Neutrogena Wave Facial Cleanser: A Review

I recently purchased the Neutrogena Wave after being lured in by advertisements. The Wave, according to the packaging, promises a chilled cleanser that deep cleans pores, cleansing pads that remove dead skin, and the vibrating Wave tool, which purportedly smoothes skin. However, I did not notice much difference between using the revolutionary Wave tool vs. good old cleanser and a washcloth. For the price of $12.99, the Wave tool comes with a battery and 14 cleansing pads, which does seem reasonable for the price. Instead, I’d rather save that $12.99 and put it towards some higher end skin care products.

The directions on the box explain how the Wave works. All users have to do is attach a cleansing pad to the Wave, run it under water, turn it on and apply it to their faces. It was very easy to attach the cleansing pad, but it took ages for the foaming to actually start. I had to run the pad under water, apply it to my face, and repeat numerous times. The cleanser never really foamed; instead, it deposited a light layer of soap over my face. However, the cleanser does smell delicious and produces a cooling feeling, which is a perk.

The Wave tool itself is refreshing at first, though it felt a bit harsh after my repeated attempts to get my cleansing pad to foam. After washing off the cleanser, I can safely say that the Wave was not very effective on my face. Though parts of my skin felt polished and soft, others just felt dry. I will take into account, though, that I have combination skin, in which parts are oily and parts are very dry. Perhaps the Wave would be better suited to those with different skin types.

One of the limitations I found with the Wave was the difficulty of removing the cleansing pad after use. Although the pad is incredibly easy to put on, it sticks quite well to the Wave tool. After removal, I had to pick bits and pieces of the leftover pad off of the Wave tool. This isn’t a big deal for the time being, but I could see it becoming an issue as more of the pad builds up over time.

Currently, I have used the Wave twice, and while sections of my skin feel good, I don’t have the overall result that I expected. Even though the Wave promises results in a day, I will use the 14 cleansing pads in the box and then reevaluate my results. At the point, I feel as though my money could have been spent better on a different product, perhaps something more suited to my skin type. I’m curious to see what kinds of results the next 12 days will bring for my skin, but I’m already convinced that the Wave isn’t the magical tool that consumers are expecting it to be.