CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit by Paula’s Choice has been developed and marketed to treat mild to moderate acne breakouts. We have selected it to review its product ingredients and overall effectiveness in fighting acne for a blemish-free skin.
Quick Takeaway: Both Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid in the kit is critical, but the formulations have a big weakness, almost no use of natural ingredients. That’s one of the reasons it doesn’t measure up to Exposed🏆.
For the price you can find better formulations that still use both OTC medications.
Founded by Paula Begoun in 1995, Paula’s Choice has introduced a range of skincare products over the past two decades under the “smart, safe beauty” philosophy. The brand is known for its research-based formulas and environmentally-conscious and ethical approach to product formulation and marketing. Over the years, it has expanded the Paula’s Choice product range to address common concerns of everyday women, from aging to acne-prone skin. The CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit is one of those solutions developed by Paula’s Choice to treat common acne breakouts. It has been designed for a 3-step routine with the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser, Regular Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution and the Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment.
🙂 The Pros:
In a market with only a handful of treatments that use both BP and Salicylic Acid, the CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit holds a definite advantage over most other products. Its gentle and light-weight formulas are developed to provide fast results for normal, dry, oily as well as combination skin.
Salicylic Acid will open pores and allow the Benzoyl Peroxide to kill acne causing bacteria. The products are highly medicated to be gentle on the skin but lack many benefits of natural ingredients we look for what counter dryness, redness or irritation. Noticeably absent are Green Tea, Azelaic Acid(Dicarboxylic Acid), Licorice Root Extract, etc.
Let’s look at some of the key active ingredients and characteristics of the Paula’s Choice CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit products and what they mean to your skin.
- Salicylic acid – The Regular Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution contains 2% salicylic acid in the Exfoliating Solution, a commonly used ingredient by dermatologists to fight bacteria. Salicylic acid is known for penetrating deep into the skin pores and exfoliating to remove dead skin cells, and thereby clearing clogged pores and preventing blemishes, blackheads, and whiteheads.
- Benzoyl peroxide – 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, is the main active ingredient of the Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment. It’s especially known for its ability to kill acne-causing bacteria deep within the pores.
- Free from harsh ingredients – The CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit is free from added alcohols, astringents, and fragrances, providing gentle care for the skin. Products are not tested on Animals.
Paula’s Choice products are also known for their cruelty free formulas.
Retailing at around $50, it’s also reasonably priced for an acne treatment kit, placing it within the average price range of other similar products in the market.
🙁 The Cons:
Poor Natural Formulations – The products are well medicated, but users saw some occurrence of redness and irritation probably due to the lack of natural ingredients that can help with these side-affects. If the CLEAR kit came with a better quality formulation that added natural products along with OTC medication it could be one of the best out there. We would look at the Exposed Skin Care options if you can afford a few dollars more.
Also, this treatment kit is recommended for mild to moderate acne. Therefore, if you experience regular breakouts, hormonal or cystic acne, this might not provide you with effective results.
good medication, but low marks for lacking natural ingredients
In addition, while salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are used in low concentrations, they are both known for their drying effects and could cause peeling and irritation on hyper-sensitive or damaged skin. Therefore, it’s recommended that you first consult your doctor if you suffer from such conditions.
Amazon Reviews
The CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit is featured on Amazon under the Amazon Choice label, which recommends top-rated and reasonably-priced products for shoppers. It has a 3.8-star rating based on average ratings by over 146 users.
57% of customers have given it a 5-star rating on Amazon, with 1 out of 4 users giving 1 or 2 stars. Reviews on the Amazon product page provide great first-hand insights from users for you to get an idea before purchasing.
Here are some of the most recent reviews, which provide both negative and positive insights.
My face has completely had an allergic reaction to this. I will be contacting them directly to file a complaint.
4.0 out of 5 starsReceived it today and the bottles are small. Genuine articles that have worked for so many I know. I’m praying for the same. Arrived on time, as described and looks authentic. Will update results!
Update: After a few days, the raised acne marks have become smooth and no new outbreaks. TBC…
5.0 out of 5 starsI love this!!! All of a sudden I started getting deep white heads, and tried lots of products but this product worked for me. I love it!! You literally see results over night. Worth it.
Skin test first before using in face!!!!
Mars | October 18, 2019
1.0 out of 5 stars
Verified PurchaseI was very excited to try this kit. Unfortunately, after the 2nd night, i started experiencing a burning sensation and when i awoke the following morning, my entire face had broken out and my top dermal layer had risen into a red, itchy, scaly, rough, and lizard-like texture. I had quite a bad reaction to one (or possibly all) of the products in the kit. I’m thinking it may have just been the benzoyl peroxide, but i ended up tossing everything anyway. This reaction lasted for over a week before it started clearing! While this product may work fine for some people, i would heavily suggest spot testing the kit on a section of your skin before using on your face. I learned the hard way and it was not fun.
Final verdict
Paula’s Choice CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Kit is one of the best options in the market to achieve clearer blemish-free skin. The fact that it can be used effectively on any skin type places it among the few products currently available for especially sensitive skin types that are suffering from acne breakouts.
These “Regular Strength” products by Paula’s Choice works on all skin types mainly because of their non-harsh formulas that are gentle on the skin. This also means that they will not be so effective for acute or regular acne conditions. But if you suffer from mild to moderate acne, this would be a good acne treatment option to get fast results.
This made my skin worse. I would not recommend.