Versus

Panoxyl Acne Creamy Wash Benzoyl Peroxide 4% Daily Control Versus Paula's Choice Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide

Face Cleanser
Facial Treatment
American Brand United States
American Brand United States

Updated on August 12, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe . They have a total of 4 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain benzoyl peroxide

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne and dry skin

Free From

They both do not contain any common allergens, oils, parabens or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Buffering, Masking

Sodium Citrate is the sodium salts of citric acid. In skincare, it is used to alter pH levels and acts as a preservative.

Its main functions are to maintain the pH of a product and neutralize metal ions.

The acidity of our skin is maintained by our glands and skin biome; normal pH level of skin is slightly acidic (~4.75-5.5).

Being slightly acidic allows our skin to create an "acid mantle". This acid mantle is a thin barrier that protects our skin from bacteria and contaminants.

Learn more about Sodium Citrate
Buffering

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

Learn more about Sodium Hydroxide

Benzoyl Peroxide is famous for fighting acne. This is because it does a variety of tasks on the skin: it helps reduce excess oil, kill bacteria, and clear out dead skin cells. In other words, it is effective at unclogging pores.

These properties make it great at fighting different types of acne, including cystic and inflammatory types of acne.

When targeting the bacteria in your pores, Benzoyl Peroxide has been shown to kill the bacteria without causing sensitivity. It also helps keep your skin's natural bacteria and biome balanced. Having a healthy biome protects your skin from external harmful factors.

Once Benzoyl Peroxide is absorbed into the skin, our bodies turn it into benzoic acid and quickly exits in urine.

When using Benzoyl Peroxide, it may be irritating for some people due to a variety of reasons, such as a broken skin barrier or just an allergic reaction. We recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient if you have concerns.

Learn more about Benzoyl Peroxide

When to use

1,197 Routines
40% use in am
60% use in pm
85% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
181 Routines
38% use in am
62% use in pm
75% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Panoxyl Acne Creamy Wash Benzoyl Peroxide 4% Daily Control 21 ingredients

4.1 /5
from 18 ratings
Works Well (5) Drying (4) Great Value (4)
Chickenugget88's avatar

🧙🏻‍♀️

3 months ago
Review

Benzoyl peroxide is awesome. It's the only thing that has actively staved off and cleared my acne. Contact treatment with this cleanser (leaving it on for 2 mins then rinsing and going in with my daily cleanser) makes it that the bp isn't interacting with my moisturiser and it's been revolutionary in clearing my cystic and non cystic acne the past 2 weeks. I prefer Differin's bp wash formulation, Show more

#great value
#drying
#works well
Clover's avatar

Clover

2 years ago
Review

Just bought my 5th bottle!
This is possibly my most repurchased product. Benzoyl peroxide is a fantastic ingredient to fight the bacteria that causes acne but it can be so drying. I consider my skin to be combination because I’m acne prone, but I defiantly lean dry and it’s hard to find products that cater to both acne prone and dry skin. Unlike many BP products I’ve tried, this cleanser does NOT Show more

Paula's Choice Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide 14 ingredients

4.8 /5
from 4 ratings
Absorbs Well (2) No Scent (2) Works Well (2)
joji_blossom_tree's avatar

joji_blossom_tree

4 months ago
Review

genuinely stabilized my acne, don’t get much too any breakouts anymore and i have oily acne prone skin (only con would be that it has lightened my skin over time)

#great value
#absorbs well
#no scent
#works well