The two most important things to take note of are that this is oil free, meaning it won't dry your skin out, and that it's a wash. This means it is a preventative acne product and not something that will clear your existing breakout any faster than before. I use a little diluted tea tree oil (100% Australian Tea Tree Oil + FREE Blemish Roll-on Stick with Tea Tree Oil) for existing pimples or blemishes after a shower. It dries up the bacteria and helps clean pores out quicker than most other acne fixes. It absorbs quickly and any blemishes I have are normally gone within 48 hours.
The Neutrogena does really make a difference in future breakouts though. If you use it daily, you should see a significant decrease in breakouts from that point forward. It won't eliminate them altogether, but it does slow them down and decrease the amount of blemishes you have to deal with. If you do break out just use the tea tree oil and it'll clear up quick. My favorite things about this product is that it's a smooth wash and it doesn't have any scent which is important for me since I have sensitive skin.
This product will not treat existing acne! It is, however, part of a solution for treating/preventing acne. It's important to know what this product is for. I'm in my late 20's and never really did anything about my acne. I've always had mild acne on my back, chest, and face. A couple of months ago I decided to take it seriously. I bought Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub, a similar product, and used it religiously twice a day on my face, for two months, in addition to taking two showers a day instead of one. During this time, the acne on my face would go away, come back, appear in different spots, just as it always has. Towards the end of the two month period, the pimples on my forehead became huge all over my face much larger than normal the type that you feel bulging out of your skin and are painful if they come into contact with anything. I thought this product was the reason why it was so bad (since you use your fingers to apply the product) so I stopped using it and decided to make an appointment with a dermatologist. After calling 5 dermatologists and finding that none of them had any available appointments for months, I decided to research how to treat acne. If you google "treat acne" the 2nd link on "howstuffworks" provides lots of info.
Basically, dead skin cells continuously make their way to the outer surface of your skin where they form a protective layer against bacteria. Meanwhile, in hair follicles an oil called sebum is produced which also makes its way to the outer surface. However, if there's too many dead skin cells or an excessive amount of sebum, it will be block pores and the sebum and skin cells won't escape and eventually form bacteria "acne".
This "Oil-Free Acne Wash" is Salicylic Acid, which is used to remove excess dead skin cells on the surface of your skin so the sebum is not blocked. But chances are, if you're buying this product you already have acne bacteria. Simply clearing the dead skin cells won't do anything to kill the existing acne! You should use this product (or any other Salicylic Acid) with Benzoyl Peroxide. Benzoyl Peroxide actually kills the bacteria "P. acnes". Neutrogena sells "On the spot" acne treatment in a small tube. If you have acne on your back and chest also, you should buy at least 2 tubes. One tube will only last about a week depending upon how much acne you have. I stopped using the neutrogena pink grapefruit saliclic acid and switched to this one because it comes in a larger quantity with a pump bottle which is easier to use in the shower.
Here's the steps I follow:
1) Don't touch your face. Doctors have told me this before and I always knew it, but now it's on my mind and sometimes I see myself about to touch my face and stop.
2) Wash my bed sheets very often. In addition, I never sleep face down anymore. The oil from your hair will remain on the pillow, and when you sleep on your face it can cause acne.
3) Go for a jog and work up a light to moderate sweat (I don't do it every day). You should wear loose fitting clothes or you may get Acne Mechanica, a different type of acne caused by the friction between your clothes and skin. The sweat brings more dead skin cells to the surface. You must take a shower immediately (before the sweat evaporates). Once the sweat evaporates, it leaves salt and dead cells at the surface. If you've been reading this whole review, you now know this will cause a blockage for sebum oil and you will get bacteria (acne).
4) Take a shower. I wash my face, chest/stomache and back with salicylic acid then very lightly with aveeno body wash on my chest/back (because I'm not sure if the salicylic acid alone is a full substitute for normal soap). I wash the rest of my body normally since I don't get acne elsewhere.
