Ready to know more about San Diego?

Subscribe
Partner Content JULY 12, 2022

25 Best Natural Face Washes [2022]

We took a lot of the guesswork out and rounded up 25 of the best natural face washes

25 Best Natural Face Washes [2022]

You may have noticed that natural face washes are increasingly popular nowadays. Beauty departments, grocery stores, and drugstores are dedicating entire aisles to natural products. But what exactly does that mean, and how do you find the perfect face wash for yourself? We took a lot of the guesswork out of it and rounded up 25 of the best natural face washes. 

1. Blu Atlas Volcanic Ash Face Cleanser

If you haven’t heard of Blu Atlas by now, it’s your lucky day. Blu Atlas has crafted some of the most soothing, nourishing skincare products on the market. Take Blu Atlas Volcanic Ash Face Cleanser, for instance. This detoxifying and exfoliating cleanser can step up your dull skincare routine. If you couldn’t tell by the name, this face cleanser contains volcanic ash, also known as bentonite, which uses fine absorbent particles to remove excess oil, dirt, and grime from your face. 

Volcanic ash helps the pores appear smaller. Lactobacillus ferment filtrate wards off unwanted aggressors from the skin, helping your face look and feel healthy. We love this cleanser because it removes grime from your pores, balances your skin’s pH, and hydrates the skin. Wash your face with a dime-sized amount of this cleanser and feel instantly rejuvenated. Don’t miss out. 

2. Pacifica Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash 

Pacifica has always been a mainstay on the natural beauty product scene. Ranging from makeup to skincare, you’re bound to find a product that you love and jives with your skin type. If you’re looking for a new natural face wash that is unique and adventurous, try Pacifica Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash. 

Remember when kale was all the rage, and you couldn’t go out in public without someone bringing up how much they loved kale? Yeah, well, we’re sorry to be the ones to do this, but we love kale. It’s a nourishing, natural ingredient that detoxifies and unclogs the pores—removing oil, dirt, makeup, grime, and other impurities. 

Plus, coconut water, clay, super greens, and aloe vera hydrate and moisturize the skin, calming inflammation and redness. Pacifica is a vegan and cruelty-free brand, always formulating its products without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, or mineral oil. After using this luxurious face wash, you’ll become one of those people obsessed with kale. It happens to the best of us. 

3. Alba Botanica Hawaiian Facial Cleanser Pore Purifying Pineapple 

How does a tropical island getaway sound? The warm, salty air blowing through your hair. The sound of waves crashing onto the shore. The smell of pineapples, coconuts, and mangos swirling through the air. Sounds like a dream—doesn’t it? Alba Botanica Hawaiian Facial Cleanser Pore Purifying Pineapple Enzyme can make all your tropical island getaway fantasies come true. 

Even if you can’t travel to the beach, you can still feel like you’re at one every morning and evening with this fruity face wash. Pineapple and papaya wash away impurities and unclog the pores, freeing your skin from grime that may be trapped deep beneath the surface. Aloe vera, hibiscus, and passionflower provide the skin with vital nourishment and moisture that brightens your complexion and leaves the face radiant and glowing. This product uses a vegetarian and cruelty-free formula that’s free of parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances. 

4. Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk 

Turn back the clock, and embrace your younger self with Andalou Naturals with Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk. This age-defying, soothing face wash boosts your complexion and leaves your skin sparkling, radiant, and glowing. 

Using probiotics, resveratrol CoQ10, apricot, and borage oils, this facial cleanser washes away impurities and leaves the pores looking tighter, firmer, and cleaner. Antioxidants give the skin a splash of hydration, helping minimize signs of aging like wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots. Sourced from fruit stem cell science and formulated without GMOs, this fair-trade and vegan face wash brings you back to the natural basics. 

5. Cocokind Oil to Milk Prebiotic Cleanser 

If you’ve never tried an oil cleanser, it can feel scary and counterintuitive. Why would you put oil on your face to clean away oil and other grime? Believe it or not, oil is one of the best ingredients to use for any skin type—especially oily skin. Oil attracts and bonds with other oil, so cleansing your skin with oil will absorb all the remaining oil on your face. 

Cocokind Oil to Milk Prebiotic Cleanser starts as an enriching oil that strips away oil from your pores. Then, it transforms into a gentle, nourishing milk-based cleanser that hydrates and moisturizes dry patches. This microbiome-friendly cleanser balances the skin’s pH and bacteria levels, keeping acne and oil at bay. 

