For many people, washing their face is just a routine task – most won’t even give it a second thought. However for those suffering from acne, washing your face becomes incredibly important – it can mean the difference between acne and no acne.
I remember when my head was just one giant pimple, washing and cleansing my face was one of the most important activities of the day – hoping that it would reduce my acne.
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How Important Is An Acne Face Wash?
There are so many different face cleansers for acne it can get confusing to decide which one to go for. However, it’s important to choose the right cleanser for you as this will help eliminate bacteria from skin, which if left alone, will encourage breakouts.
Properly cleaning your skin will also ensure that dead cells are removed from the surface, making it easier for the other acne treatments you’re using to be effective.
A good cleanser therefore needs to be powerful enough to remove unwanted stuff and keep skin clear, but gentle enough so as not to damage your skin further. The best acne cleansers will be gentle, alcohol-free and non-abrasive.
Many of us will have found out the hard way that expensive is not always better, but then again, if you can afford it, I highly recommend you buy the best face wash and cleanser money can buy – as they do make a huge difference.
Best Acne Face Wash
There are so many different face washes, it’s confusing. It’s even more confusing because they all say they are the best! But don’t worry; I’m here to help.
I’ve been doing mind-numbing amounts of research to find you the best acne face wash on the market – and the good news is – I found them!
While all the products listed on this page have helped a huge number of people get rid of acne, due to different skin types, the best acne cleanser for one person might not necessarily be the best for the next person. So don’t be discouraged if you’re not seeing the same results as others, just try a different product (with different ingredients) until you get the acne free skin you’re looking for.
In order to get the best benefit as soon as possible from a face wash for acne, you should find one with an active ingredient. The two most effective ingredients are benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid – which we’ll look at in more detail below.
Best Benzoyl Peroxide Wash
There’s lots of research to support that the best face wash for acne contains an active ingredient called benzoyl peroxide. A benzoyl peroxide face wash will help exfoliate your skin, which is important for getting rid of any excess oil. But the true power behind it is that it has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, meaning that it will help kill bacteria and reduce inflammation and redness.
If you have very sensitive skin, a benzoyl peroxide wash might not be the best option for you, and if you do find any problems using it, I recommended you use a gentler product. Bear in mind, that damaging your skin in the pursuit of acne free skin won’t work – it will just make the inflammation and outbreaks more visible.
The best benzoyl peroxide wash products are:
1. Topix Benzoyl Peroxide 10%
With 10% of the active ingredient, it’s very likely to help with treatment of acne. Many users claim it works better than prescription medication, and some even go as far as calling this product a miracle in a bottle. It doesn’t help everyone, and might not be suitable if you have an extremely sensitive skin, but it certainly helps many people with getting much clearer skin.
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2. Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser
This face wash with benzoyl peroxide not only removes dirt and excess oil but more importantly pushes this key ingredient into the pores where it works its magic. While Clean and Clear tries to be sensitive to skin and avoid irritation; with 10% benzoyl peroxide it is not recommended for those with very sensitive skin. It’s important to use this cleanser daily, unless you’re suffering from dry or irritated skin.
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3. Jan Marini Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5%
With only 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide, this is slightly less powerful and might be a better option for those experiencing dried out skin using the other two washes.
Despite a lower content of this active ingredient, the reviews are still excellent, and is helping many people reduce their outbreaks.
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Best Salicylic Acid Face Wash
Salicylic acid is the so-called magic ingredient in many different acne products, including lotions, face washes and creams. A salicylic acid acne treatment will help to rid your skin of excess cells by exfoliating the skin and unclog the blocked pores causing acne. It’s however necessary, just like with a benzoyl peroxide face wash to use it continuously – if you stop to use it, the pores will block up again and acne is likely to come back.
If you’re finding that a benzoyl peroxide acne wash is causing irritation and redness due to sensitive skin; it might be best to try out a salicylic acid acne face wash instead since it is soothing and is less likely to cause irritation.
The best acne washes containing salicylic acid are:
1. Clenziderm M.D. Daily Care Foaming Cleanser by Obagi Medical
This highly effective cleanser contains 2% Salicylic Acid and has been the solution for many people. This is one of the best-reviewed products on Amazon, with many reviewers stating that this was the best acne product they have used. Despite the slightly higher price, it still comes highly recommended due to the amazing results it can give you.
