Boys Get (and Hate) Breakouts Too- A Clearasil Review ‪#‎ClearasilMom‬ ‪#‎MC‬

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Clearasil. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

My oldest child is a grungy 13 year old boy.  He is taller than me, has had long blond hair like me and unlike me, appears to hate showers and being clean.  Add in the hormones of teens and he's in breakout city.  

Before we knew he could use more than soap to clean his face.

Growing up with only a much older sister and a niece that could have been a younger sister, I wasn't exposed to boys much so every experience with them is totally new and different for me.  I don't understand so many of their quirks and habits.  Most of the time they are crazy, weird things smelling up my house.  I kind of thought I had a few years- until my daughter became a teen- to worry about pimples and other puberty-related issues.  I guess I just never thought that boys cared, or if they did that there was nothing they could do about breakouts.  Parent fail.  Apparently they care enough that they are sort of willing to work with their moms and Clearasil and Influence Central for two weeks to test out two new facial cleansing products to help himself and share his experience with others!  That's actually a big deal because he even agreed knowing that I needed picture proof of this event.     

Zachary got my unfortunate breakout genes.  I had it bad starting when I was 12 and it didn't stop until my 20s.  Now I break out monthly and not nearly as bad as when I was a teen.  So, he needed some major help asap and started off with the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Gel Wash.  I have more of an issue with blackheads and keeping my pores clear and have even more of an issue finding a product that helps, so I gave this one a shot too.  
The Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Gel Wash is part of the Clearasil Ultra line, with stronger products designed to work quickly.  Our tested product is meant to unblock pores and clear blemishes in as little as 12 hours.

The above photo and the following photo are "before" pictures, when he was using only soap and water.  It's insanely hard for me to get him to shower every other day.  While I'd prefer daily, he would prefer never.  He isn't into sports so that's a relief.  Most of his activities are low energy and he only has gym for half of the year so I don't have to require daily showers for another month or so.  

 It's hard to tell in the photos but he has a glaring red splotchy face with a few large angry breakouts and many small pimples across his forehead and around his nose.

Love him, blemishes and all.  But we could use a few less breakouts!

                 
It's been really cold and dry outside here in South Central PA, and that combo makes for some really dry and painful skin.  Because this product is maximum strength, I decided that using this with his every-other-day shower routine would be the safest.  By the 4th day, or 2nd usage, all of his large pimples and zits were gone, though the smaller ones were still there.  All of the redness was GONE.  All gone!  That was an attractive side-effect!  He now has an even skin tone that looks so much better than before.  What I considered his normal "shiny" face is gone.  And we all know that a shiny face (as opposed to the artwork of a glowing face) isn't all that attractive.  
Since the time period that he was using this was cut short due to my decision to use each product separately for better analysis of each one, he used this one 5 times over 10 days.  His skin didn't experience any over-drying which is actually kind of amazing to me.  The smaller blemishes remained but the redness and oiliness stayed away even after we switched product.  

A word from Zach: It's fine.  It works.  
Me: I need more than that.  
Zach: Oh my gosh, Mommy, I'm trying to talk to someone!  It's FIIIINE!
       
After the first time I used the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Gel Wash, I noticed an instant change in my face.  It was smoother, clearer and it definitely helped my pores.  Though if I skipped a day it was definitely, noticeably back to normal.  It didn't dry out my face too much using it daily, but I did need to moisturize a bit after using it.  I'm really interested in checking out a few other products after trying this one.

Pros of Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Gel Wash:
-Low-fragrance.  It isn't strong which is great for the headache-prone.  
-Clears redness large blemishes fast.
-A good deep cleaner for pores.
- Doesn't over-dry.
-Low-fragrance.  It won't make me sick as I inhale the scent!  And the fragrance it does have is pleasant.  
Cons: 
-Doesn't get rid of all breakouts, but it's a very small con considering what it does do.

Here is a picture of Zach getting his haircut, after our first 8 days, before beginning the second product. 

It isn't easy to see much, but you can definitely see his face isn't red.

And here he is after 10 days, also before beginning the second product.

This was on an "other" day so his face isn't quite as clear but still looks much better.

For the last few days of our two week experiment I had Zachary use the Hydra-Blast Oil Free Face Wash twice a day.  The Hydra-Blast cleanser is part of the Clearasil Daily Clear  This creamy face wash helps reduce breakouts up to 85% in as few as 4 weeks and includes a moisturizing complex to keep your face hydrated.  It's a cream cleanser and you really only need a tiny amount to clean your face.  The first day, Zach used a ton.  You seriously only need about a pea-sized drop.  I didn't really notice a huge difference in his before and after face with this one, but I did notice that it's great at maintaining what the first product achieved.  And maintenance is VERY important!  Zach, again, didn't have much to say but he's happy that his face is clearer, with little effort.  That's the most important thing.  If something can be accomplished with little effort, he'll continue with the maintenance!       

I tried the Hydra-Blast along with him.  It definitely didn't clear my pores like the Rapid Action Gel but felt nice on my skin- tingly and smelled good.  Like fresh and aloe.  It's something we could use every day without over-drying or damaging sensitive skin.  

Pros of Clearasil Hydra-Blast Oil Free Face Wash:
-The scent.
-You only need a tiny bit.  This still will go far, which stretches my dollar.
-Great for daily, clean skin maintenance.  
 Cons: 
-A little more drying than I expected, but not overly.  
-It might take a while to help really problematic skin.  Not to worry though- just start with an Ultra product then move on to Daily Clear for every day maintenance and clear skin! 
   
Here's his "after" photo:

That shine is all just photo glare from the bright lamp!  Doesn't he look so much better?

There are some other really great products that are part of both lines we reviewed and I can't wait to explore them more.  We want to be #acnefree and will accomplish it with Clearasil!  You can get some great info from the Clearasil website, including information about your biggest breakout and care concerns, expert advice and special offers (a FREE product mail-in rebate and a $1 off coupon!!!!!)

You can also connect with Clearasil on Facebook and Twitter for more great information (and some fun comics on Facebook). 


 #‎ClearasilMom‬ ‪#‎MC‬