6. Derma E Hydrating Gentle Cleanser 

If you’ve got dry skin, you’d benefit from hyaluronic acid. We love this potent, moisturizing ingredient that aids your skin in retaining water and hydration throughout the day. Derma E Hydrating Gentle Cleanser understands, which is why they’ve crafted a facial cleanser that’s filled with hydrating ingredients. 

Hyaluronic acid, chamomile, vitamin E, lemongrass, and papaya work together to heal the skin and add moisture. You can say goodbye to dry and itchy patches on your skin because this natural face wash can quench even the driest, thirstiest skin types. We love clean and natural face washes, especially those made without lanolin, soy, sulfates, and parabens.

7. Desert Essence Creamy Oil Cleanser 

If you’re anything like us, you’ve more than likely had those days where you’re too lazy to fully take off your makeup and complete all the steps in your skincare routine. There is no shame—we’ve all been there. We love face washes that simplify your routine, easing some of the stress you may experience in the morning and evening. Desert Essence Creamy Oil Cleanser is also perfect for taking off makeup and fully cleansing the skin. 

This creamy, oil-based cleanser not only unclogs the pores of grime and impurities but also removes away any makeup and residue using its intensive cleansing powers. Nourishing coconut, primrose, argan, and jojoba oils keep the skin hydrated and healthy, even after a long day of wearing makeup. This cleanser is certified organic under USDA standards, and it’s free of dyes, phthalates, and artificial fragrances. Now, get some rest, sleepyhead. 

8. My Chelle Dermaceuticals Strengthen Fruit Enzyme Cleanser 

Fruit-infused cleansers do a great job of keeping the skin bright, healthy, and radiant. My Chelle Dermaceuticals Strengthen Fruit Enzyme Cleanser harnesses the antioxidant healing capabilities of fruit and uses them to cleanse, hydrate, tone, and repair your skin. Fruit-infused ingredients remove dead skin cells and unclog pores as well as hydrate, brighten, and purify the skin. 

You’ll look and feel healthier after just one wash. Plus, this facial cleanser does an excellent job of giving your skin a glowing complexion. This product is free of the usual suspects—parabens, silicones, sulfates, and fragrances. As a vegan and cruelty-free product, we know you’ll love this natural facial cleanser. 

9. Evan Healy Tea Tree Gel Cleanser 

Struggling with acne? Tired of chemical-filled face washes that don’t clear or treat your acne at all? If you want an all-natural, soothing face wash that will treat your acne, look no further. Evan Healy Tea Tree Gel Cleanser is a purifying experience for your face, one that you’ll be obsessed with. 

Tea Tree Oil is incredibly healing. You’ll be amazed by how quickly this product zaps away blemishes, evens out redness, and reduces the appearance of acne-related scarring. This enriching blend of lavender oil, lavandin, and sea buckthorn extract keeps the skin healthy and the pores unclogged. This prevents acne, keeping your skin blemish-free. 

Even though this cleanser is tough on blemishes, it’s gentle on your skin and won’t dry or irritate it. This cleanser is gentle enough to use as a body wash, too, nourishing and removing acne all over your body. 

10. Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser 

Neutrogena changed the skincare game when they released Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser. This cleanser provides the purifying powers of Neutrogena face washes without all the toxins. Salicylic acid balances the skin, treats acne, calms inflamed skin, reduces redness, and heals acne-related scars. Bionutrient-rich willow bark removes dirt, oil, makeup, grime, and other impurities trapped in the pores. Your skin will be able to breathe and heal itself, leaving your complexion radiant and glowing. 

We love this face wash because it’s free of sulfates, parabens, dyes, and phthalates. Plus, it’s hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. 

11. Honest Beauty Gentle Gel Cleanser 

We’re being honest when we tell you that Honest Beauty Gentle Gel Cleanser is one of the best natural face washes of the year. Natural beauty has never felt so good. This nourishing face wash wipes away dirt, oil, grime, sunscreen, and makeup that may be lodged in your pores. Using the hydrating and healing powers of chamomile and calendula extract, this cleanser brightens dark spots, minimizes redness, and enhances the overall complexion of your skin. 

You can use this product to give yourself a boost of energy in the morning or to calm you down in the evening. Dermatologist tested and free of cruelty, parabens, dyes, and phthalates—you can’t beat this facial cleanser. 

12. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Facial Cleanser For Dry Skin

If it seems like there aren’t enough good options out there for natural face washes targeting dry skin, you’re not wrong. There are countless face washes on the market for reducing oil, cleansing the skin, and balancing out skin tones—but where is the love for people with dry skin types? Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Facial Cleanser For Dry Skin is here to save the day.

