Neutrogena Rapid Clear Reviews (2024 UPDATE): Is It Effective Enough?

Contents

What Is Neutrogena Rapid Clear?

Neutrogena Rapid Clear is an over-the-counter acne medication that is used to get rid of breakouts as fast as possible.

It also helps to prevent breakouts from happening in the future.

This product uses a formula called MICROCLEAR which pushes lots of salicylic acid to your breakouts by dissolving oil that is clogging your pores.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear

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Who Makes Neutrogena Rapid Clear?

Neutrogena is the creator of Rapid Clear. They are owned by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

Neutrogena is known as the #1 dermatologist-recommended skincare product in over 70 countries.

Best Neutrogena Rapid Clear Alternative?

Due to all the negative reviews about Neutrogena Rapid Clear, we’ve been looking for a competitive product that was proven more effective. We checked several of them with deception and finally came around a real effective anti-acne treatment. You can read its review HERE.

Who Is Neutrogena Rapid Clear For?

This acne medication is used for anyone who is seeking an affordable over-the-counter option to treat moderate to severe acne, blackheads, inflammatory acne and those random breakouts.

It’s a product that is marketed towards those who do not wish to seek treatment or cannot afford treatment by an actual dermatologist.

How Does Neutrogena Rapid Clear Work?

The key to Neutrogena Rapid Clear is that the formula has up to 2% salicylic acid, compared to many products on the market that only contain 1%.

Salicylic acid is the key ingredient because it takes actions that encourage the exfoliation of your skin.

This dissolves the oils in your skin, gets rid of dead and dry skin cells, disinfects, and ends up unclogging your pores.

Another way this ingredient can help those struggling with acne is it can reduce sebum secretion, which can help with the prevention of acne from forming in the first place.

It has a natural anti-inflammatory nature which can help those struggling with inflammatory acne.

While the salicylic acid works great on blackheads, whiteheads, and some forms of acne, it hasn’t been proven to get rid of cystic acne, leaving some consumers unsatisfied.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Ingredients

Here is the full ingredients list of this anti-acne product:

  • 2% Salicylic Acid
  • Water
  • Alcohol Denat
  • Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) 
  • Polyacrylamide
  • Glycerin
  • C13-14 Isoparaffin
  • Cyclopentasiloxane
  • C12-15 Alkyl Lactate
  • Alcohol
  • Laureth-7
  • Phenoxyethanol
  • Cetyl Lactate
  • Ppg-2 Isoceteth-20 Acetate
  • Cocamidopropyl Pg-dimonium Chloride Phosphate
  • Polysorbate 20
  • Phenethyl Dimethicone
  • Fragrance
  • Dehydroxanthan Gum
  • Propylene Glycol
  • Benzalkonium Chloride
  • Ammonium Hydroxide
  • Tetrasodium Edta
  • Butylene Glycol
  • Capryloyl Glycine
  • Sarcosine
  • Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Extract
  • Cedrus Atlantica Bark Extract
  • Portulaca Oleracea Extract

As you can see, this product contains a very long list of ingredients, many of which the average consumer can barely pronounce.

Consumers should know where each ingredient comes from and the effects of using it on their skin in the long term.

In our opinion, this ingredient list is long and has too many unpronounceable chemical ingredients.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Side Effects

The main side effects of using this product to treat acne are dry skin as well as skin irritation.

One of the most alarming side effects is the risk of sunburn. The product contains an alpha hydroxy acid that has been proven to increase the sensitivity of your skin when exposed to sunlight.

Neutrogena also suggests using this product every day to prevent future breakouts. This runs the risk of having your skin build up a dependency for this product which could lead to your acne being much worse.

While the side effects listed by Neutrogena are few, many of the ingredients in this product can have serious side effects when used long term.

Propylene Glycol, for instance, may not be dangerous when used once in a while. However, long-term application can result in many side effects.

Using it on the skin for a long time or accidentally ingesting it can result in itching, redness, nausea, vomiting, burning sensations and irritation.

If you get this product in your eyes or swallow it, you should seek medical help or contact Poison Control immediately.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Dosage

When using this product for your acne, you should first take the necessary steps to cleanse your skin thoroughly.

Once your skin is clean, cover the acne with a thin layer.

When you start using this product, only use it once a day to make sure you do not have any side effects or allergic reactions.

Once your skin has adjusted to the product, you can start applying it 1-3 times daily as needed.

If you experience irritation, dry skin, flakiness, or peeling, you should reduce the application to once a day or once every other day.

The company claims that you can use this product regularly to prevent future breakouts from happening, though there is no proof that this works for prevention.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Reviews

A quick online search has revealed that consumers have pretty mixed experiences when dealing with this product.

Some claim the product worked immediately and others say it took 4 days before anything happened.

Many customers dealing with severe and painful acne said it did nothing at all for them.

Some even said that it was just too strong and often resulted in a burning sensation when they applied it.

Dry and flaky skin was a common complaint among many of the customers leaving reviews on Neutrogena Rapid Clear.

Where To Buy Neutrogena Rapid Clear

This anti-acne medication can be found over-the-counter at any pharmacy, makeup store, and Walmart.

You can also purchase it from online retailers such as Amazon.

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Does Neutrogena Rapid Clear Really Work Or Is It A Scam?

There have been no studies done to prove Neutrogena Rapid Clear really works in the treatment and prevention of acne.

The use of salicylic acid is the main selling point of this product. However, it hasn’t been proven to work on cystic acne because it does not treat the factors that contribute to this type of acne.

This makes the product useless to those who need it most.

While it seems to work on the odd blackhead and whitehead, it doesn’t appear to be the best product on the market for those dealing with more severe cases of acne.

With such a long list of chemicals that could have potentially harmful side effects and could even make your acne worse, there are a lot of better options on the market.

You’d be better off going with an acne treatment product that has cleaner and more natural ingredients, along with studies to back up their claims.

Latest Comments:

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by Terica Roder review for Neutrogena Rapid Clear

After washing my face, it gave my skin a burning sensation. I woke up with puffy eyes. I could be allergic to one of its ingredients.

by Kareen V. review for Neutrogena Rapid Clear

It’s not worth the hype. It only made my acne terrible!

by Jolie M. review for Neutrogena Rapid Clear

The product works at keeping my acne away but I don’t like the minty smell.

by Marilynn Tooley review for Neutrogena Rapid Clear

I have a very oily skin so my skin is very susceptible to acne. I tried the gel, but it makes my skin a little dry and tight.