Emami Smart And Handsome Charcoal Face Wash, 50g

Men's skin runs oilier. The pores are wider, the sweat glands work harder, and by evening there is a film of oil, dust and sweat sitting on the face that plain water will not shift. This wash is built for exactly that.

Two ingredients do most of the work. Charcoal powder lifts surface grime and dead skin without the scratchy drag of a walnut scrub. Salicylic acid goes deeper, into the pore itself, which is where blackheads actually start. It is the ingredient dermatologists reach for first on congested skin, and it is why this wash keeps working on the nose and forehead where a plain foaming cleanser gives up.

There is niacinamide in the formula too. That is the part working on the dark marks old pimples leave behind, and on keeping oil under control through the afternoon. The peptide Emami markets as "acti-fair" appears on the ingredient list as Tetrapeptide-30.

Good for: oily and combination skin, blackheads across the nose and forehead, and anyone who shaves regularly and wants a clean base beforehand. At 50g it is the trial size, which makes it a sensible first buy if you have not used a salicylic acid wash before.

Worth knowing: it foams properly, and there is a cool menthol tingle for the first few seconds. That is the menthol in the formula and it fades fast. Because this cleans thoroughly, always follow it with a moisturiser, and use sunscreen in the daytime. Salicylic acid makes skin more sensitive to sun.