Neutrogena has some really great products; some of us may not totally agree with this because we haven’t reaped all of its supposed benefits. I would share my thoughts on why.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of Neutrogena products in the market now, with the most famous probably being their Acne care line. My current fave is the Oil-free acne wash pink grape fruit cream cleanser. I promise you a review on this product, soon but let’s not disappoint each other by dropping a timeline.
If you have used any of the Acne Care products, you should be familiar with the word “Microclear Technology”. It is usually written somewhere on the product. If you haven’t noticed, you should check that right away.
So what is Microclear technology?
This is Neutrogenas’ patented technology composed of three major ingredients which act together to prepare the skin to receive salicylic acid just so it can act deeply in your pores and release all its powers to help you get rid of spots.
Ps: these are the 3 ingredients that would make that possible:
1. Phospholipids: protective emollient agents that make the skin feel softer.
2. Lactate molecules which promote the dissolving of the sebum.
3. Benzalkonium chloride, a cleansing agent that acts on the source of imperfections.
Sorry for the big words but, you gotta learn boo.
So, this is how the Microclear technology works.
The 3 ingredients (as we mentioned previously) dissolve sebum(oil) on the surface of the skin which would enable a deeper penetration of salicylic acid into your skin. This would literally mean that the salicylic acid goes straight to the source of your acne and begins to fight to efficiently clear the face. This helps in eliminating imperfections and even controlling their reappearance, all without drying out the skin.
Acne captives should be very familiar with salicylic acid. LOL
Salicylic acid is an acid, obviously.
However, when acids are mentioned on skin care, we think first of AHAs and BHAs. Salicyclic acid is a Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA). BHAs are oil soluble and as such would penetrate deeper into the lipid layers of skin cells. Once it penetrates the skin, it dissolves skin debris that clogs pores, acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and also helps red inflamed pimples and pustules go away faster.
Salicylic acid is in the same family as aspirin, which is acetylsalicylic acid. This should explain the countless DIYs on YouTube where people try to use aspirin paste to heal themselves. Sad!
Salicylic acid fights acne, but is all acne the same? Are there racial differences in acne? If yes, does the same amount of salicylic acid work for all? Is there such a thing as too much salicylic acid? Will the Microclear technology work on eliminating all types of acne if it differs by race?
These are part of the things that keep me up at night. I really need some sleep! Uugh!
To answer some of these questions,
Yes, Acne on African skin is different from acne on Caucasian, Asian and Hispanic skin.
Ethnic origins can influence the structure and appearance of the skin, just as environmental and cultural factors would also have an impact on the skin. This would mean that even though all ethnic types might share a skin disorder, the intensity might differ with each group and the method of treatment may differ with each ethnic group.
I really hope you’re not lost yet.
So, does this determine the amount of salicylic acid that would work on each acne type? I would really think so.
Just follow my thought pattern for a second.
The aim of the Microclear technology is basically to increase the amount of salicylic acid which penetrates into the skin to fight off acne, but what if you don’t need that amount of salicylic acid and you experience a topical skin irritation as a result of excess salicylic acid?
Don’t get me wrong, you could be really lucky, it works a 100% on your skin and that’s your happily ever after.
But what if not?
Here are my thoughts.
Neutrogena did a good job in curating this technology. The methodology speaks for itself as they must have gathered surplus genetic data and any other data that would aid their research to come up with this technology.
The question now is, whose data? I would doubt they have sufficient data on African skin (and it’s many disorders). A more important question would be “does data on African skin exist?”
Now because your data probably wasn’t used to generate this technology, it would have no business working optimally on your skin. I mean, it could work but not as much as it would on its target market.
So, does Neutrogena’s Microclear Technology work?
The answer is probably yes.
Yes, but, it would work best on its target market.
Are you Neutrogenas’ target market?
Probably not, but this doesn’t mean Neutrogena products are bad, it just means they’re not the best products for you.
In essence, the only way to completely fight off acne in African skin is to get sufficient data which would aid in research to develop products that work optimally on African skin.
Anyway before that happens, we can keep utilizing Neutrogenas’ microclear technology and just pray for luck because we’ll need it.
Love x Light
Your friendly neighborhood Cosmetic Chemist,
Mae
The Chemist. 