Youth To The People is a popular cosmetics brand, and Superfood Cleanser is one of their best-sellers. The brand describes this product as “the daily green juice cleanse for your face.”
But does a "green juice cleanse" really help the face? Does Youth to the People contain research-backed ingredients for anti-aging? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? And is it better or worse than popular cleansers like La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Brightening Deep Cleanser?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Youth To The People’s popular Superfood cleanser to give our take on whether or not the product is likely to improve skin quality, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also compare this product to other popular cleansers in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains research-backed active ingredients for optimal skin quality
- Contains fragrance and preservatives we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Youth To The People Cleanser
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser are shown below:
First, let's address the vegetable ingredients highlighted in the brand’s marketing: aloe vera, kale, spinach and green tea.
Aloe vera is clinically shown to help restore the skin and repair the skin barrier.
Green tea was shown to significantly increase skin moisture content in a 2013 clinical trial.
We can’t find any clinical evidence that kale or spinach support skin health when applied to the skin, nor does Youth To The People cite any studies proving such on their product page.
There are several other research-backed ingredients in this cleanser.
Vitamin C was shown in a clinical trial published in the Dermatologic Surgery journal to significantly reduce visible signs of skin aging when applied topically.
It does this by increasing the production of new collagen.
Glycerin is a naturally-derived skin moisturizer, as we documented in our Bubble Moisturizer reviews article.
Jasmine fruit extract was shown to reduce skin damage from sun exposure by 86% in a 2023 clinical trial, and is one of the most photoprotective plant compounds we’ve come across in any Illuminate Health review.
While there are a number of active ingredients we consider likely to be effective, there are also several inactive ingredients that may be questionable from a health perspective.
Fragrance is a broad categorical descriptor that fails to identify the specific flavoring chemicals used. A medical review published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal analyzed safety data on fragranced consumer products and concluded the following:
“Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative that was shown to be toxic to human cells in a 2020 clinical trial.
There are a number of other fragrance and preservative compounds that may be irritating to the skin, including hexyl cinnamal, linalool, limonene, sodium hydroxide and sodium benzoate. Some of these are common contact allergens.
Overall, we consider Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser likely to protect the skin from the sun and to improve skin quality generally.
We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Youth to the People vs. Popular Cleansers
Here's how Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser compares to other popular cleansers in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
SkinCeuticals Soothing Facial Cleanser
Contains cucumber extract, which is clinically shown to have soothing effects on skin.
This product is fragrance-free, and has a healthier inactive ingredient profile than Youth to the People's cleanser.
Winner: SkinCeuticals Soothing Facial Cleanser
La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Brightening Deep Cleanser
Contains many research-backed active ingredients, as we documented in our La Roche Posay Review article.
Contains fragrance, but is free from phenoxyethanol and the additional fragrance and preservative ingredients, giving this brand the edge over Youth to the People's cleanser.
Winner: La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Brightening Deep Cleanser
CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
Among other ingredients we consider unhealthy, this formulation contains two parabens, which is a class of compounds clinically shown to be endocrine-disrupting.
Youth to the People's cleanser wins from a health perspective.
Winner: Youth to the People Cleanser
Our Clean Skincare Pick
MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.
It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.
This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."
This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Youth To The People Cleanser Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Many research-backed ingredients
- Should hydrate skin
- Should support skin barrier
- Should improve skin quality
- May protect skin from sun
- Mostly positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- Contains fragrance
- Contains phenoxyethanol
- Contains fragrance and preservative ingredients that may irritate skin
- Expensive for product category
- Brand website charges for shipping
