Noxema—Clean and Refreshing, Not the Answer to My Prayers

by: Amber Cozad

At the beginning of my second year of college, I had just moved into a new house with a new roommate and was struggling with the worst back acne I had ever experienced. My dermatologist had prescribed a gel for my acne, but the gel only made my acne one hundred times worse! My entire back was broken out with at least fifty pimples at one time. When I finally stopped using the medication, my back acne was nowhere near cleared and my back was covered in hundreds of scars. Needless to say, I was feeling insecure and hopeless; I thought I would never stop breaking out.

My roommate suggested that I try Noxema Classic Clean Original Deep Cleansing Cream, claiming that her mother swore by it as a cure to all acne. Desperate and a little skeptical, I went to the drugstore and picked up the three dollar jar of cream. When I started using it on my back, I noticed initial changes: my current breakouts dried out more quickly and I was breaking out a little less. Over time, however, I discovered that the cream had little to no effect on my back acne; the cream did not stop my breakouts, which was what I was most concerned with after my traumatic prescription experience.

About a month later, I discovered that my face had started to break out, which was unusual since my face had always been pretty clear, with the exception of a few spots every month. Whether it was the stress of being at college or the new environment I was living in, my upper cheeks began clogging up and breaking out. My usual face wash wasn’t cutting it, so I decided to give the Noxema cream another try—this time on my face. Lo and behold, the cream worked wonders! My face was not as oily and my pores were noticeably smaller and unclogged.

My favorite aspects of this product are the price (only three dollars for a jar that lasts longer than a month), the texture (slightly solid in the jar but becomes creamy as you rub it on your face), and the refreshing smell and feeling (it feels cool and minty, but can also burn a little if your face is especially broken out). The method that I found works best is slightly dampening my face, rubbing a generous amount all over my face, and then leaving the cream on for a few minutes, almost like a mask. If you wash the cream off with cold water, it adds an extra refreshing feel to the cool cream and really wakes you up.

Overall, I would say the cream works great for mild acne and general cleansing, but it doesn’t work so well for major body acne.