Clearasil Ultra Deep Pore Treatment Pads > Reviews > Treatment for teenage skin

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Cleanses
Disadvantages:	Pricey and dehydrates out your skin

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Clearasil Ultra Deep Pore Treatment Pads are designed to "fight spots and reduce redness to give you visibly clearer skin in just 3 days". The product is clearly marketed at teenagers with problem skin - the adverts on TV for Clearasil products usually feature a teenager getting ready for a party, realising that they have a spot, getting despondent that the spot will ruin the party, being advised to use Clearasil and applying it. By the end of the advert the viewer sees the spot fearing teenager at the party surrounded by attractive people of the opposite sex - which we know would not have happened it they still had that awful spot! I usually lack sympathy for the teenagers featured in these adverts - they're teenagers and therefore are meant to have spots. However, it's a different story when you reach the grand old age of 26 and still have skin worse than most teenagers.

I've tried many different skin treatment products over the past fifteen or so years but my skin refuses to clear up. The latest product that I've been trying is Clearasil Ultra Deep Pore Treatment Pads. The pads come in packs of 65 which cost around £4.99 and are available from chemists and most supermarkets. The packs recommend using the pads twice a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. That's a cost of £60 a year if you use them every day as directed. I think that's quite a lot personally and probably more expensive than most other facial cleaners.

The pads are quite wet and sometimes slightly difficult to separate so you can end up using more than one by accident (make that £65 per year!). I would prefer that the pads were slightly less wet as when you first start using them you don't feel like there is enough friction against your skin to do enough cleansing. The pads are quite rough and once they have dried slightly they have an exfoliating effect on your skin. After using the pads your skin does feel very smooth and clean but quite dry. I always apply a moisturiser after using the pads to try and minimise the drying effect. Some cleansers I've used before really dry your skin out but make your skin produce loads of oil shortly afterwards - this doesn't happen with these pads however which is great.

The pads are however, quite harsh so I wouldn't recommend them for anyone with sensitive skin. You need to be careful that you don't scrub too hard or you end up with red patches that won't disappear for hours. The pack tells you not to use near your eyes, your eyebrows or your hairline. I ignore this advice because I usually wear mascara and want my cleanser to remove this as well as cleansing the rest of my face. It's fine if your eyes are completely shut but once or twice I've got a little bit of product in my eyes and it is very painful so you should definitely follow the advice on the pack!

The pads smell quite inoffensive when in the pack, the smell isn't strong at all. However, I do find that they leave a slightly unpleasant smell on my skin after using them. This is another reason to use moisturiser after using them to try and mask the smell.

So, does it work then? Does it meet its claim that your skin will be visibly clearer in three days? Well, I suppose my skin is usually clearer within three days but then most spots don't last forever so you would expect that after three days they might have diminished somewhat even if you don't use any special treatment on them. I do think that the product is quite effective on smaller blemishes but completely ineffective on larger spots. I would say they are slightly more effective than other cleansers that I've used but then different cleansers are going to suit some people more than others.

Overall, I would recommend them but don't expect them to work wonders.