5) Dry skin gently with clean towel (not one that's been sitting near the shower collecting bacteria). If your skin is red you can wait a little while before proceeding. Apply benzoyl peroxide on the acne and gently rub in. You should apply it in areas surrounding the acne as well (especially areas where you know you had acne previously). The first time I used this product, I thought I would use the entire tube on the first day that's how much acne I had. But there's a surprising amount in the tubes and you should only use a little on each pimple.
I repeat steps 4/5 in the evening or at night. On the weekends, it may be a good idea to leave your shirt off when you can. These products tend to dry out your skin, so I apply aveeno moisturizer only when I think I need it (worried that it may block pores). Also, you should be very very gentle when applying both products. There's no need to scrub it will only make it worse. A few days ago my skin near my neck became VERY red so I stopped applying it to that area for 1 day. It's back to normal but now I'm making sure to be much more gentle and also apply along the grain of the hair on my neck (as opposed to against the grain).
After using the above steps for only ONE day, I woke up the following day and I could not believe my eyes, I noticed a dramatic difference in the acne on my forehead. Remember, that acne was there for 2 months! The acne on my chest, stomach, and back were still as strong as ever. But since it worked so well on my forehead, I kept with it. I've now been doing this for 2 weeks and the acne on my forehead, while still visible is nearly gone (the surface is now smooth). The acne on my stomach is gone. The acne on my chest is still there, but seems diminished (I still have some large pimples that are being stubborn but seem to be fading away). I may switch to applying benzoyl peroxide 3 times a day on my chest. The acne on my shoulders is fading away. The acne on my back is nearly gone. If you don't notice changes immediately, stick with it. It says right on the box for "on the spot" that it may take 3 weeks for you to notice changes.
You may still get acne while using this. For instance, I almost freaked out because on the other side of my forehead where I was not using benzoyl peroxide, I felt a pimple starting to form (that feeling that you can feel it starting to bulge out of your skin). It wasn't "new" acne, it was exisiting acne that went away before I started to follow these steps and just happened to come back. I immediately starting using benzoyl peroxide in this area too (before a pimple was even there), and it went away immediately! The acne was never even visible. I did get one large acne pimple form on my chest, but it's also going away.
Hopefully this information will help someone out there!
Buy Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Now
I have used a solution of these two products Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment, Vanishing Formula, .75-Ounce Tubes (Pack of 3) and Neutrogena Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment, Oil-Free Acne Wash, 9.1 fl oz (270 ml) Bottles (Pack of 3) and this have been the only thing that I have needed for have my face clean of acne for the last year.
I use the cream in the night before go to sleep and the soap gel for washing my face on the morning.
When you start using it you can use it more often if you want but is going to dry your face, I see results after 20 days.
A friend of mine also use it and she now have her face clean, it tooked more time to her but it cleared her face.
Excellent product overall!!!
Note: You have to use it EVERY DAY, the day that you don't use it, it is going to start appearing acne in your face, as long as you use it every day everything is fine.
Read Best Reviews of Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Here
I have very oily skin and get an occasional blemish. Using this product not only keeps my skin clean and clear, but also eliminates blemshes.
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This face wash is amazing. I can always feel a difference in my face. this is a great deal because it comes in 3s.
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I first started using this product after having it prescribed to me by my local esthetician. I have always had a problem fending and keeping off blackheads but only got the occasional whitehead. In my late 20's, after a pregnancy induced hormonal change, my face started breaking out like an adolescent going through puberty. I even started to develope cystic type pimples around my jawline that took months sometimes to go away. I tried every product I could find. Eventually, after visiting with my esthetician a few years later, she recommended this product. I could see a difference in my complexion within days and was astounded!! I have been using this product ever since. It keeps away those pesky blackheads, I never get whiteheads or those horrible cystic pimples anymore. The product was very mild and has never dried out my face or caused irritation. It is recommended for use 2 times per day, however I use it only once and it still works like a charm. You also do not need alot of the solution to clean your face, about a dimes worth... so it lasts a while. I recommend this product to anyone looking for an effective and affordable pimple product that actually works.
