Paint Stripper for the face (Superdrug Clarity Blackhead Cleanser)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	Superdrug Clarity Blackhead Cleanser
Date:	04/06/09 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Didn't help blackheads, very potent, made eyes water, generally useless

At 24 my skin is generally clear, and although I do sometimes get the odd angry red spot, I almost constantly suffer from blackheads on my nose as well as having a couple on my chin. I've used all sorts of products to try to get rid of them, and although I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that barely anything works - even pore strips don't seem to get rid of them all - I still ended up buying a bottle of Superdrug's Clarity Blackhead cleanser a couple of months ago, with the vague hope it might be the one that actually works.

The cleanser comes in a clear bottle through which you can see the blue liquid, and has a blue and silver label. It tells me that this contains salicylic acid and witch hazel which will kill spots and blackheads, prevent new ones from forming whilst clearing pores, removing dirt, oil and make-up.

To use, you simply wipe this over your face and neck morning and night. I have been using this after my normal cleanser, as although it says that it gets rid of make-up, this stuff is very potent and makes my eyes water, even just wiping it over my nose, so there is no way I could use it anywhere near to my eyes.

The cleanser has a very strong chemical smell, a lot like paint stripper, and I've found that it makes my skin tingle after application, although it does warn on the bottle that this will happen.

After about a months worth of using this most days, I have to say that I have noticed no difference to the blackheads that I have whatsoever, which is disappointing, but I can't say surprising, as I had little faith that this would work. I have noticed that even after cleansing I sometimes find that this lifts off some traces of make-up that my normal cleanser seemed to have missed, so it seems it does work as a cleanser.

Despite it's potency this has not appeared to dry out my already dry skin at all which is good, however I am quite wary of using something which is obviously so packed with chemicals, which is why I have now given up using the product.

I paid just £1.53 for a 200ml bottle of this from Superdrug's website, although I think it was possibly on special offer as I think it usually retails closer to the £3.50 mark, but at the time of writing it's not on the website so I can't check.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this product. The strong chemical smell made my eyes water and it didn't seem to do anything at all for my skin. Not recommended.

Summary: Avoid!