Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar Review - Vintage Vanity

by - Wednesday, January 22, 2025

This is part one of what I hope is a very long series about vintage beauty products that are still sold today. I decided to hunt down a big old pile of products that have been on the shelves of stores for decades. This included soaps, lotions, balms and lip balms.  I started my project with a bar of soap, and well ended up using it for 5 months straight. Which was great because I loved it, but it didn’t help review all the soaps I could.

I also was at a loss on how to even approach the project. I have tried to write one big post for each category, but there have been no reviews. Instead, for now, I am reviewing each item as I use them. Today that is Unscented Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar Original Formula aka Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar.

This soap has been around since 1954.  Manny Stoloroff, the founder of Neutrogena, went to Belgium and found a non-alkaline soap that was created by a chemist there. He bought the distribution rights and called it Neutrogena.  In the ‘50s, it became popular for those who did not want the harsher soaps of the day on their face, and people were willing to pay a huge price increase for it ($1 vs 10 ¢ for the competitors).


Today the key thing that continues to make it a special bar is that it is dermatologist-recommended.


Review Time:

 

Now I used this bar on my body for the most part, I only used it on my face a few times.

 

I have never really liked bar soap, it has always felt like a film is left all over my body when I am done using it. It doesn’t matter if I use a loofa, a poof or even a washcloth, I feel a film after rinsing. This soap never once did that for me. Every time I washed with it, it felt like I used a body wash. It rinsed clean away.

 

After every use, my skin felt great, never once dry or tight. That goes for my face too, which is surprising since I have very dry skin.

It is completely fragrance-free, which if you are going to use it on the face, is fantastic. It lathers easily with a loose lather. It did a great job of eliminating odour on my body, so I knew it was getting me clean.

 

Pros:

-              Oil-free

-              Ph of 8 (in the ideal bar soap range)

-              Dermatologist recommended

-              Fragrance-free

-              Easy rinsing

-              No residue

-              Safe for the face (actually recommended)

-              Inexpensive (a 3-pack costs $7.50 to $10.00 CAD)

Cons:

-              Each bar is wrapped in plastic, so it is not plastic-free.

Overall:

Overall I am shocked at how much I like this bar. Every time I use it my skin feels soft, clean and just overall nice. Which is how I want to feel. As someone who generally hates bar soap, I am surprised I did so well right out the gate with trying out this bar. If this was the only body wash or soap I had for the rest of my life, I would be ok with that.

Ingredients: 

Triethanolamine, TEA-Stearate, Glycerin, Sodium Tallowate, Water (eau), Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Sodium Oleate, Cocamide MEA, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium Stearate, BHT, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Trisodium HEDTA, Sodium Metabisulfite.

You May Also Like

0 comments