Neutrogena Visibly Clear Rapid Clear Treatment

This product claims to visibly reduce spots in 8 hours. It is a translucent gel that you use to spot-treat blemishes on the skin. It comes in a 0.5 oz tube, and recommends that you spot treat 2-3 times a day for optimal results.



I purchased this product for $9 CDN, which included a bonus tube of Neutrogena's Rapid Clear Clear Oil-Control Foaming Cleanser, from London Drugs.

I didn't have any expectations for either product, but was looking to try both in an attempt to find a new cleanser and (hopefully) spot treatment for acne. I have been using both products for approximately one month, but for now, I will just share my opinions of the spot treatment.

Originally, when I bought the product, I had a huge cystic zit in the middle of my eyebrows, up past the bridge of my nose. Cystic acne, for those of you who don't know, are infections under the skin. It is acne UNDER the skin, as a result, large nodules or cysts appear on top of the skin - they are nearly impossible to pop and are extremely painful.

So anyways, I bought this product and applied it to my blemish. It stings for a few seconds, because it contains 2% Salicylic Acid, but the pain quickly recedes. The gel absorbs quickly into the skin, depending on how heavily you layer it on - the more heavily you layer it, the longer it takes to absorb completely and will remain tacky on the skin for longer.

However, the claims that there is a visible reduction in your blemish eight hours later is a false claim. Eight hours later - there was no visible difference in my acne. I applied the gel again. And again, about 2 hours later. By the time I woke up the next morning, the only significant difference I could notice was the fact that my zit hurt substantially less than it had the day before. I kept applying the gel three to five times a day - and approximately 3-5 days after I started the treatment, my acne spot was virtually gone.

I have continued using this product for the entire month, and have kept coming up with similar results - especially during this past week, where I had a few more breakouts than normal. The treatment did not significantly speed up the healing process, to my knowledge. I would say, it sped up the repair of my skin about a day sooner than allowing the zit to go away au naturale would.

I also noticed that when you pop the zit first, and then apply the treatment, it takes the skin longer to repair itself than if you applied the treatment to an unbroken blemish.

All in all, I've concluded that this product is a waste of your money. I'm sure there are sigifnicantly more effective spot treatments out there - ones that give you better 'bang for your buck.' I wanted to love this product and have it become a staple in the upkeep of my skin, but it fell short of my lack of expectations.

I give it two out of five stars.
**

"Charm is deceptive,
and beauty is fleeting:
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
-- Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)