This fragrance-free cleanser is perfect for sensitive and dry skin since it’s free of harmful ingredients like GMOs, parabens, sulfates, and dyes that often irritate the skin. Formulated with soothing oats that cleanse away dirt and grime, this face wash provides rich and vital moisture that thirsty skin needs. Plus, you’re not only benefiting your skin by using this face cleanser. The bottle is made with 30% post-consumer recycled plastic, so you can keep Mother Earth happy and healthy, too.

13. Ursa Major Fantastic Face Wash Cedar & Spearmint 

Have you looked up your horoscope lately? The stars are telling you it’s time to switch to a natural face wash that is good for the environment. Ursa Major Fantastic Face Wash Cedar & Spearmint is here to take up the call. 

For an invigorating cleanse, Ursa Major delivers AHA exfoliation to your skin, detoxifying and exfoliating dead skin cells, buildup, and impurities. Rice seed and coconut-derived surfactants absorb excess oil and hydrate the skin. Citrus notes of lemon, spearmint, rosemary, lime, vetiver, lavender, and cedar will keep your nose intrigued. Any skin type can benefit from this face wash—oily, dry, combination, and sensitive. 

A big reason we love Ursa Major is its commitment to protecting the environment. This cleanser—free of parabens, sulfates, and silicone—is plastic negative and good for the environment. 

14. InstaNatural Vitamin C Cleanser 

We’re giving you and your skin the gift of brightness with InstaNatural Vitamin C Cleanser. This juicy blend of aloe vera, coconut water, sugar cane extract, and green tea extract improves your skin’s complexion by brightening dark spots and leaving your skin glimmering. Vitamin C is great for people who want their skin tone to appear more even, which supports collagen and elasticity. 

This face wash does an incredible job of unclogging pores and preventing future acne breakouts by cleaning away dead skin cells and keeping the pores clean and healthy. 

15. Ktchn Apothecary Hydrating Facial Cleanser 

Most skincare products get bottled and manufactured months—sometimes years—before you buy them. This means you could be getting old, expired face wash. Ktchn Apothecary Hydrating Facial Cleanser is here to change that. On the front of every bottle is the date when the facial cleanser was made. This ensures you’re only buying the freshest, up-to-date cleansers. 

We love the fresh blend of sage, aloe vera, and avocado that hydrates and transforms the skin. If other face washes keep letting you down, we promise this one won’t. After just one wash, your skin will look glowing and youthful thanks to this detoxifying, purifying cleanser. 

16. Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Extra Gentle Face Wash 

No shocker here—another Pacifica face wash is gracing our list. We can’t stress enough how much we love Pacifica, so you’re going to need to try this stellar product for yourself. Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Extra Gentle Face Wash is a relaxing spa treatment for your face. 

Pacifica formulated this product with sensitive skin types in mind. Free of fragrances, allergy-tested and dermatologist-tested, this is a calming face wash for dry, red, or otherwise irritated skin. Using plant extracts and vegan ceramides, this product restores your skin’s protective barrier, cleanses the skin, and adds intense hydration. Being vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free has never felt better. 

17. WOW Skin Science Activated Charcoal Face Wash 

It’s time to get rid of all the toxins that are causing excess oil and breakouts. WOW Skin Science Activated Charcoal Face Wash is an invigorating, purifying blend of all the naturally detoxifying ingredients that will turn your complexion into a healthy, blemish-free landscape. If dirt, dead skin cells, oil, makeup, sunscreen, and grime get trapped in your pores, they can cause pesky blackheads and whiteheads. 

This cleanser works by penetrating the pores and dissolving and exfoliating away irritants trapped beneath the skin. Charcoal absorbs excess oil and leaves your skin bright, clean, and fresh. Aloe vera helps increase your skin’s collagen production, reduces visible signs of aging, and protects the skin against environmental irritants. Using 100% natural bioactives, your skin will look and feel the best it ever has thanks to the power of charcoal. 

18. Botanic Tree Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Cleanser 

We’re about to introduce you to your new favorite skincare product: Botanic Tree Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Cleanser. Charcoal, tea tree, and hyaluronic acid are all great ingredients, but if you’re looking for something with a little more intensity, then glycolic acid is your new best friend. Exfoliating cleansers are great to use as needed. Whether that means you use this product every single day or a few times a week is up to you. 

