Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

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Hey Everyone,

I’ve been struggling with acne prone skin ever since I turned 16. Acne was like Mother Nature’s gag gift to me at a time when getting attention from boys and experimenting with makeup makes it to the top of every girl’s list! Every time a pesky pimple appears on my face, I like to think about how twenty years down the line my skin won’t be as wrinkled and loose as my dry-skinned counterparts, which admittedly makes me feel a little better. As for now, even though the acne is mostly under control I like to keep a few products handy, just in case. I will be reviewing one of them for you today.

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Product Description
Neutrogena’s Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel is a spot treatment for acne that promises to accelerate the clearing of breakouts. Neutrogena describes it as a “maximum strength acne treatment for breakout emergencies that clears breakouts fast and helps prevent emerging breakouts even before they become visible.” The company adds that the breakthrough formula contains “MicroClear®, a powerful new technology clinically shown to boost delivery of acne medicine to clear congested pores and speed treatment deep to the source.”
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The gel is available in a tiny 0.5 oz. / 15 ml squeeze tube. The cardboard package the tube comes in is deceptively large for the tiny tube. I felt a little cheated when I first opened the box, only to find a tiny tube inside. However, since this is a spot treatment and not meant for the whole face, I figured that a tiny bit of this product would be potent and go a long way. The gel has a cloudy color and a strong fragrance which is typical of most Neutrogena products. The main ingredient in the product is Salicylic Acid, a proven chemical for battling acne, and the gel claims to reduce breakouts in just 8 hours!

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Ingredients
Active Ingredients:
Salicylic Acid 2%

Inactive Ingredients:
Water, Alcohol Denatured 38%, Witch Hazel Extract (Hamamelis Virginiana), Polyacrylamide, Glycerin, C13 14 Isoparaffin, Cyclopentasiloxane, C12 15 Alkyl Lactate, Benzalkonium Chloride Solution, Capryloyl Glycine, Sarcosine, Cinnamomum Zeylancium Bark Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Butylene Glycol, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Extract, PPG 2 Isoceteth 20 Acetate, Phenethyl Dimethicone, Cetyl Lactate, Cocamidopropyl PG Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Laureth 7, Propylene Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Ammonium Hydroxide, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

Price
$7.99

My Experience with Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

I have combination, acne prone skin and have mostly been able to control breakouts with the use of products that contain natural and organic ingredients. I bought this gel for the few stress and hormonal breakouts I experience every month. I’ve heard from numerous dermatologists that Salicylic Acid is one of the safest, cheapest and most easily available ingredients to battle acne, but their opinion on how much of the chemical any product should contain varies. I like this gel because I wouldn’t apply a 2% Salicylic Acid cream or gel all over my face and it lets me target specific parts of my face.

I didn’t expect the gel to keep up its promise that acne will be eliminated in 8 hours; however, the gel really works well as an overnight treatment. On existing pimples, it reduces swelling and redness to a great extent. And whenever I dab it on an area where I feel a breakout might be coming, it does a good job of controlling the breakout before it turns into a full-fledged pimple. The gel is effective on painful, hormonal cystic acne and overnight, if not in a few hours, reduces their size significantly and speeds up healing time.

Although the gel lives up to its promise of targeting acne quickly, it has two major downsides. The gel is very drying and while this works to eliminate the pimple I dab it on, it really dries out the skin around the breakout. Once the pimple is fully healed, it leaves behind dry skin which requires extra moisturization for days to follow. Also, because of the texture of the gel once it dries, it is challenging to put on makeup (foundation and/or powder) without making the problem areas of my skin more conspicuous. Because of this reason, I like to only use this gel at night even though I would benefit much more if I could use it 24/7.

PROS of Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

– Effective. While 8 hours might be overstating its effectiveness, the gel works fairly quickly in dealing with acne.
– Works on emerging breakouts too. This is one of few products I’ve tried that stops emerging breakouts from growing.
– Cheap. Although the tube is tiny, for an acne product that works, the price isn’t very high.
– No mess tube. The tube is a sanitary way to store the product and you can dispense just the right amount according to your need.
– Nice fragrance. Although strong, I quite enjoy the fragrance of this product.

CONS of Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

– Drying. Not recommended for use on large areas because the formula is incredibly drying.
– Texture makes makeup application patchy. I’ve tried different formulas of foundations over this and none of them glide over the gel easily.
– Limited Availability. I’m not entirely sure whether IMBBians can get this product in India easily.

Bottom Line
This is an impressive product that works rapidly to treat existing and stop future breakouts. However, its drying formula makes it fall short of being a miracle product. I recommend it to both people with acne-prone skin and those of you who experience a breakout once in a while.

Rating: 4.75/5

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13 thoughts on “Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel

  1. Thanks for d review..but do tell plzzz ..does it help in clearing out
    acne scars too..specially the black mark left by the acne after it has gone.

  2. It sounds like a dream product..but even if it was available here, I wouldn’t have been able to use it on my super dry skin 🙄

  3. I think I need to try this product. Nice review. But there’s one wonder product that I’ve been using and it’s Pure Skin Hide & Treat. I must tell you it’s the perfect. It not only dries your pimples but also makes your face spot free. I’m in love with this product.

    1. Thanks Shruti…I checked the product out, it contains Salicylic Acid too…will try and get my hands on it soon. It’s not available where I live 🙁

  4. this gonna b best mate in coming summers now.. 🙂 i hope it won’t affect my oily skin other than making it dry or shine free.. 😀

  5. I used to use the Neutrogena Spot Gel in my mother’s bathroom, but I also agree that Citrus Clear Grapefruit spot treatment works way better. And now my mom uses Citrus Clear also!
    Stress makes me break out like crazy and the larger the stress… the harder the break outs to control. I used the Neutrogena ointment onto my zits – Ouch, but it did burn! I have used every facial product that I can get my hands on. Most just make your blemishes rise to the surface and make you wonder why you really bother in the first place. But, Citrus Clear will dry out those pimples and make it worth it to even clean your face in the first place. You can the Citrus Clear Grapefruit Spot Gel while you sleep, but you can use it during the day too (as long as you don’t dump your make up on top of it!) it is a clear product so if you have an errend to your tiny town grocery store then you can do that

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