Review | Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Daily Foaming Wash

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Daily Foaming Wash

In this post, I will be sharing my thoughts on the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Daily Foaming Wash that I got from my local Boots store in November.

I started using this cleanser in November and it looks like it will finish by the end of this month (January), so as I’ve used it quite a bit now I’m ready to share my thoughts.

Neutrogena’s Description

Front of bottle: Helps reduce breakouts and fight spots for one less stress and visibly clearer skin.

Back of bottle: Helps control the breakout cycle by removing dirt, oil and impurities. With natural aloe vera, it soothes even sensitive skin, and is gentle enough for daily use. Oil Free.

Ingredients

Aqua, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propanediol, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Salicylic Acid, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Glycerin, Glyceryl Oleate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Parfum.

Quantity & Packaging

150ml clear liquid in a foaming pump bottle, which pumps out quite a small amount of foam at a time so 1-2 pumps are enough (or use a foaming net to double the size of 1 pump). The bottle has a plastic cap which isn’t very secure and the one I got already had a massive crack in it so they knocked off 25p and gave it to me for £1.

My Thoughts

Although this is marketed for acne-prone and sensitive skin (my skin) it annoyingly contains artificial fragrance which could potentially irritate the skin and I gotta say it’s a pretty strong fruity scent that I don’t particularly enjoy.

It also contains propanediol, glycerin, glyceryl oleate and hydrogenated palm glycerides citrate which are common ingredients that have actually caused me to break-out in the past but luckily this cleanser hasn’t caused any breakouts for me in the past 2 months and I guess that’s because it is a wash-off product.

It also contains a mix of salicylic acid, citric acid and lactic acid which although great for acne-prone skin, I assume is in low amounts as it probably wouldn’t be suitable for sensitive skin otherwise.

Also, I find that my skin does feel a little sore when using this, especially over any existing pimples but I’m not surprised considering the ingredients. Even with aloe vera as the 8th ingredient, I don’t feel any soothing properties from this at all, so not sure why they boldly claim this on the packaging.

Aside from the slight irritation and strong artificial fragrance, I did initially think this cleanser was not bad at all for a £1 cleanser as it seemed to get the job done without drying out my skin or causing breakouts, but recently I used the COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser again after a long time and noticed that in comparison this Neutrogena cleanser doesn’t actually leave my skin feeling clean enough, and I find myself trying to finish it quickly so I can move onto something else.

I won’t repurchase this cleanser as I’ve used much better for just a few quid more.

Also, I  just went on the Boots website to look for the details of this cleanser and it isn’t on there anymore. Maybe it was super cheap because they were planning on discontinuing it?

Let me know in the comments what cleanser you love using, any holy grails? So far for me, the Klairs Rich Moist Foaming Cleanser is at the top!