Natural ingredients like peppermint, lavender, shea butter, seaweed, tea tree, bamboo, and willow bark purify, tone, hydrate, and brighten the skin. Ten percent salicylic and glycolic acids reduce acne, oil, and dark spots, exfoliating dead skin cells and peeling makeup and grime away. Your skin peeling is normal and is a sign the face wash is working. This product is ideal because it acts as multiple different products in one—toner, cleanser, and hydrator. We’ll take any product that saves us time and money. 

19. Beauty by Earth Foaming Face Wash

 

If you’re tired of gel cleansers and want to experience a mini-bubble bath every time you wash your face, you need a foaming face wash. We love Beauty by Earth Foaming Face Wash. By using foam technology, this face wash rids your skin of dirt, oil, and grime trapped in the pores. 

Foam is great for normal skin types because it doesn’t make your skin feel too greasy or dry. However, any skin type can benefit from this cleanser. Using plant-based extracts, Beauty By Earth Foaming Face Wash only puts the safest, most natural ingredients on your skin. We believe toxins don’t serve a purpose in your skincare products, and Beauty by Earth believes that, too.

20. Thrive Face Wash

Your skin deserves to be healthy, bright, and blemish-free. It deserves to thrive and flourish. How can you get that done? Thrive with thrive! Jokes aside, we love Thrive Face Wash—a plant-based cleanser that tackles all of your skincare needs and concerns. Formulated with antioxidant-rich Juanilama and Fierillo, this product’s two potent ingredients combat bacteria, oil, dirt, grime, makeup, sunscreen, and other nasty impurities trapped in your pores. 

By fighting bacteria, distributing antioxidants, and neutralizing oil, your skin truly thrives—looking radiant and youthful. This product is free of synthetic additives, fragrances, and other irritating ingredients. It uses ingredients sourced from regenerative farming, and the bottle is made from recycled plastic because Thrive believes we can all do our part to help the planet. 

21. Lily Sado Tea + C Green Tea Vitamin C Super Food Face Wash

Superfoods are vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant-rich ingredients that are incredibly beneficial to your health. When used as face wash ingredients, the result is even better. Lily Sado Tea + C Green Tea Vitamin C Super Food Face Wash supplies your skin with much-need hydration, protection, and nutrition to keep it healthy and clear. 

Fifteen percent vitamin C adds rich antioxidants into the skin that brighten and even out dull spots. Green Tea Matcha calms inflammation, redness, and dryness. Vitamins B5 and E help promote blood circulation in the skin, balancing out the complexion and reducing discoloration. 

Combined, these superfood ingredients boost the skin’s collagen production, increase elasticity, and minimize visible signs of aging. This gentle, hypoallergenic, and non-comedogenic exfoliator will remind you why natural is better. 

22. Bliss Clear Genius Clarifying Gel Cleanser with BHA + Brazilian Sea Water

What does bliss feel like to you? Is it soaking in a warm bath after a long day at work? Cooking one of your favorite meals? Hiking on your favorite trail? Bliss, to us, is having clear skin that radiates healthiness. Bliss Clear Genius Clarifying Gel Cleanser with BHA + Brazilian Sea Water is our version of heaven. This relaxing, soothing, and calming face wash can help you unwind after anything. Don’t believe us? Give it a try. 

BHA, also known as salicylic acid, removes visible signs of acne, clearing those pesky blackheads, whiteheads, and everything in between. Brazilian seawater detoxifies the skin, balances the complexion, and softens the skin. Your skin deserves only the best, which is why Bliss uses a short ingredients list and is vegan and cruelty-free. Enjoy what life feels like on the blissful side. 

23. Sebo Calm Facial Cleansing Soap for Sensitive Skin 

People with sensitive skin, we’ve got you. Sebo Calm Facial Cleansing Soap for Sensitive Skin is one of the best natural face washes free of parabens, SLS, and alcohol. Other face washes for sensitive skin secretly strip away precious moisture, but not this one. Formulated with a purifying anti-blemish cleansing soap, this cleanser wipes away dirt, grime, oil, and makeup and detoxifies your pores so they can begin healing. 

Chamomile reduces redness, irritation, dryness, and itchiness, balancing the skin’s pH and hydrating where needed. This face wash is suitable for the most sensitive skin types caused by conditions like rosacea, eczema, and dermatitis. Detoxify and heal your skin with one of our favorite natural face washes. 

