Deep Clean Gentle Scrub

Neutrogena

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub is a exfoliating scrubs & peeling gel. Our analysis of its 27 ingredients (19 low-risk) rates it Excellent (81/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone skin. Heads up: it contains fragrance, which can irritate sensitive or reactive skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Exfoliating Scrubs & Peeling Gel
Ingredients
27
Low-risk
19
Fragrance
Contains fragrance

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 4/8
Good for dry skin
Glycol Distearate Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate Cetyl Alcohol Glycerin
Caution for dry skin
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Cetyl Alcohol Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate Stearic Acid Xanthan Gum Glycerin Salicylic Acid Sodium Hydroxide
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Salicylic Acid
Sensitive Skin 1/11
Good for sensitive skin
Glycerin
Caution for sensitive skin
Cetyl Alcohol Stearic Acid Agar Glycerin Salicylic Acid Methylparaben Ethylparaben Phenoxyethanol Butylparaben Propylparaben Fragrance

Ingredients list

27 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (8)
All27 Fragrance10 Viscosity Controlling9 Viscosity Increasing Agent8 Skin Conditioning7 Emulsion Stabilising7 Masking6 Preservative6 Opacifying5
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
A
Glycol Distearate
(Opacifying, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Emollient, Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
(Emollient, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
(Antistatic Agent)
1
A
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
(Absorbent, Anticaking Agent, Opacifying, Slip Modifier, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Cetyl Alcohol
(Emulsion Stabilising, Fragrance, Opacifying, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Emollient, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
1
B
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
(Cleansing, Foaming, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Stearic Acid
(Fragrance, Sufactant, Emulsifying, Surfactantsurfactant Cleansing Agent Is Included As A Function For The Soap Form Of Stearic Acid., Emulsion Stabilising, Masking, Refatting)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Agar
(Binding Agent, Fragrance, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Masking, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Film Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Xanthan Gum
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Emulsifying Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Water
(Solvent)
2
A
Glycerin
(Denaturant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Oral Health Care Drug, Skin Protecting, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Perfuming, Solvent)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
4
B
Salicylic Acid
(Antiacne Agent, Antidandruff Agent, Corn/Callus/Wart Remover, Denaturant, Exfoliant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Keratolytic, Masking, Preservative)
Good for Oily Skin
Good for Oily Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
A
Polyethylene
(Abrasive, Adhesive, Binding Agent, Bulking Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Film Forming, Oral Care Agentagent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
2
Mica
(Cosmetic Colorant, Opacifying)
2
Iron Oxides
(Colorant, Cosmetic Colorant)
2
Red 30 Lake
3
B
Sodium Hydroxide
(Denaturant, Ph Adjuster, Buffering Agent)
4
A
Methylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
4
A
Ethylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
4
B
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
(Antistatic Agent, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Sufactant, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
4
A
Phenoxyethanol
(Fragrance, Preservative)
Paraben
Paraben
7
A
Butylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative, Masking)
Paraben
Paraben
7
A
Propylparaben
(Fragrance, Preservative, Perfuming)
Paraben
Paraben
8
Fragrance
(Deodorant, Masking, Perfuming)
1
3
Titanium/Titanium Dioxide
(Cosmetic Colorant, Opacifying)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

Browse similar exfoliating scrubs & peeling gel
No close formula match yet — browse other products like this

Key ingredients

Glycol Distearate
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Xanthan Gum
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant, Skin Protecting
Salicylic Acid
Exfoliant, Skin Conditioning

