Lifestyle

Beauty and the bike: Mud, sweat and clear

When you’ve taken all the trails have to throw at you, sweated your way round your ride or just want to clear the grime of the urban commute, you need a truly effective cleanser.

Banish the mud, sweat and grime with these deep cleaning cleansers. Louise Robinson of XCracer.com photographed by Paul Mitchell.

Freelance beauty editor Adele Mitchell provides you with all the options.

On-the-go

NEALS YARD ORGANIC FACIAL WIPES
Price: £5.50

Wipe and go with these Neal’s Yard facial wipes.

There are masses of cleansing facial wipes to choose from but many make your skin feel tight. Neals Yard’s wipes are enriched with soothing aloe vera to put moisture back as they cleanse, as well as antioxidant white tea, and lavender chamomile oils.

The wipes themselves are made with 100% biodegradable organic cotton and you can keep the pack handy in your backpack or saddle bag.

Cleanse and indulge

ELEMIS PRO COLLAGEN CLEANSING BALM
Price: £39.50

Elemis cleansing balm can cleanse and help reduce breakouts.

A new balm formula, complete with cleansing cloth for removal has skin-nurturing natural oils to melt away sweat, make up (especially good on long wear formulas) and grime, as well as absorbing the excess sebum that can cause breakouts.

You can use it as a post-ride relaxing treatment mask too: massage into your skin, drape your face with the warmed cleansing cloth and lie back for ten minutes. While your other half washes your bike, perhaps.

Wash your face with oil (yes, really)

Origins Clean Energy Gentle Cleansing Oil
Price: £19

Don’t worry, Origins Clean Energy, won’t turn you into an oil slick.

Because oil isn’t just for your chain. Inspired by ancient Asian cleansing techniques, cleansing oil gently cleans every skin type without any harshness or residue.

This lightweight formula is made with sunflower, sesame and safflower oils that remove dirt without clogging pores. It also protects the skin’s own moisture resources and it feeling soft and comfortable.

To use, simply massage oil to dry skin, add warm water, at which point the oil becomes a milky lotion and rinse.

Wash your face in an instant

CLARINS Gentle Foaming Cleanser
Price: £18

A french classic, Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser is available for all skin types.

Refreshing, quick and simple, this cleanser foams as you use it to remove deep-seated dirt, make-up, excess oil, pollutants and dead skin cells.

It rinses away easily and also protects skin from the drying effects of hard water. Choose from variants for combination/oily, normal/combination and dry/sensitive skin types.

High-tech

CLARISONIC Cleansing System
Price: £155

A handy bit of technology, Clarisonic will deep cleanse your skin in an instant.

Two-speed sonic technology that uses more than 300 movements per second to clean skin, loosen dirt and sebum, make pores look tighter and improve skin tone and smoothness.

More effective than cleansing with your hands alone, Clarisonic also helps prepare skin to better absorb follow-on skin care products.

For more beauty tips, follow Adele on Twitter.

Headline image by Fluid Design.

Want some more tips? Check out the low down on lip balms.