What Neutrogena’s marketing says Bright Boost Resurfacing Micro Polish
Neutrogena says…
Dual-action exfoliation helps remove dullness and boosts radiance
3x polishing power than Neutrogena® Pore Refining Daily Scrub
But does it do what it says it can do? Let us find out…
Disclaimer: What the company says about a product should be given very little importance when considering the product. Decisions should be based on what the ingredients in the product do.
Read the review below to find out if the product ‘ actually’ does what its marketing says it does…
Bright Boost Resurfacing Micro Polish Review
The product’s ingredients
Description of what the ingredients in Bright Boost Resurfacing Micro Polish do
Ingredient 1 – Water
Function: Solvent
A solvent helps in dissolving other ingredients in the product.
Dissolved ingredients can spread better.
Ingredient 2 – Cetyl Alcohol
Function: Emollient, Thickener, Emulsifier
Emollients soften and smoothen the skin.
An emulsifier keeps the oil-based and water-based ingredients in the product together. Without it, the product’s ingredients will not mix. It binds all ingredients in the product together and thickens it.
Ingredient 3 – Cellulose
Function: Exfoliating agent
It makes small balls when it comes in contact with the oil on the skin. These balls attach to dirt and dead cells (and thus help in washing them away).
Ingredient 4 – PPG-15 Stearyl Ether
Function: Lubricant
Gives a texture to the product and helps it to spread on the skin.
Ingredient 5 – Glycerin
Function: Humectant
Humectants are water magnets. They attract water. They are like sponges. When applied on the skin’s surface, they draw water vapour from the atmosphere to the skin.
Glycerin is a powerful humectant.
Since this is an exfoliating product, glycerin aids in adding hydration – as an exfoliating product takes away some of the moisture from the skin.
Ingredient 6 – Mandelic Acid
Function: Chemical exfoliating agent
It gets rid of dead, unwanted cells from the top layer of skin by dissolving the glue that holds these cells together. The glue stops these cells from falling off. When these cells don’t fall off regularly, they give skin a very dull appearance.
It belongs to the alpha hydroxy acids family. Less sun sensitive after using than other chemical exfoliants, less irritating on skin than other chemical exfoliants, but also less effective than other chemical exfoliants.
Better for sensitive skin. Offers some help with acne.
Ingredient 7 – Glycolic Acid
Function: Chemical exfoliating agent
It gets rid of dead, unwanted cells from the top layer of skin by dissolving the glue that holds these cells together. The glue stops these cells from falling off. When these cells don’t fall off regularly, they give skin a very dull appearance.
More effective than mandelic acid. It goes a bit deeper into the skin and hence can remove more unwanted cells.
It also hydrates the skin.
If you have a darker skin tone, you need to be a bit more cautious with glycolic acid as it can be a bit irritating on the skin.
Ingredient 8 – Polysorbate 60
Function: Emulsifier
Keeps the oil-based and water-based ingredients in the product together – blends unlike ingredients. Without emulsifiers, ingredients in the product will separate.
Ingredient 9 – Steareth-21
Function: Emulsifier
Keeps the oil-based and water-based ingredients of the product together – blends unlike ingredients. Without an emulsifier, the ingredients in the product will separate.
Ingredient 10 – Sodium Hydroxide
Function: pH adjuster
The pH level refers to how acidic or alkaline a product is. A pH adjuster adjusts the pH level of the product to be compatible with the skin’s pH.
A quick note on other ingredients
These ingredients are all further down the ingredient list. So the amount used in the product is less. The amount of an ingredient used reduces as we go down the ingredient list. And for most functional ingredients, when used at lower rates, their effect won’t be the same as when used at higher rates.
It is important to remember that in most skincare products when it comes to how much its ingredients help the skin, only the first 5 ingredients matter the most. After about the 7th ingredient, how much the ingredient can help the skin reduces significantly.
It has fragrance. This can be very irritating to the skin. Irritated skin leads to inflammation, and inflammation leads to a whole range of problems. This ingredient is a huge negative for this product.
