Review: Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on

I bought this Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on pimple treatment after Niu Er introduced this on the 20/12/2010 episode of Nu Ren Wo Zui Da (a Taiwanese beauty programme) and I went to Watsons to get one the next day. The selling point of this pimple roll-on gel is the 2% Salicylic Acid, which is a BHA that will help not only in drying up the pimple, but also to boost skin turnover via exfoliation so that the pimple scar fades faster. It has a high alcohol content and with the metal ball roll-on, it feels cool on touch. I think the metal ball design does not seem that hygienic but I wanted to try the 2% salicylic acid. There was a discount when I bought this so the price was $15.90.

The reason why I went out to buy this  Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on  was because I knew a pimple was coming on. I felt the sore pain on my cheek. When I bought this, my pimple had developed into an acne type pimple, the kind with pus. I have one or two of such acne during the time of the month.

I have to say, unfortunately, this  Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on  took a long time to dry out and heal my pimple. A week later, my pimple was still sitting there though healing. My other pimple creams with benzoyl peroxide definitely dries out pimples faster than this one. Usually, Proactiv Advanced Blemish Treatment takes me 2-3 days to completely dry out acne type pimples, and 1 day for smaller ones. It took more than a week with Garnier.

After the pimple dried out, I continued to roll on this pimple treatment as it is supposed to help scars fade faster. But till this day, slightly more than 2 months on, I can still clearly see the brown scar on my cheek.

This Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on was quite a disappointment for me. I bought it with high expectations as Niu Er recommended it on TV. Too bad it didn't work for me.

One thing about Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on that a lot of people are talking about is how the packaging does not seem very hygienic. As pimples are full of p-acnes bacteria, using the same metal roll-on ball on the pimples seems to introduce the bacteria into the product and contaminates the rest of the product. Unless there are sufficient anti-bacterial agents in the formulation, this seems like a possibility. I had small pimples around the areas I rolled on Garnier Pure Active Spot-on Roll-on. I did so because the box said it will clean out the pores, so I figured I'd use it where I have blackheads. Not the best idea.

All in all, I don't think I will repurchase this product. I am moving on to Avene Diacneal.