Noxzema Ultimate Clear Anti-Blemish Pads for combination skin
Salicylic Acid
Eucalyptus Globulus Oil Leaf
Camphor
MentholAverage
- AverageCombination Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for combination skin; other serums fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with combination skin: an oily T-zone, enlarged pores, and dry cheeks. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate exfoliation for your combination skin due to salicylic acid, which aids in reducing acne lesions and blemishes while managing oily shine. Alcohol denat and menthol provide a cooling sensation that can help minimize the appearance of pores.
- The formula is safe for your combination skin as it lacks harsh or prohibited ingredients, minimizing irritation risks.
- While effective for managing oil and blemishes, the product could benefit from additional humectants to provide more comprehensive hydration for your combination skin.
How to apply
- Use your serum as part of your PM routine. Start using it 3 times a week and move to daily use if your skin likes it.
- Apply the serum after cleansing and toner, and right before your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the serum into your skin and wait a minute ⏳for it to soak in.
- Apply the serum on clean and dry skin since your skin is not sensitive.
- Always do a patch test before using the serum for the first time, and avoid the eye area .
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 3.5k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this product is highly effective for oily and acne-prone skin, utilizing 2% salicylic acid to rapidly clear breakouts and deeply clean pores. Some users report a refreshing cooling sensation. However, due to high alcohol content and a strong eucalyptus scent, it can cause stinging and over-drying, making it unsuitable for sensitive or dry skin types.
Highlights
Cleans pores Often Mentioned
- “blown away with how much dirt was on my skin”
- “keeps my pores small”
- “I know I have 100 percent clean skin”
- “helps to clear pores”
Clears acne Often Mentioned
- “Helped clear up my son's acne quick”
- “heals my acne quicker and better than anything else”
- “1 a day cleared up my skin”
- “In less than three days, it had already improved the look of my skin”
Removes oil Often Mentioned
- “remove all excess oil from my skin”
- “takes away the oil that has accumulated”
- “leave my skin feeling clean and oil free”
- “prioritizes immediate degreasing”
Cooling sensation Sometimes Noted
- “cooling sensation rather than a burning sensation”
- “leaves my face feeling clean & fresh”
- “classic Noxzema tingle sensation”
- “cooling clean that feels as good as it works”
Causes stinging Sometimes Noted
- “It does burn a bit when you apply it”
- “stinging comes primarily from the 60%+ denatured alcohol”
- “Kinda burned my eyes and my nose a tiny bit”
- “burns your eyes strong”
Over-drying skin Sometimes Noted
- “excessive drying may occur”
- “eventually dry out”
- “too harsh for your skin type”
- “dehydration, peeling, or irritation”
Strong scent Sometimes Noted
- “scent is REALLY strong - like hard to breathe”
- “burns your eyes strong”
- “smell was strong when I first used them”
- “burns your eyes a bit”
Sources: lovi.care, walmart.com, kroger.com, dermapproved.com, meijer.com, target.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Noxzema Ultimate Clear Anti-Blemish Pads work for combination skin?
Noxzema Noxzema Ultimate Clear Anti-Blemish Pads works moderately well for your combination skin, helping clear blemishes and manage oily shine with salicylic acid while cooling the skin. However, it lacks sufficient hydration for drier areas, so a product of this type needs additional humectants, niacinamide, and zinc PCA to properly balance combination skin without causing dryness.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Which ingredients make this treatment a good fit for combination skin?
Salicylic acid, eucalyptus oil leaf, camphor, and menthol make this treatment a moderate fit for your combination skin by clearing blemishes, managing oily shine, and providing a cooling feel. However, because this product only offers moderate results, combination skin needs a treatment that includes ingredients like niacinamide, propolis, and zinc PCA to provide balanced hydration and radiance without irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
What does Salicylic Acid do for combination skin?
Salicylic acid helps clear clogged pores and balance oily areas while remaining gentle enough for dry spots on combination skin. It reduces breakouts and oiliness effectively with a low likelihood of irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
What does Eucalyptus Leaf Oil do for combination skin?