24. Burt’s Bees Gentle Cream Cleanser 

Burt’s Bees is always a go-to brand for natural, organic products. From their nourishing lip balm to their soothing hand creams, you can never go wrong with anything from the brand. We love Burt’s Bees Gentle Cream Cleanser. It’s easily one of the most nourishing, calming, and restorative face cleansers for any skin type—especially those with sensitive skin. Using rice extracts with aloe vera, this cleanser absorbs extra oil and cleanses the skin. 

Your face will feel hydrated thanks to the nourishment from aloe vera. Derived from 98.9% natural ingredients, this cleanser won’t irritate or clog pores. Awarded by the National Eczema Association, this cleanser is safe enough to use on even the most sensitive skin types. The next time you’re wandering through your local grocery store’s beauty aisle, be sure to pick up a bottle of Burt’s Bees Gentle Cream Cleanser. 

25. No B.S. Foaming Cleanser 

Rounding out our list is a cleanser that is honest and transparent. No B.S. Foaming Cleanser is a simple and effective product that focuses on restoring your skin to a healthy, optimal state. Cucumber, green tea, and aloe vera nourish the skin, fight against inflammation, reduce bacteria, block free radicals, moisturize, and restore the skin’s natural barrier. 

Because this cleanser is thick and creamy, it’s nourishing and hydrating to dry skin types. With no B.S. about it, this cleanser is free of parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, artificial fragrances, phthalates, and gluten. Since it’s 100% vegan, you’re helping out both your skin and animals. 

Face Cleansers

.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Select Options

By subscribing you confirm that you agree with our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Studio S OCTOBER 22, 2026

Milan Design + Build Helps San Diegans Remodel With Confidence

The San Diego home remodeling company works on full homes, kitchens, bathrooms, home additions, ADUs, garages, landscapes, and hardscapes.

Milan Design + Build Helps San Diegans Remodel With Confidence
Courtesy of Milan Design

Most homeowners want two things before they commit to a remodel: a realistic sense of cost and a clear picture of what the finished space will look like. Milan Design + Build helps deliver both through its online remodeling estimator and personalized design consultations, supported by a showroom experience and 3D renderings.

“The online estimate gives homeowners a starting number in about a minute, and the showroom and 3D renderings let them see materials and layouts before anything is built,” says David Noriani, CEO of Milan Design + Build. “Keeping design, permits, and construction with one team helps us manage expectations and keep everyone working toward the same vision.”

Courtesy of Milan Design

Modern design is a particular focus for Milan, with an emphasis on clean lines, natural light, functional layouts, and carefully selected materials. The team adapts each design to the homeowner’s lifestyle and the character of the property. Milan Design + Build combines thoughtful design with construction expertise, creating spaces that are as functional as they are beautiful.

The online estimator covers kitchen remodels, bathroom renovations, full-home remodels, and ADU construction. At Milan’s showroom on Carroll Road, visitors can review real materials, finishes, and design options, meet the design-build team, and discuss project scope, budget, and timing. Consultations can also be held virtually for homeowners who prefer to start remotely.

At Milan Design + Build, one integrated team works on the entire project. Design and construction aren’t divided between separate firms. The process begins with a consultation and feasibility review, followed by design, space planning, and 3D renderings developed from detailed measurements and digital scans. The team also coordinates architectural plans, structural engineering, city approvals, and material selection, with construction overseen by a dedicated project manager.

Homeowners can explore their remodeling options, get an initial estimate, or request a design consultation at MilanBuild.com.

Courtesy of Milan Design

Partner Content
Partner Content NOVEMBER 10, 2026

La Jolla Institute for Immunology Announces $55 Million Fundraising Campaign

The Campaign for La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) will fuel scientific innovation and medical advances

La Jolla Institute for Immunology Announces $55 Million Fundraising Campaign
Courtesy of La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Philanthropists and Scientists Join Forces for a Bold $55 Million Campaign

La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) is going public with a bold bet: a $55 million campaign to propel medical research into a new era. The Campaign for LJI will fuel discovery, empower scientific innovation, and expand the impact of immunology on human health. 

The Institute quietly kicked things off in 2023, guided by its Board, campaign volunteers, and early believers. Nearly 80% of the $55 million goal is already in hand. Now LJI is opening the doors and inviting the whole community to carry their visions across the finish line and back discoveries that change how LJI researchers understand, treat, and prevent disease. 

And there’s a bonus. To mark the public launch, LJI Board member and Campaign Honorary Chair Anthony R. Carr is offering a special matching gift so new donors can double their impact. Full details are here. 

