Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Sensitive Skin Facial Cleanser

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Sensitive Skin Facial Cleanser

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Overview

What it is

Face cleanser with 15 ingredients that contains BHA

Cool Features

It is reef safe

Suited For

It has ingredients that are good for fighting acne, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing and better texture

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

Fun facts

Neutrogena is from United States. This product is used in 3 routines created by our community.

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

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Explained

Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is a well-known ingredient for treating skin that struggles with acne and clogged pores. It exfoliates both the skin's surface and deep within the pores to help clear out buildup, control oil, and reduce inflammation.

Unlike AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), salicylic acid is oil-soluble. This allows it to penetrate into pores which makes it especially effective for treating blackheads and preventing future breakouts.

Salicylic acid is also known for its soothing properties. It has a similar structure to aspirin and can calm inflamed or irritated skin, making it a good option for acne-prone skin that is also sensitive.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing this ingredient into your routine.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun sensitivity, it’s still important to wear sunscreen daily to protect your skin.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Learn more about Salicylic Acid
Antimicrobial, Preservative

Benzalkonium Chloride (aka BAC) is a preservative that has been around since the 1930's. It is also a surfactant that gives it mild cleansing and antistatic properties.

BAC works because it carries a positive electrical charge that attract the negative charge of microbe cells (like a magnet). Once BAC sticks to a microbe, it breaks the microbe cell's outer wall and scrambles its proteins to kill it.

The maximum usage percentage for this ingredient is 0.1% in both the EU and Chinese cosmetic regulations.

The CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be a safe antimicrobial agent in concentrations up to 0.1% and it is permitted up to 3% in rinse off hair products.

BAC can be irritating at higher concentrations but a true allergy to it is pretty rare. Be sure to patch test if you have a damaged skin barrier or just sensitive skin.

Because it's a cation, it is incompatible with anionic surfactants like SLS (they neutralize each other).

Learn more about Benzalkonium Chloride
Emollient, Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for C12-15 Alkyl Lactate yet.

Masking, Skin Conditioning

Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract comes from the Chamomile flower.

Chamomile is rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Several compounds found in chamomile help with soothing, such as bisbolol.

Antioxidant components in chamomile make it an effective ingredient to help slow the signs of aging. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules, or molecules that may damage your skin.

Essential oils from chamomile have been found to improve wound healing due to its antimicrobial properties.

Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used Chamomile to treat skin redness and dryness. Chamomile has also been used to help treat stomach issues.

Learn more about Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Cleansing, Skin Conditioning

Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine is a synthetic cleansing agent, though it is derived from coconut oil.

It is used to enhance the texture of products by boosting lather and thickening the texture. As a cleanser, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine is mild.

We don't have a description for Cocamidopropyl Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate yet.

Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.

This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin (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 Glycerin
Skin Conditioning

Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.

There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

Learn more about Panthenol

Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate is used to improve texture and stability of a product. It is sugar based and helps thicken a product.

Once applied, it also creates a thin film to trap moisture in. This helps keep your skin hydrated.

This ingredient is the polyethylene glycol ether of the diester of oleic acid and methylglucose. The 120 represents an average of 120 moles of ethylene oxide.

There is limited research on this ingredient, although it is considered safe to use in skincare products.

Learn more about PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
Masking

Chances 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 Chloride

We don't have a description for Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate yet.

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
Cleansing, Foaming

This gentle cleansing and foaming ingredient is known for leaving a smooth feeling in skin and hair. It is made using coconut oil.

According to the manufacturer, it is soluble in water and has resistance to hard water, acid, and alkali.

Due to its coconut base, it may not be Malassezia folliculitis safe.

Learn more about Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
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. Remember to stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

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Where it's from

Neutrogena is a American brand

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· Updated April 30, 2026 Added by tiffanydoublet