Eucalyptus leaf oil helps calm and refresh combination skin by soothing irritation and balancing oily and dry areas. It is unlikely to cause irritation and supports overall skin health with its natural antimicrobial properties.
Where does this treatment go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
Apply this treatment in the evening routine, as treatments with active ingredients go at night for simplicity and safety around sun exposure. Start using it once a week and carefully increase the frequency if your skin tolerates it well and shows good results.
Can I use this treatment with benzoyl peroxide, and in what order?
You can use this treatment with benzoyl peroxide, but apply them at different times or days to avoid excessive irritation, as both ingredients actively target blemishes. To keep your combination skin comfortable, this type of product also needs added hydrators like glycerin or hyaluronic acid to make up for the drying effects of both treatments.
American Family Physician, 2012Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
How often should I use this treatment?
Start by using this treatment once a week in the evening, and if your skin tolerates it well and you see good results, you can carefully use it more often. Salicylic acid helps clear blemishes and manage oily shine, though a product of this type for combination skin also needs extra hydrators to keep skin comfortable.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Can this treatment clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
Noxzema Noxzema Ultimate Clear Anti-Blemish Pads help clear blemishes and manage oily shine on combination skin using salicylic acid, but they may cause over-drying and stinging. To keep combination skin balanced, a product of this type needs added humectants to provide more comprehensive hydration.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Is this treatment fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no fragrance and contains drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
Twice daily application of a multitargeted dermocosmetic cream provided comparable efficacy to benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in reducing inflammatory, non-inflammatory, and total lesions in 150 Caucasian subjects with mild-to-moderate acne over 56 days, while demonstrating superior skin tolerability.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024The use of a salicylic acid-based dermocosmetic significantly reduces the needed quantity of benzoyl peroxide without impacting efficacy in mild to moderate acne, and as maintenance post-benzoyl peroxide allows a significant reduction of acne relapse compared to vehicle.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023Cooling skin temperature or applying topical menthol reduced histamine-induced itch intensity and flare diameters in healthy male volunteers.
Neuroscience Letters, 1995A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010An ointment containing larch turpentine, eucalyptus oil, and turpentine oil improved discomfort scores (7.3 vs. 4.7) and increased complete healing (67% vs. 46%) compared to placebo in outpatients with painful skin abscesses over 10 days.
Complementary Medicine Research, 2023Topical application of a methyl salicylate gel with turpentine essence, camphor, and menthol achieved skin penetration and significantly reduced pro-inflammatory gene expression compared to untreated controls in human skin explants.
Farmaceuticos Comunitarios, 2024Volatile compounds including 1,8-cineole, borneol, camphor, and thujone reduce PMA/I-stimulated IL-6 and IL-8 release by more than 50% in human gingival fibroblasts, proving more effective than rosmarinic acid.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2013Camphor induced human primary dermal fibroblast proliferation and collagen expression while reducing UV-induced MMP1 expression and wrinkle formation in mouse skin.
Phytotherapy Research, 2015Coadministration of 40% topical L-menthol with 10% trans-cinnamaldehyde reduced spontaneous pain intensity, neurogenic inflammation, primary and secondary mechanical hyperalgesia, and heat hyperalgesia, but not cold hyperalgesia, in 14 healthy volunteers.
The Journal of Pain, 2016Topical application of menthol-based cooling gel decreased intramuscular temperature by 1.9 °C and increased cutaneous blood flow by 0.3 ml/min in healthy males compared to placebo gel.
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2018Topical L-menthol and trans-cinnamaldehyde administered individually and in combination on the volar forearm of healthy volunteers induced distinct somatosensory and vasomotor effects, where L-menthol reduced the axon-reflex-flare and altered the mechanical hyperalgesia caused by trans-cinnamaldehyde.
European Journal of Pain, 2014
Ingredients
Salicylic Acid, Alcohol Denat, Water, Peg-4, Ppg-11 Stearyl Ether, Eucalyptus Globulus Oil Leaf, Camphor, Menthol, Disodium Edta
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
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Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Victoria Derkova, MS
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