Neutrogena Acne Proofing Gel Cleanser and Facial Scrub | BrandBacker

Hey, hey!

I'm so happy I got to work with @neutrogena on this post!

Why?

This was my go-to brand when I dealt with painfully embarrassing acne in high school. It was accessible, cheap, and effective -- it's an ACE brand because it lived up to its promises.

And this line that they recently came out with is NO EXCEPTION.

It was honestly, in my opinion, fate that I got to work with Neutrogena to promote and try out this line, because I was having difficulty with my skin since the season charged. The summer humidity hasn't been kind to my skin. My face has gotten oilier, and I've been having little breakouts here and there.

Fun.

And then the #AcneProofing gel and scrub showed up in the mail!

My inner skincare-holic screamed when she saw this. This could be the answer to her skin prayers!

Why I didn't purchase it in the first place is because I've been playing it safe with my face by using products I already had that I knew would do their thing but with some time. From prior experience, I know that salicylic acid can be super drying, hence I stopped using it for a while after high school. But after using it for the past few weeks, I think it's safe to say that I can use it in the summer with sunscreen, of course!

Ingredients

Acne Proofing Gel Cleanser

Active Ingredient

Salicylic Acid (2%) 

Inactive Ingredients

Water, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate, Fragrance, Sodium Hydroxide, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Panthenol, C12-15 Alkyl Lactate, Disodium EDTA, Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Benzalkonium Chloride

Acne Proofing Daily Scrub

Active Ingredient

Salicyclic Acid (2%)

Inactive Ingredient

Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sorbitol, Cellulose, Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate, Acrylates Crosspolymer-4, Panthenol, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Microcrystalline Wax, C12-15 Alkyl Lactate, Benzalkonium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Talc, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 30

Packaging

The gel cleanser comes in a bottle with a pump (which I love) while the scrub comes in a tube with a flip cap. It's plain and simple, making it easy to use the products!

Thoughts

Let’s start off with the scent: The scent reminds me of anything that’s bamboo scented. It’s just fresh and clean smelling. (Wow, SJ, that’s really descriptive…) I don’t know, really, but I do know that I like the scent because it isn’t overpowering.

As a whole, I found the products to be effective. I tested them out for a good three weeks, borderline four by the time this post goes up, and I can say that it has helped me get my acne under control. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been shying away from products where the headlining star is salicylic acid because I know how dry it makes my skin. With this product, it’s a different story since the people at Neutrogena made sure that this would have a gentle yet effective formula. They made sure that this wouldn’t further irritate a damaged skin barrier, therefore preventing your skin from having any more problems than it already has and letting it heal while treating it! (For further insight, I suggest checking out Liah Yoo on YouTube. She does a splendid job discussing the problems of having a damaged skin barrier and how to recover.)

Post wash, I noticed my face felt a little dry, pretty much normal if I had normal skin and a little taut (I use this loosely because I know what it’s like to have dry skin post face wash). It didn’t bother me since I would go in with the rest of my skincare routine and my face would be back to my normal.

The texture of the gel cleanser is as it says; it’s a gel. The scrub is gentle and not abrasive on the skin. I feel like the beads are larger than other scrubs than I’ve tried, so there isn’t as much but it still allows for gentle exfoliation. Don’t quote me on this, it’s just what I’ve noticed! Let me know if I’m wrong or not, I’d like to know, because I haven’t used a physical exfoliator in a while.

For me, however, I wish there were more beads. I like that it’s easy on the skin, but maybe it could use a little more to make it seem like I’m actually exfoliating my skin. I dunno -- maybe I’m just a sadist when it comes to physical exfoliation? Maybe I can actually hear those dead skin cells screaming when they’re being sloughed off?

(Sami, they’re dead -- what the heck?)

All in all, I’m going to give this duo a 

4.5/5 stars

Because I like the packaging, scent, and found them to be effective. I mean, I’ve been using them for the past almost

month, so I should know by now if they’re worth it or not.

And, honey (snaps fingers in the air), I can tell you that they’re worth it. Sure, I got one or two massive zits during the time I used these, but those were on the days when I didn’t wash with them in the evening or just washed my face in general at the end of the day. 

If you’re interested in trying these out for yourself, you can buy them at any drugstore or supermarket for under $10 a piece! At this point, they’re seriously worth the money. 

If you’ve tried either or both of these out already, what did you think? Lemme know in the comments! Also, mention your skin type so that people in your tribe can read and/or share their experience with these products!

-- s.j.

FTC: I was sent these products by BrandBacker and Neutrogena in exchange for my honest opinions.