The Promise of Immunology

Immunology has already rewritten human history. Advances in immune science helped wipe out smallpox, pushed polio to the brink of elimination, and revolutionized how we prevent and treat infectious disease. Today, immune-based therapies are opening doors for patients with cancer, autoimmune disorders, and other serious illnesses once considered untreatable. 

For nearly four decades, LJI scientists have stood on the front lines, driven by one insight: the immune system shapes disease in virtually every organ in the body. By decoding how the immune system works and how to harness it to prevent and treat disease, LJI researchers are chasing the Institute’s ultimate mission: Life Without Disease®. 

To make that mission real, the Institute pairs world-class scientists with cutting-edge technology, speeding up breakthroughs and turning discoveries into transformative new therapies that ease suffering worldwide. 

The Campaign for LJI supercharges that momentum, uniting the vision of the Institute’s scientists with a community that believes in research. Focused on advancing LJI’s most promising areas of study, the campaign aims to help build a future free from the burden of disease, a goal that demands bold ideas, lasting partnerships, and generous philanthropic support.

The Campaign for LJI will advance research across three critical pillars: 

1. President’s Priority Fund. Flexible, unrestricted dollars let big ideas move now, not later. Scientists can launch high-risk, high-reward projects, bring experts together across disciplines, build transformative technologies, and train tomorrow’s scientific leaders. 

2. Center for Sex-Based Differences in the Immune System. Male and female immune systems don’t respond the same way, and LJI researchers are tracing the fundamental differences down to individual cells and molecular pathways. The Campaign will speed up this pioneering work, revealing hidden drivers of disease and paving the way for more precise, biologically informed therapies for autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, cancer, and beyond. 

3. Center for Vaccine Innovation. Immunologists, bioengineers, and vaccine experts are teaming up to design the next generation of vaccines and immune-based therapies. With donor support, LJI scientists can engineer longer-lasting and more personalized vaccines, pinpoint the cellular mechanisms driving protective immunity, and refine delivery methods to prevent autoimmune disease and treat cancer. 

A Lasting Impact

As the campaign enters its public phase, LJI welcomes new partners and supporters to join this landmark initiative. Community support is essential to accelerating scientific discovery, and there are many meaningful ways to help shape the future of immunology. Donors may direct their gifts to any campaign priority or other area of interest. As a comprehensive campaign, all gifts to LJI count toward the campaign goal, regardless of designation. Join the campaign, and multiply your impact with our limited-time matching opportunity. 

To explore the campaign, visit imagine.lji.org.

Partner Content
Partner Content NOVEMBER 9, 2026

Paving the Way for New Knee Treatments

Scripps orthopedic surgeons are investigating stem cells as an alternative to joint replacement

Paving the Way for New Knee Treatments
Courtesy of Scripps Health

Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education at Scripps Clinic recently received a $12.7 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to investigate whether they can transform stem cells into tissue that can repair some types of knee injuries. Currently, if a patient has lost most, if not all, of the cartilage in their knee, then their doctor will recommend a total joint replacement. Joint replacement is safe and effective, but patients who’ve only lost part of their cartilage often don’t qualify. A stem cell-based treatment would provide these patients an option that doesn’t involve donor tissue. Click here for more on the preclinical trial process. 

For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.

Partner Content
Partner Content NOVEMBER 9, 2026

Healing by Design

Artwork throughout the Lusardi Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas promotes hope and healing

Healing by Design
Courtesy of Scripps Health

The recently opened Lusardi Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas is a state-of-the-art addition to the hospital staffed by dedicated team members who’ve helped make Scripps one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems. Complementary to that medical excellence, the Lusardi Tower also represents the latest expansion of the Scripps Arts for Healing Program. The philanthropic initiative strategically places nature- and community-based artwork throughout the hospital to support health and well-being. Both Scripps Encinitas and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla have healing arts programs as part of new building projects and growth on the campuses. Click here to read more about the Healing Arts Program and how residents from a nearby retirement community showed their support. 

For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.

Partner Content
Partner Content NOVEMBER 4, 2026

A Guide to South Park

From century-old Craftsman homes to vegan fantasy bars, dive bars, and a tiki room built for exactly two people, this is one of San Diego’s great little neighborhoods

You may not realize it, but Balboa Park is bigger than Central Park (in fact, 1.5 times larger). Pressed right up against its southeastern edge is a little architecture farm built on old trolley bones, where houses look like someone was collecting architectural styles and local businesses are still run by people who seem personally invested in keeping this place interesting.

This is South Park. 

To understand why it feels the way it does today—less like one commercial strip and more like a handful of tiny villages—you have to go back to the trolley.

