If you have acne and have heard of Murad, then you probably have heard of the Murad Clarifying Wipes For Blemish-Prone Skin ($18 for 30 wipes, available on Amazon, Sephora, Ulta, Murad, etc). These wipes are supposed to with regular use help diminish acne by removing dirt, bacteria as well as pore clogging oil.

Review, Photo

First impression: WOW, these WIPES ARE HUGE!

As you can see I can cover my lap with just 1 of these wipes. I found the size of the wipes (6″ by 7.75″ or 15.2cm by 19.7cm) to be very generous. The reason why the wipes are so large is because you’re not supposed to use the same wipe area on a new area of your skin (that way you are not spreading around the dirt and oil on one side of your face to the other side of your face). Since the wipes are a tad too big, and I don’t really follow the rules too well, after applying the wipe on my face, I found myself using the same wipe on my back as well since the wipe still had some ‘juice’ left 🙂

I have acne prone skin even though my skin is not really oily. The general stereotype is that only oily skin gets acne but that’s not really true. You can have dry skin and still have acne if your pores clog up and you overproduce sebum to overcompensate for said clogged pores. My skin is combination/dry, and like the acne of others, is caused by various factors including diet, genetics, hormonal, etc.

I use wipes in general to remove makeup, but haven’t really thought about using wipes to help with my acne. It seems like a easy way to get rid of acne right? just wipe away and you’re done right?

I found the wipes overly drying on my skin, and while it did remove oil, it also made my skin very dry. unless your skin is very oily, oily, or combination/oily, I would shy away from these wipes. The main ingredient of these wipes is witch hazel and only oily skin (or combination/oily skin) can properly take witch hazel.  There is lemon, Cucumber, and menthol to help alleviate inflammation/scarring, but no true “acne” ingredient such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. The wipes essentially “fight” acne by removing oil, but these wipes could be re-branded as “balancing wipes for oily skin”, and it would perform the same function.

Due to the witch hazel, the wipes have a very strong alcohol smell which may irritate the eyes when you wipe near the eye area (do not wipe on your sensitive eye area, witch hazel is too strong for that area of skin). You can use these wipes to remove makeup as well, but should use actual eye makeup wipes to remove eye makeup.

Will these cure your acne?

No, it will just remove the oil that can contribute to your acne. You can probably buy organic cotton pads and lightly wipe them in witch hazel to get the same effect. Though there are other ingredients added to these wipes as well (including lemon and cucumber extract).

Can I use these wipes if my skin is not oily?

I do not recommend it. My face is dry/combination and it felt it was about to crack afterwards. I needed to apply moisturizer quickly afterwards.

What if my skin is oily?

then these will be great for you! If you use these once a day, you can probably get rid of your oil-blotting tissue paper as witch hazel does the same thing as the tissue paper, ie remove oil.

 

Murad Clarifying Wipes For Blemish-Prone Skin is a premoisturized 30 count package that is available in Sephora, ULTA, as well as Amazon. You should use these wipes about once a day and the 30 count package will last you one month. You should place your package upside down after use to cover the opening area as the wipes can get dried out over a period of time.

Directions:

Gently wipe over face and neck. There is no need to rinse. Follow with a Murad Step 2 treatment. Reseal package after use.

Ingredients:

-Witch Hazel: Controls oil and tightens pores.
-Algae Extract: Regulates excess sebum production.
-Grape Seed Extract and Vitamin E: Protect from free radical damage.

Full Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Butylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat., PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Lecithin, Tocopherol, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Allantoin, Palmitoyl Hydroxypropyltrimonium Amylopectin/Glycerin Crosspolymer, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Menthol, Menthoxypropanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Citral, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Blue 1 (CI 42090), Ext. Violet 2 (CI 60730).

 

xoxo,

Emmy