Washing or cleansing your face is one of the 3 essential parts of any solid acne fighting regimen, with the others being medicating and moisturizing. But with so many cleansers on the market how are you supposed to know which ones to use?
Walking into the skin care section of a store can be absolutely overwhelming, with so many brands screaming at you to buy them.
Let’s try to cut through the confusion by taking a look these cleansers one at a time.
Here’s our review of Johnson & Johnson’s Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar.
Product Overview
Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar is a very mild, non-medicated soap made by Johnson & Johnson which is intended to be used on the face.
The first thing that stands out about this product is that it’s a bar, rather than a liquid soap. This is uncommon when it comes to facial cleansers, but it’s actually surprisingly easy to lather and use.
The bar is non-comedogenic, meaning that it’s not going to clog your pores. This is absolutely essential for people with acne-prone skin and, although it may seem obvious, it’s one of the reasons that normal body soaps should never be used on the face; not only are they far too harsh, but they leave behind a residue that can make acne worse.
The bar lathers well, and lasts for quite a while. Since you’ll only be using it on the face, it will last longer than bar soaps used on the rest of your body.
There is nothing in this cleanser that’s going to irritate your skin, it’s only going to cleanse it.
“But how does it fight acne?”
It doesn’t! But that’s alright, because it’s not supposed to.
The purpose (pun intended) of cleansing your face, for most people with acne, should not be to get rid of acne. Your cleanser merely removes dirt, oils, makeup, and whatever else is on your skin and prepares it for topical acne treatments, such as benzoyl peroxide.
Ingredients
Nothing but bare-bones ingredients in this product, which is exactly what you want from a gentle cleanser.
- Sodium Tallowate
- Sodium Cocoate
- Water
- Glycerin
- Fragrance
- Sodium Chloride
- BHT
- Trisodium HEDTA
- D&C Yellow 10
- D&C Orange 4
Unlike many “acne washes”, Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar doesn’t contain salicylic acid.
You may be concerned with the unspecified fragrance ingredient, but it actually smells quite pleasant and is nothing that’s going to irritate your skin.
Pros
- Extremely gentle (can be used twice daily without irritation)
- Cleanses the skin effectively, with no soapy residue
- Non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores)
- Long-lasting
- Pleasant smell (doesn’t smell like soap, or medication)
- Inexpensive, compared to many other facial cleansers
Cons
- Some consumers found the bar to be inconvenient or awkward, and would prefer a liquid cleanser with a pump.
- Some consumers find that it dries their skin if it isn’t washed off quickly, although this is uncommon.
What Others Are Saying
From what I can gather, based on internet reviews, users of this product are extremely satisfied. The Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar has 4-5 star reviews on most major online retailers, such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, and MakeupAlley.com.
Who Should Use It, And Who Shouldn’t?
This cleanser can be a fantastic component in most acne treatment regimens. Anyone with mild-to-moderate acne should give it a try, and combine it with a topical application on 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, and finally a moisturizer.
If you were to use a a different cleanser, such as one containing salicylic acid, you would find that benzoyl peroxide would be far too irritating to your skin.
I highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a cleanser that’s going to get their face clean, without excess irritation.
Where To Buy Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar
Although Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar can be found in many retail stores, it may be cheaper to buy it online from a place such as Amazon.com
They sell several different sizes, as well as bundles containing multiple bars.
You might want to start of with just a single 3.6 oz bar to try it out.
Although it’s actually cheaper per ounce to get a regular-sized 6 oz bar, if you’re only getting 1 bar.
The most economical option, if you already know that you’re going to be using this product for a while, is to get the Amazon.com bundle of 6 bars, each of the 6 oz size.
