My Two Favorite Facial Cleansers: Neutrogena Extra Gentle and Neutrogena Naturals

My two favorite facial cleansers: Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser and Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover

I have to say, I have super sensitive skin. It’s quite a challenge to find skincare that would suit me – a touch too harsh and the flakiness begins, a touch not cleansing enough and the imperfections and clogged pores start popping up, too fragrant and there goes the eczema flare up… So all in all I’ve had my fair share of skincare products going straight to the trash. But these two are my absolute holy grail, and I thought I would share that with all you sensitive ladies out there!

First of all, the Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser – this is what I use every morning. I’ve been using this stuff for years, and it is just amazing! It’s also rated “Best” by Paula Begoun as a cleanser that is a great choice for people with reactive skin. It’s a creamy, thick cleanser – no suds at all. It can be either washed off with water or taken off with tissues, and it is fragrance-free (although it does have a very slight pleasant scent from the Geranium extract) and full of glycerin which makes for great moisturizing properties without any film or residue.
One thing I didn’t like about this cleanser was its makeup removal properties. It didn’t really do a great job of taking off foundation, and it really stings if you try to use it on the eyes. So I started my search for an evening cleanser and found…

Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover and it has become my staple for evening makeup removal. This cleanser is also “Best” rated, although Paula Begoun doesn’t consider it a perfect match for sensitive skin due to the added fragrance. I have to say that I personally have had no issues and no reaction to the fragrance – it’s pretty mild (unlike that of the Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser that I was also considering), but everyone’s tolerance levels are different. For this reason my dermatologist recommends buying all skincare at stores with good “no questions asked” refund policies – that way if it causes a reaction, you can easily return it.
The Neutrogena Naturals cleanser is also thick and non-foamy, and it doesn’t leave the skin feeling dried out or dehydrated. In spite of it being so gentle, it does a wonderful job of taking off makeup (no more yellow residue on the toner cotton rounds!). Best of all – it doesn’t irritate or sting the eye area at all! When I used to use the Extra Gentle Cleanser in the evenings, I had to go through the extra step of using eye makeup remover which left a greasy residue around the eye area. Now I have dropped that step completely and just use the cleanser for my whole face.

So if you have sensitive/dry skin and are on the market for a cleanser – I would very much recommend these two options. Drugstores like CVS and RiteAid not only have a good refund policy, they also regularly have buy 1 get 1 50% off deals on Neutrogena. Stack that with some coupons ($2 off of 2 Neutrogena products) and you’ll be getting one of the cleansers almost for free!

All opinions posted in this blog are my own. The products were purchased by me using my own funds and I haven’t received any form of compensation from the company that produces the products.