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2. Philosophy Clear Days Ahead Oil-Free Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment Cleanser
This is another face wash for acne that has a tremendous amount of satisfied users. Reading the testimonials and reviews of Clear Days Ahead was enough to give it this number two spot.
This product will cleanse your skin to reduce breakouts and leave you with a refreshing orange scent.
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3. Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser
This salicylic acid face wash has received some outstanding reviews on its results to fight acne, despite only having 0.5% of the active ingredient. Therefore, this is the best option for those with sensitive skin, who are still looking for an effective treatment for pimples, and preventing breakouts. In addition, the soy extracts help to moisturize the skin.
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Best Acne Soap
Soap for acne has just one purpose, to reduce pimples. Most soap achieves this by cleaning out your pores in the gentlest way possible, while exfoliating your skin.
When choosing soap, always avoid fragranced products, as these can cause irritation and won’t actually help in any way to fight spots. Unless it’s an active ingredient proven to help cure acne, only go for natural ingredients. Bear in mind that there are plenty of powerful home remedies for pimples you can try yourself, which I look at in detail on this website. Some of these natural solutions are highly effective and are what the top selling soaps and cleansers tend to be based on anyway. So if you’re looking for an effective, proven and cheap way to not only control your outbreaks, but maybe even get rid of them, definitely have a look at the natural cures I researched for you. They tend to work best in combination with some of the over the counter products I reviewed above.
The best acne soap will have a proven track record with plenty of real testimonials. It preferably should have some proven acne-fighting ingredients, and work in a way so as not to dry out your skin excessively. Unfortunately, there is no single best soap I can recommend here, as it will really depend on the severity of your outbreaks, and your skin type. The key here is to try out some of the best soaps for acne, and see which one works best for your skin.
Personally I always used a normal high quality, moisturizing soap, since special acne soaps never had much effect on me. I do recommend using special body or face washes and cleansers, which are reviewed above – as they can make a big difference.
Best Acne Body Wash
There aren’t that many body washes out there specifically designed to help with problematic skin. Most of the body washes we reviewed that showed some kind of promise in fighting spots were much too aggressive and due to the high number of complaints I didn’t want to include them here – having gone through having super sensitive skin as well due to a combination of spots and aggressive acne treatments. Very dry skin is in fact slightly worse that a bunch of spots on your face and body!
We did find one body wash that shows a whole lot of promise, and the customer reviews of the Exposed Body Wash are very good. The Exposed Body Wash is made by Exposed Skincare, a company which designs products to fight pimples. Their body wash is designed to help get rid of acne on the body in a very effective way, while still being gentle – which as I’ve mentioned is paramount. This product has both acne medicine and natural remedies working together to clear your skin.
The main active ingredient of this product is Salicylic Acid which helps clear blocked pores that may be causing the acne as we’ve seen above. It has extra goodness added to to it in the form of Pro-Vitamin B5 and sage extract. These help regulate oil production on the skin and detoxifies the skin. Combining all these ingredients makes it into a very effective treatment.
In addition to these powerful ingredients, it also has some of the best natural remedies added to it that we’ve recommended here already. The include witch hazel, tea tree leaf oil, glycolic acid and peppermint oil. These will help fight the whiteheads, while soothing the skin.
The fact that it only contains 0.5% Salicylic Acid and is applied on the body means that it can be effective without drying out the skin too much. But as we’ve seen, this ingredient can cause more sensitive skin to go fairly dry.
We can conclude this Exposed Body Wash review by saying that the ingredients and the customer testimonials I’ve seen make it look like a very good treatment for body acne. In fact, it might well be the best we’ve seen.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL EXPOSED SKINCARE WEBSITE
I tried 5-6 products to eliminate acne that had been with me for two years. I tried salicyclic acid, witch hazel, herbal remedies. I only used products that contained those ingredients because I have sensitive skin, and those ingredients are requirements if you have sensitive skin. The products that worked the best where Malin Goetz & Citrus Clear. The Malin products were more expensive, so I only bought their spot treatment, but I bought the Citrus Clear Sensitive Line (With the Wash and moisturizer) – and within two days, the acne was gone! I use the Citrus Clear stuff at the first sign of a breakout, and the Malin product maybe once every two weeks.