Benefits

Good for oily/acne-prone skin

Concerns

Contains paraben
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Butylparaben — higher EWG
Propylparaben — higher EWG
Fragrance — higher EWG
May not suit dry skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
Emollient, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 EmollientSkin conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Chelating agent, Viscosity controlling
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Chelating agentViscosity controlling
Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
Antistatic agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Antistatic agent
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Absorbent, Anticaking agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AbsorbentAnticaking agentOpacifyingSlip modifierViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
Cetyl Alcohol
Emulsion stabilising, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Emulsion stabilisingFragranceOpacifyingEmulsifyingSurfactantFoam boostingViscosity increasing agentEmollientMaskingViscosity controlling
Agar
Binding agent, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentFragranceViscosity increasing agentBindingMaskingViscosity controlling
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion stabilising, Film forming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Emulsion stabilisingFilm formingViscosity controlling
Xanthan Gum
Binding agent, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentEmulsion stabilisingSkin conditioningSurfactant -emulsifying agentViscosity increasing agentBindingGel formingViscosity controlling
Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Polyethylene
Abrasive, Adhesive
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AbrasiveAdhesiveBinding agentBulking agentEmulsion stabilisingFilm formingOral care agentagentViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
Mica
Cosmetic colorant, Opacifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 Cosmetic colorantOpacifying
Iron Oxides
Colorant, Cosmetic colorant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 ColorantCosmetic colorant
Red 30 Lake
Other
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2
Sodium Hydroxide
Denaturant, Ph adjuster
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 3 CIR B DenaturantPh adjusterBuffering agent
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Antistatic agent, Hair conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antistatic agentHair conditioningSkin conditioningSufactantFoam boostingViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
+ 1 more — see the full ingredients list above
Glycol Distearate
Opacifying, Viscosity increasing agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A OpacifyingViscosity increasing agentEmollientEmulsifyingSkin conditioningViscosity controlling Fungal-acne trigger
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing, Foaming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B CleansingFoamingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Stearic Acid
Fragrance, Sufactant
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSufactantEmulsifyingSurfactantsurfactant-cleansing agent is included as a function for the soap form of stearic acid.Emulsion stabilisingMaskingRefatting Bad for Oily SkinFungal-acne trigger
Glycerin
Denaturant, Fragrance
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 CIR A DenaturantFragranceHair conditioningHumectantOral care agentOral health care drugSkin protectingViscosity decreasing agentPerfumingSolvent Good for Dry SkinFungal-acne trigger
Salicylic Acid
Antiacne agent, Antidandruff agent
Skin irritation can occur at high concentrationRead moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antiacne agentAntidandruff agentCorn/callus/wart removerDenaturantExfoliantFragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningKeratolyticMaskingPreservative Good for Oily SkinBad for Sensitive Skin
Methylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Ethylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance, Preservative
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR A FragrancePreservative Paraben
Butylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 7 CIR A FragrancePreservativeMasking Paraben
Propylparaben
Fragrance, Preservative
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 7 CIR A FragrancePreservativePerfuming Paraben
Fragrance
Deodorant, Masking
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 8 DeodorantMaskingPerfuming

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Evening, start slow: Best in the PM a few times a week to begin with; avoid layering with other strong actives the same night.
  • 2 Wear SPF the next day: Acids and retinoids increase sun sensitivity — daily sunscreen is a must while using this.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Use with caution
BHA (salicylic) (Salicylic Acid)

Low-strength topical salicylic acid (BHA) is generally considered fine. Caution is usually reserved for high-strength leave-on products and salicylic peels.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

BHA (salicylic) 0.5–2%

Salicylic acid is OTC-capped at 2%; 0.5–2% is the usual leave-on range. Much below that it acts more as a soothing agent than an exfoliant.

Salicylic Acid

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

From the community

0
Reviews
0
Saved by users
0
In collections

Ratings & reviews

Write a Review
0.0
from 0 ratings

Used this product? Rate it in 10 seconds

From the SkinCarisma community

archive

1 review restored from our original community.

SkinCarisma member · Combination skin
AcneEczemaMelasma

Super affordable (which is great since i do not spend much money on a product which will stay on my face for only a couple of minutes). It did help to clear my blackheads but initially broke me out a little (probably due to the BHAs in it). I like the very gentle scrub action. Related Products Histolab

Alternatives