Overview
What it is
Face cleanser with 24 ingredients
Suited For
It has ingredients that are good for dry skin, sensitive skin and scar healing
Free From
It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, oils or silicones
Fun facts
Clean & Clear is from United States.
We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.
What's inside
Ingredients List
Water
Skin ConditioningSodium Laureth Sulfate
CleansingCocamidopropyl Betaine
CleansingGlycerin
HumectantAcrylates Copolymer
Sodium Chloride
MaskingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeGlycol Distearate
EmollientParfum
MaskingTetrasodium EDTA
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDMDM Hydantoin
PreservativeStyrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Methylparaben
PreservativeCitric Acid
BufferingSodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate
UV AbsorberFragaria Vesca Seed
AstringentPropylparaben
PreservativeEthylparaben
PreservativeAnanas Sativus Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
EmollientEuterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantCI 15985
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Glycol Distearate, Parfum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, DMDM Hydantoin, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Methylparaben, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate, Fragaria Vesca Seed, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, CI 19140, CI 15985
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Explained
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. Remember to stay hydrated!
Learn more about WaterSodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is a foaming, cleansing, and emulsifying ingredient. It is created from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. SLES is not the same as sodium lauryl sulfate. It is much milder and less likely to irritate.
SLES helps create foam in personal products. It also prevents ingredients from separating, helping to elongate the shelf life.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate is a type of sulfate. It can be drying. We recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient if you have concerns.
Learn more about Sodium Laureth SulfateCocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine, a compound with two amino groups.
This ingredient is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.
Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.
While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.
Learn more about Cocamidopropyl BetaineGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinAcrylates Copolymer is used as a film-forming agent and texture enhancer.
After applied, Acrylates Copolymer forms a thin film cover that helps skin feel more soft. It can help sunscreens become more water-resistant.
It is also used to make a product more thick.
Learn more about Acrylates CopolymerChances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.
You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChloridePhenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.
It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.
Glycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.
That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.
This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.
Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Glycol DistearateParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumTetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.
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 HydroxideDMDM Hydantoin has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. It is a preservative that works by slowly releasing formaldehyde over time.
So what's formaldehyde?
DMDM Hydantoin is approved for use in cosmetics all around the world.
In the EU, this ingredient is allowed in personal products up to 0.6 percent.
You might have heard of the class-action lawsuit about it causing hair loss. According to chemists, there has not been a link found between this ingredient and hair loss.
The Hydantoin part of this ingredient is created by reacting glycolic acid and urea.
You can check out alternatives to Dmdm Hydantoin:
phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, and sodium benzoate.
This ingredient is a synthetic polymer that mainly works as a film former. It creates a thin, flexible film on the surface of your skin. Once applied, it helps improves wear, durability, and resistance to water/smudging.
Due to its large molecule size, it sits on top of your skin rather than absorbing into it.
Methylparaben is a synthetic preservative and one of the most widely used in the world. It has a simple, but important job: prevent your products from going bad by stopping bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing.
Typical use levels are low, often 0.1-0.3%.
This is also one of the most heavily studied preservatives out there and major regulatory bodies have repeatedly given it the green light.
In 2023, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) confirmed that this ingredient is safe up to 0.4% on its own, of up to 0.8% when mixed with other paraben esters.
Here's the science behind the noise behind parabens/hormones as well:
Methylparaben shows very weak estrogen-like activity in vitro tests (more than 1,000x weaker than your body's own estradiol). In vivo (live-organism) studies don't support a meaningful endocrine-disrupting effect either.
You get a stronger estrogenic effect from eating tofu, actually.
It's also a low sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon; they usually happen on damage or broken skin.
There is a caveat: France has proposed to formally re-examine its endocrine classification in 2025 so the regulatory conversation isn't fully closed as of yet.
But as it stands today, this ingredient is considered safe at permitted levels.
Learn more about MethylparabenCitric Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
Like other AHAs, citric acid can exfoliate skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.
However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.
Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.
In skincare formulas, citric acid can:
While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.
Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.
Read more about some other popular AHA's here:
Learn more about Citric AcidWe don't have a description for Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate yet.
Fragaria Vesca Seed comes from the species of strawberry known as the wild strawberry. This strawberry grows in the northern hemisphere.
As an astringent, Fragaria Vesca Seed tightens the pores by drawing water out.
Propylparaben is a preservative and one of the most widely used members of the paraben family (it's been used in cosmetics for over a century now).
It works by disrupting microbial cell membranes and enzymes, and is a broad-spectrum protector that works exceptionally well against molds, yeasts, and gram-positive bacteria.
You'll likely see it paired with methylparaben to cover the full range (including gram-negative bacteria).
This ingredient is effective at low concentrations (~0.2-0.5%) and stable across a wide pH range (4.5-7.5 pH). It's effectiveness drops off above pH 8 and it can lose potency when combined with non-ionic surfactants like polysorbate 80 due to micellization.
The regulatory bodies have concluded this ingredient to be safe as used in cosmetics. The EU has capped it at 0.14% and combined parabens are not to exceed 0.8%.
While parabens do cross the stratum corneum, only about 1% remains for absorption into the body. This is because most of it is metabolized within living skin.
Learn more about PropylparabenEthylparaben is a preservative, is a paraben, and is not reef safe.
This extract comes from the pineapple fruit. Its main claim to fame is bromelain, a gentle exfoliator that helps remove dead skin cells from the outermost layer of skin.
Exfoliation from bromelain is considered a gentler alternative to physical or chemical exfoliants; this makes it suitable for sensitive skin types.
Beyond exfoliation, this extract also contains natural sugars with humectant properties and some vitamin C.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated and low-risk ingredient unless you have a pineapple allergy.
Learn more about Ananas Sativus Fruit ExtractCocos Nucifera Fruit Extract comes from the meat of the coconut fruit. It is an emollient and skin conditioner with antioxidant properties.
Coconut fruit is naturally rich in amino acids, sugars, and nutrients including Vitamin C and small amounts of vitamin B. Malic acid can also be found in coconut fruit extract.
This extract comes from the Cabbage Palm, AKA the Açaí berry! It has skin soothing and antioxidant properties.
Acai berries are rich in antioxidants, including ferulic acid (The famous vitamin C stabilizer). Antioxidants protect your skin against damaging free-radical molecules.
You can also find carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, minerals, vitamin A, and Vitamin C in these berries.
Learn more about Euterpe Oleracea Fruit ExtractCI 19140 is also known as Tartrazine. Tartrazine is a synthetic dye used in cosmetics, foods, and medicine to add a yellow color.
Tartrazine is created from petroleum and is water-soluble.
Some people may experience allergies from this dye, especially asthmatics and those with an aspirin intolerance.
Learn more about CI 19140Ci 15985 is a dye made from petroleum. It is synthetically created and approved by the FDA for use in foods and cosmetics.
The color of this dye is orange/yellow.
This ingredient can be found in makeup, sun care, and skincare.
Learn more about CI 15985Reviews
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Where it's from
Clean & Clear is a American brand
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We're dedicated to providing you with the most up-to-date and science-backed ingredient info out there.
The data we've presented on this page has been verified by a member of the SkinSort Team.
Read more about us· Published December 17, 2024 • Added by BlackCat808