily. I've reduced my serum use because my skin's baseline texture and brightness have improved to the point where I need less correction. My morning routine is faster because my skin is in better condition and needs less work.
The 200ml tube has lasted me about four months of daily evening use, which is good value for a product at this price point. I'm now on my second tube and have bought a third to have in reserve, which is the behaviour of someone who has found their permanent cleanser.
The Ritual: Why the Method Matters Beyond the Results
There's something I want to say about the experience of using Cleanse and Polish that goes beyond the skincare results. The hot cloth method is a ritual in a way that splashing water on your face isn't. The warm cloth, the massage, the steam — it takes about two minutes and it's genuinely pleasant. It's the part of my evening routine I look forward to rather than do on autopilot.
That sounds like a small thing but it isn't. A skincare routine you enjoy is one you actually do consistently, and consistency is what produces results. The ritual quality of Cleanse and Polish is part of why it works — not just because the formula is good, but because the method encourages you to take two minutes for your skin every evening rather than rushing through it.
What I'd Tell Anyone Who's Been Hearing About This for Years
Stop waiting. I waited ten years and I regret it. The Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser lives up to every recommendation I ever received — it's genuinely the best cleanser I've used, it's improved my skin's texture and brightness more than any other single product, and the hot cloth method has turned my evening cleanse into something I look forward to. The 200ml tube with two cloths is the right way to start — everything you need is in the box.
- Hot cloth method — warm muslin cloth opens pores and provides gentle daily exfoliation
- Rich cream formula — melts into skin to dissolve makeup, SPF, and impurities
- Two pure cotton cloths included — the essential part of the kit, reusable and washable
- No harsh surfactants or alcohol — cleans without stripping the skin's moisture barrier
- Cocoa butter, eucalyptus, rosemary, chamomile — botanical formula that smells beautiful
- Improves skin texture and brightness — gentle daily exfoliation reduces the need for separate exfoliating products
- 200ml generous size — approximately four months of daily evening use
- Multi-award-winning formula — decades of consistent recommendations from real users
Get yours here: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser – 200ml with 2 Cloths
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Claire Maddox is a freelance copywriter and skincare enthusiast from Bath who spent a decade being told to try Liz Earle before finally listening. She writes about the beauty products that have genuinely changed her routine — no gifted items, no brand relationships, just honest experience from someone who wishes she’d started sooner.
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