How the Trolley Built South Park

The land that became the original South Park Addition (the subdivision’s original name) was surveyed in 1870 and officially filed in 1890, but the neighborhood really started becoming a neighborhood in the early 1900s. The Bartlett Estate Company began developing and marketing the tract in earnest around 1906, pairing lots and new homes with something extremely useful if you lived outside Downtown in the horse-and-buggy era: an electric streetcar.

On May 1, 1906, the South Park and East Side Railway made its first trip. Developers didn’t just build near transportation; they helped pay for the transportation, then used it to sell the dream. Downtown had industry, noise, and congestion. Out here were palms, sidewalks, utilities, room to breathe and a four-cent ride back to the city.

It worked. Homes began filling in around the streetcar route, and little commercial clusters grew around the places where people got on and off. That transportation pattern is still written into South Park’s geography. Some of the neighborhood’s odd street geometry is also due in part to the trolley—the old line cut across parcels instead of politely obeying the grid, leaving behind pieces of land that later businesses learned to build around. Places like Station Tavern sit on the former easement and station site of San Diego’s No. 2 trolley line.

Then San Diego went big for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in neighboring Balboa Park. The exposition transformed much of the park and helped push the city through another burst of building and growth. South Park was right there to absorb some of that momentum.

And the people building houses here had taste.

Walk the residential streets now and it can feel like somebody planted an architectural sample garden: Craftsman, Prairie, Mission Revival, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival. Creedence Clearwater Revival. All the revivals. The neighborhood includes work by Irving Gill, one of the defining architects of early modern California; Gill-designed Prairie homes still stand along Granada Avenue.

The city formally designated the South Park Historic District in 2017, recognizing roughly 400 properties and a period of significance stretching from 1906 through 1949. In other words, a lot of what makes the place feel old is actually old.

South Park Today

While the trolley eventually disappeared, the basic idea behind it didn’t. South Park is still a neighborhood organized around little pockets of human activity: a couple blocks where you can buy a record, drink a beer, find a 60-year-old lamp, eat a vegan burger beneath gothic beasts, browse a bookstore, and walk home past a century-old Craftsman.

The 30th-and-Fern area may be the clearest example. Several surviving buildings there date to South Park’s early development, including the old Fire Station No. 9, Rose Grocery building, and Burlingame Garage. What began as infrastructure for a young streetcar suburb became the neighborhood’s commercial heart.

That history is also partly why buying a house here can be competitive. There isn’t some endless supply of vacant land waiting around the corner for another subdivision. Much of the neighborhood filled in generations ago, and the architecture itself is part of the appeal.

San Diego Mag’s been documenting the city for 78 years. And we’ve been looking for a partner who loved the city enough to help us tell its stories. Redfin is that partner. They’re helping us tell the story of some of the city’s most unique neighborhoods. They launched Redfin Early Access this year to get their people in first and to see certain coming-soon and exclusive listings on Redfin before they appear on other major real-estate sites.

First up: South Park.

Here are some of the people and places worth knowing here:

Whistle Stop Bar

Big Kitchen Cafe

Start with Judy “the Beauty” Forman, because it’s difficult to explain South Park without her. The former social worker bought Big Kitchen in 1980 and turned a neighborhood breakfast joint into a gathering place for artists, musicians, activists, politicians, eccentrics, and pretty much anyone who needed somewhere to belong. As Judy puts it, “I built this for people who others passed over.”

One of those people was a young single mom named Whoopi Goldberg, who worked as a dishwasher here before the Whoopi Goldberg part of her career happened. Today Big Kitchen still serves breakfast and lunch Thursday through Monday.

3003 Grape Street

Whistle Stop Bar

Whistle Stop reopened in 2001, right as South Park’s little independent-business ecosystem was finding a new generation. Owner Sam Chammas—also connected to Live Wire and, later, Station Tavern—helped turn it into the kind of neighborhood bar where the calendar can jump from a DJ night to live bands to some strange communal event nobody at a normal sports bar would propose.

The room still has that laid-back, slightly sweaty house-party quality. Check what’s happening before you go, because Whistle Stop changes personality depending on the night: sometimes neighborhood beer, sometimes everyone dancing beneath the disco ball like work tomorrow was canceled.

2236 Fern Street

Station Tavern

Station Tavern may be the most literal example of old South Park becoming new South Park. It opened in 2009 on land once crossed diagonally by the No. 2 trolley line, and architect Lloyd Russell incorporated that history into the design rather than pretending the weirdly shaped lot wasn’t weirdly shaped. The project won the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s Grand Orchid Award the same year it opened.

