Review: Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Gentle Scrub

Price: Various prices, $7.67 from Walmart, $6.99 from Target

What they say: With naturally soothing aloe and chamomile, this gentle scrub powerfully clears away breakouts and blackheads without over-drying and visibly reduces redness caused by acne. Unique formula calms irritation while gentle microbeads smooth away roughness. Skin looks and feels clearer, smoother and healthier.

What's in it: Active Ingredients - Salicylic Acid - 2 % Acne Treatment, Inactive Ingredients - Water , Cetyl Alcohol , PPG-15 Stearyl Ether , Glycolic Acid , Polyethylene , Steareth-21 , Glycerin , Polysorbate 60 , C12-15 Alkyl Lactate , Cetyl Lactate , Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract (Matricaria) , Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract , Panthenol , Propylene Glycol , Potassium Cetyl Phosphate , Sodium Benzotriazoyl Butylphenyl Sulfonate , Xanthan Gum , Disodium EDTA , Sodium Hydroxide , Mannitol , Cellulose , Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose , Menthol , Benzalkonium Chloride , Yellow 5 , Blue 1 , Fragrance

The good stuff:

• Smells really nice
• Creamy texture w/ exfoliating beads
• Leaves skin feeling clean & smooth
• Contains acne medication

The low-down:

• CONTAINS MENTHOL... this is the downfall for me
• Increased my redness T__T
• Made my skin feel sensitive

My take: I was sooo sad that this scrub didn't work for me! I was wanting to try it for the LONGEST time because of the slight ruddiness on my cheeks, and I was SO glad when Mai did her review, and gave me some to try! I did not think to look up the ingredients beforehand, so it was already too late for me because as I was in the middle of scrubbing my face with it, I felt the dreaded (for me at least) "cooling" sensation :(

Some of you may know that menthol is on my no-no ingredient list... my skin doesn't tolerate it too well (I have not had problems with AHAs or BHAs, so I know that's not the issue). So when I started feeling the coolness, instant "OH SHIT" mode kicked in. But it wasn't TOO bad. Nothing like my prior experience with Neutrogena's Deep Clean Invigorating Scrub, that left me with peeling, dry skin AND pimples.

So after the first use, I was a bit worried by the menthol and noticed a slight redness on my cheeks (I should note -- I felt like I was being gentle while scrubbing with it, but it still felt harsher than say, Neutrogena's Deep Clean Gentle Scrub) but I decided to give it a few more tries (the next morning & night). I figured that it's supposed to SOOTHE redness, so maybe it'll get better with more use, right? Wrong. My skin became much more noticably red, as well as sensitive on my cheeks... the area where I want to get rid of redness -_-; I should also mention, I don't consider my skin to be sensitive; it can handle scrubs and medicated products.... just not menthol, apparently. Maybe it would get better with continued use, but I don't want to chance it. My conclusion: products containing any amount of menthol are just not for me.

With that being said, this scrub is A LOT gentler than Neutrogena's Deep Clean Invigorating Scrub, and the cooling sensation much milder. The exfoliating beads (tiny clear ones and larger green ones) are suspended in a base of creamy goodness... I quite like the texture. And the smell -- very soothing.

Would I repurchase/recommend?
Sadly, I would not repurchase because of the menthol :( I wouldn't recommend this to those with very sensitive skin, or others who are sensitive to menthol. But for those with more resilient skin and who like the refreshing sensation and a good exfoliating scrub, I would say go for it!

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