Does Neutrogena’s Acne Stress Control Wash Perform?

I tried a sample of Neutrogena’s Acne Stress Control “Power-Clear Scrub” while I was mid-breakout. The scrub is basically a cream cleanser with tiny round blue microbeads to help exfoliate your skin. This face wash contains 2 percent Salicylic Acid to assist in clearing your skin and preventing further breakouts. I didn’t experience any drying effects or redness, but I also didn’t experience my skin clearing up. The beads were also pretty darn stubborn to rinse off- getting caught on my skin and in my hairline. I probably would have liked the plain cream cleanser more from this line since my sensitive skin does not usually react well to “microbead” style exfoliators.

One further note, this facial wash contains AHAs (Alpha-Hydroxy Acids), so be extra vigilant about applying sunscreen while using this scrub. AHAs cause your skin to be more photosensitive meaning you could burn more easily. Yet another reason to faux-glow.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control, Power-Clear Scrub is available at Drugstore.com for $8.49 (4.2 ounce tube).