Neutrogena

Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide.

Q: Is Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide worth it?

Yes. All 5 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 84%.

Acne

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About this product

A leave-on acne treatment with 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide designed to prevent breakouts and treat acne-prone skin.

Full ingredients

Water, Carbomer Homopolymer Type B, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Laureth-4, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide

Guru Score

84%

Yay

5 experts · Moderate agreement

5Gurus

5Yay

0Mixed

0Nay

#3 in AcneSee the ranking →

What they liked

Moisturizing base reduces dryness and irritation

What they flagged

Bleaches fabrics and hair on contact

What the gurus are saying

Micronized benzoyl peroxide at 2.5% earns consistent praise from dermatologists as an effective, non-irritating option for preventing acne across the face and body. The smaller particle size means it reaches pores efficiently and causes less dryness than standard benzoyl peroxide, and experts emphasize using it as a preventive layer on breakout-prone areas rather than as a spot treatment on existing pimples. One key caveat: leave-on benzoyl peroxide can bleach fabrics, and using it alongside adapalene or other benzoyl peroxide products increases irritation risk, so those with drier or sensitive skin may want to start with just this product once daily.

Synthesized from 5 expert reviews · most recent take September 2025

Best for

Acne-prone skin

Type

AcneLotion

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Ulta → Amazon → Google → iHerb →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr Dray

2.69M subs

✓Yay

"You can use benzoyl peroxide actually in the morning and at night and then put adapalene which is stable in the presence of benzoyl peroxide. You can put the adapalene on at night. That combination is really tight for controlling acne. The downside of benzoyl peroxide is that it bleaches fabrics. So using a wash form is an alternative less likely to bleach stuff when you just use it in the shower and then rinse it off the skin."

All 11 takes from Dr Dray

*BEST* PRODUCTS FOR CLOSED COMEDONES | Dermatologist

"This is one from Neutrogena that I'm a big fan of for a few reasons. It's their Stubborn Acne AM Treatment with 2.5 percent micronized benzoyl peroxide. The micronized benzoyl peroxide is what helps it be less irritating, basically smaller particles of benzoyl peroxide get into the pore more efficiently and spread out on the surface of the skin more efficiently, so they're less likely to be as drying and irritating and they do help tackle closed comedones."

How To Get Rid Of Whiteheads On The Nose

"One of my favorite benzoyl peroxide products for pores for acne is the Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment. I have a whole video on how to use this so definitely check that out, especially if you're dealing with whiteheads. It can be very effective."

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"Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment is a 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide lotion product. Benzoyl peroxide historically is very drying and very irritating, but micronized benzoyl peroxide basically has the benzoyl peroxide in smaller particles so it spreads more evenly on the skin and gets into the pore more efficiently, less likely to become irritating as opposed to non-micronized formulas where you can get some clumping together in hot spots."

Acne-Prone Skin: The Ultimate Guide To Products

"I suggest considering Neutrogena's Stubborn Acne AM Treatment. This is a 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide leave-on treatment in a moisturizing base. 2.5% is a very effective concentration, much less irritating in comparison to higher percentage strengths, and can be very well tolerated. The active drug, by virtue of the micronized formulation, can efficiently localize down in the pore to go to work tackling that acne-causing bacterium."

Don't Sleep On Benzoyl Peroxide! The Must-have Ingredient For Your Skincare Routine

"Formulations of benzoyl peroxide over the years have come a long way and there are many excellent options out there that are much less irritating. For example, I often recommend the Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment. It's a 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide and it tends to be a lot less irritating in comparison to other formulations out there, but is as effective."

Pair These Ingredients for Better Skin

"Look for a benzoyl peroxide that is 2.5%, that is on the lower end. You'll find benzoyl peroxide like 5, 10, those can work just as well but they tend to be a lot more drying. The 2.5% formulation just as effective but less likely to be drying and irritating. Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide in a micronized formulation much less irritating than a lot of those older school benzoyl peroxide formulations."

GOODBYE NEUTROGENA DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS & WHAT TO USE INSTEAD| Dermatologist @DrDrayzday

"I do think the Stubborn Acne AM treatment is a substantial improvement from the older leave-on mask. It's benzoyl peroxide at the same 2.5 percent but they advertise this one as being micronized benzoyl peroxide, which reduces irritation. I have used this and it is much less drying."

Starting tretinoin: WHAT TO USE & AVOID| Dermatologist @DrDrayzday

"This one by Neutrogena is actually very good. It's a micronized benzoyl peroxide so it's less irritating, and this would be a good one if you are still having breakouts with tretinoin."

BEST ACNE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS OF 2021 @DrDrayzday

"It's still effective and less irritating. I like this formulation because it's actually pretty moisturizing and more comfortable to wear to a widespread area than other benzoyl peroxide lotion products I've tried over the years. It's less drying than alternatives. One thing to note: any benzoyl peroxide lotion product will bleach fabrics and your hair—not your skin, but fabrics and hair—so don't let it touch your hair, and [...] if you use it at night, put an old towel down on your pillow."

Dermatologist SHOP WITH ME TARGET SKIN CARE| Dr Dray

"The Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment is much better and free of fragrance."

Dr. Aleksandra Brown

148k subs

✓Yay

"I have also used Neutrogena brand and efficac but they all do the same thing"

Doctorly

3.59M subs

✓Yay

"You can also get a 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide just by itself from Neutrogena Stubborn Acne line. That's another option if you don't tolerate lipohydroxy acid well, so people with some drier skin type can be a little bit irritating with both of these ingredients together. Just going to say it: only use one benzoyl peroxide product, so don't use the wash in a leave-on. In my opinion I would just pick one."

208SkinDoc

2.10M subs

✓Yay

"Neutrogena also makes a really good benzoyl peroxide product that I recommend often to my patients who are looking for a non-irritating over the counter option. That product is called the Stubborn Acne AM Treatment, and it's widely available on Amazon or Target or pretty much anywhere."

Dr. Sam Ellis

893k subs

✓Yay

"Another benzoyl peroxide product that I really like is the Neutrogena Stubborn AM Acne Treatment. This is a leave-on product so instead of being a wash that you rinse off, you put this on as a cream and then you can layer your other skincare products on top of it. This contains 2.5 micronized benzoyl peroxide."

Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide.

84%

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