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When it comes to facial cleansers, there are as many to choose from as there are faces to be cleaned -- creams, lotions, pads, soap bars, gels, scrubs and self-foaming cleansers all fill the shelves. Clearly, there's no "one size fits all" product.

So what's all the fuss? You might be familiar with the phrase "Put your best face forward." In this situation, you can take it literally. The face takes quite a molecular beating each day. Some women cover it with makeup, and men hack away at it with razor blades. Our faces brave the elements, from wind and cold to heat and rain, and we touch them with our oily or ketchup-tainted hands throughout the day.

Facial cleansers can help with all of these facial dangers, primarily by clearing away the dirt, grime, and dead cells, thus facilitating the production and easy travels of new skin cells. If you choose the right facial cleanser (or combination of cleansers), your face will regain a more youthful and healthy appearance. But how do you choose? Let's find out.

You probably have a preferred salad dressing, but before you put anything on a salad, you first like to know what kind of salad you're dealing with. Is it garden greens? Caesar, Greek or Cobb? Balsamic vinaigrette isn't quite as good on a taco salad.

Likewise, before you can pick out the right facial cleanser for your particular needs, you need to know what kind of face you'll be working with. Most of us never think about what type of skin we have, just that sometimes it's more presentable than others. But everyone has a basic "skin type," and this knowledge will help you determine what type of cleanser is called for. Using the wrong cleanser for your skin type can make matters worse by further contributing to dryness, irritation or oiliness.