Sam Chammas built the place as an open-air burger-and-beer spot with big communal tables, a backyard, room for kids, and room for dogs. It still works exactly that way: get a burger, get the tots, let everybody spread out, stay awhile.

2204 Fern Street

Kindred + Throne Room

Kindred arrived in late 2015 looking nothing like the beige-and-leafy vegan restaurant stereotype. The place went full gothic fever dream—heavy music, wild cocktails, decadent plant-based food—and eventually collected national vegan accolades plus local Restaurant of the Year and design honors.

And in 2026, it got even weirder. Hidden behind a chain-mail passage inside Kindred is Throne Room, a medieval-fantasy cocktail chamber whose mythology grew out of a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired map the Kindred team created for a 2017 Coachella pop-up. The 90-minute experience has scroll menus, plant-based mezze, cocktails and zero interest in pretending restaurants need to behave normally.

1503 30th Street

Bad Madge & Co.

Vinyl Junkies Record Shack

Vinyl Junkies has good music-scene DNA. Founder Eric Howarth previously ran indie label Hi-Speed Soul, whose roster included acts like Nada Surf and Swervedriver, then teamed with Casbah owner Tim Mays after the pair had spent years putting on Vinyl Junkies record swaps.

They opened the South Park brick-and-mortar shop in 2017, and it remains a buy-sell-trade temple for people who understand that owning music on a physical object is irrational in exactly the right way. Go flip through the new arrivals. Leave holding something you had absolutely no intention of buying.

2235 Fern Street

Bad Madge & Co.

Bad Madge is what happens when “vintage store” doesn’t quite explain the situation. Owner Tanya McAnear and her team fill the shop with furniture, clothing, barware, records, art, jewelry, collectibles, and various objects that seem like they may know things about their previous owners. The shop opened in 2011 and has made reuse and upcycling part of its identity ever since. Go in without looking for anything specific—specificity will only slow you down.

2205 Fern Street

Thread + Seed

Across the neighborhood’s vintage-and-vinyl universe sits Thread + Seed, a local boutique built around clothing, denim, gifts, and personal styling. Its South Park shop has an especially deep denim program—petite, tall, wide-leg, straight, flare—and the store also offers one-on-one styling built around color and body type. In other words, this is where you go after deciding the jeans currently on your body have betrayed you. South Park understands that sometimes personal renewal begins with pants.

2220 Fern Street

The Book Catapult

Seth Marko started The Book Catapult as a book blog in 2006. In 2017, he and his wife, Jennifer Powell, turned it into an actual bookstore in South Park, specializing loosely in fiction, local interest, and children’s books while maintaining the more important bookseller skill: putting something into your hands that you didn’t know you needed.

There are staff picks, author events, signed books, and the dangerous possibility of walking in for one title and emerging with four. Because no one ever died thinking, “I shoulda read less.”

3010-B Juniper Street

Partner Content
Partner Content NOVEMBER 3, 2026

Tastemakers Fall 2026: Valle

Chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and craft mixers - meet our 2026 Tastemakers, the minds behind the magic.

Tastemakers Fall 2026: Valle
E-SDM—Valle-2026—Tastemakers_WEB

Roberto Alcocer, Chef

Chef Roberto Alcocer showcases all that Mexican cuisine and culture has to offer at Oceanside’s Valle. The Michelin-guide recommended restaurant takes inspiration and techniques from all over Mexico—with a heavy Baja influence—and blends them with local San Diego ingredients to create original and delectable contemporary Mexican cuisine. The seasonal tasting menu allows Chef Alcocer to experiment with the freshest available ingredients, creating dishes that defy guests’ expectations, while the wine list features more than 100 labels from Mexican artisans. Even the restaurant’s walls are a celebration of Mexican culture, all decorated with work from artists of Baja.

“My favorite part of being a chef of Valle is being able to showcase the Mexico that I know to everyone who visits,” Chef Alococer says. “Not only through the food, but with the design, culture, and welcoming service.”  

Try This!

Lobster Taco: Flour sourdough tortilla with lobster shell bisque and local red spiny lobster

Valle

222 North Pacific Street, Oceanside, California 92054
866-723-8906  | valleoceanside.com

Partner Content

Thousands of savvy locals already get it.

San Diego's best restaurants, experiences, and events—handpicked and delivered to your inbox weekly. You in?

Close the CTA

Contact Us

1230 Columbia Street, Suite 800,

San Diego, CA