Urban Skin Rx Clear and Even Tone Body Cleansing Bar 5 oz jar with sponge
Strong choice for Acne
What Makes This Different

It takes the brand's jar-and-sponge bar format below the neck with a stripped-down oleate soap, charcoal, cosmetic-level salicylic acid and sulfur, niacinamide at a real position and a trace brightening roster, aimed squarely at the shoulders, chest, back and buttocks where body breakouts leave marks on skin of colour. The exfoliating sponge does the physical work; the bar does the degreasing.

Urban Skin Rx

Urban Skin Rx Clear and Even Tone Body Cleansing Bar Review

Back-Acne Soap in a Jar
body care bar clinical Paraben Free Fungal Acne Safe Cruelty Free Vegan

A black oleate soap with charcoal, cosmetic-level sulfur and salicylic acid, niacinamide at a real position and a sponge that does the scrubbing, built for the shoulders, back and buttocks where body breakouts leave marks on skin of colour. Used as a targeted mask on oily zones it clears bumps well; used on the whole body it dries everything. Thirty-two dollars for five ounces of fast-dissolving soap is the hard part.

$32.00
5 oz / 142 g
4.5 ★★★★★
500 reviews
Made in United States Launched 2019 Best for spring-summer PAO: 12 months
Buy at Amazon ♥
Run it through our tools Clashes with my routine? Pregnancy-safe? Find a cheaper dupe Patch-test it first

This body bar has a smaller owner record than Urban Skin Rx's facial bars, a couple of hundred reviews on the brand's site and a few hundred more at retailers over seven years, and the brand publishes no testing of it. The assessment above rests on the twelve-ingredient list, on soap and acne-active chemistry and on that moderate review base rather than on any measured outcome for the product.

Verdicts

How well it fits each concern

Verdict by concern tap a concern for the case

Strong choicefor AcneSalicylic Acid is an approved or monograph active for acne; this bar carries it, though the concentration is not declared.Moderate evidenceStandard tolerabilityNo reviews collected yet

The case for it

  1. Salicylic Acid is a first-line active — approved, monograph-listed or named in current guidelines — for this concern.
  2. It is plausibly present at a working level, though the concentration is not declared.
  3. The formula carries no trigger this concern is sensitive to, with the cautions noted.

Cautions: fragrance; known irritants.

What would change this: A declared concentration would move this to a firmer reading of the dose.

Same rule for everyone. “Strong choice” is the verdict on 1,459 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R3 decided 567 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.

Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →

Show the work
Rule
R3 — Undeclared but plausibly dosed (top-third INCI position, or a potent sub-1% active) — the verdict stands, and the sentence says what disclosure would add. A declared figure below range would have been sub-threshold. · the full register
Carrying active
Salicylic Acid
Standing
first line — a regulator recognises it for this use; trials support it · per § 333.310 Acne active ingredients. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration — 21 CFR Part 333 Subpart D (Topical Acne Drug Products), Code of Federal Regulations via GovInfo), opened July 27, 2026
Form
plausible — studied range 0.5–2%, from the OTC monograph or label; judge it after ~6 weeks
Tolerability
standard — fragrance load, irritant load
Row checked
against its sources on July 27, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)

The studies behind the evidence row

All acne products →
Good choicefor HyperpigmentationNiacinamide is a trial-supported active for hyperpigmentation; this bar carries it, though the concentration is not declared.Moderate evidenceStandard tolerabilityNo reviews collected yet

The case for it

  1. Niacinamide has trial-supported standing for this concern.
  2. It is plausibly present at a working level, though the concentration is not declared.
  3. The formula carries no trigger this concern is sensitive to, with the cautions noted.

Cautions: known irritants; a photosensitising active — use sun protection.

What would change this: A declared concentration would move this to a firmer reading of the dose.

Same rule for everyone. “Good choice” is the verdict on 9,564 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R5 decided 9,072 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.

Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →

Show the work
Rule
R5 — Trial-supported or guideline-supported active, adequately or plausibly dosed. · the full register
Carrying active
Niacinamide
Standing
supported — trials support it
Form
plausible — studied range 2–5%, from the trials on the row; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~8 weeks
Tolerability
standard — irritant load, photosensitization
Row checked
against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)

The studies behind the evidence row

All hyperpigmentation products →
Good choicefor Rough TextureSalicylic Acid is a reference standard by mechanism for rough texture; this bar carries it.Moderate evidenceStandard tolerabilityNo reviews collected yet

The case for it

  1. Salicylic Acid has trial-supported standing for this concern.
  2. It is plausibly present at a working level, though the concentration is not declared.
  3. The formula carries no trigger this concern is sensitive to, with the cautions noted.

What would change this: A declared concentration would move this to a firmer reading of the dose.

Same rule for everyone. “Good choice” is the verdict on 9,564 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R5 decided 9,072 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.

Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →

Show the work
Rule
R5 — Trial-supported or guideline-supported active, adequately or plausibly dosed. · the full register
Carrying active
Salicylic Acid
Standing
supported — its mechanism is established
Form
plausible — studied range 0.5–2%, from the trials on the row; needs leave-on contact; judge it after ~6 weeks
Tolerability
standard
Row checked
against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)

The studies behind the evidence row

  • International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook — declared function — Personal Care Products Council
  • United States Pharmacopeia / National Formulary — excipient monograph — USP-NF
All rough texture products →
Promisingfor Dark SpotsNiacinamide has trial-level evidence for dark spots but no guideline or regulatory standing yet — promising, short of a recommendation; the other actives here are not yet assessed for it.Moderate evidenceStandard tolerabilityNo reviews collected yet

The case for it

  1. Niacinamide has trial-level evidence for this concern but no guideline or regulatory standing yet.
  2. It is plausibly present at a working level, though the concentration is not declared.
  3. The formula carries no trigger this concern is sensitive to, with the cautions noted.

Cautions: a photosensitising active — use sun protection.

What would change this: A declared concentration would move this to a firmer reading of the dose.

Same rule for everyone. “Promising” is the verdict on 7,858 of 45,024 concern verdicts across the catalog; rule R9p decided 7,858 of them. As of September 25, 2026, engine 5.1.1.

Brand or formulator? Disclose a concentration or correct a fact →

Show the work
Rule
R9p — 0.5.0: 'Unproven' beside three filled dots read as one question answered twice with opposite words (7,018 rows). The chip measures standing, the dots measure trial volume; where the row carries at least one RCT or a tier-2 source (moderate dots) and the active is present at a working level, the honest word is Promising. Unproven is reserved for plausible-standing rows with limited or weak evidence, or an under-dosed form. Same rank as Unproven — a bet either way; the dots order them. · the full register
Carrying active
Niacinamide
Standing
plausible — trials support it
Form
plausible
Tolerability
standard — photosensitization
Row checked
against its sources on July 17, 2026 (evidence table ev-2026.09-r228)

The studies behind the evidence row

All dark spots products →

As a body productNot judged: what a body product is for — real substance, not just slip, realistic to use daily — cannot yet be measured from the ingredient list (only fragrance load can).

A verdict is DermApproved’s assessment of how well a product’s ingredients fit a concern — never a claim about what the product treats. Evidence dots and collected reviews sit beside it and are never blended in. Rules 0.5.1 · evidence table ev-2026.09-r228 · how we decide

Assessment

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓ Built for back, chest and buttock breakouts and marks on skin of colour, a real gap in the aisle
  • ✓ Oleate soap and exfoliating sponge degrease and polish oily body zones thoroughly
  • ✓ Niacinamide fifth on a twelve-ingredient list, a genuine position for a bar
  • ✓ Short mask on breakout zones gives the sulfur and salicylic acid some contact time
  • ✓ Oil-free, non-comedogenic and fungal-acne safe
  • ✓ Fewer body breakouts over weeks means fewer new dark marks
  • ✓ Jar and sponge ritual that owners keep up with

Cons

  • ✗ True alkaline soap that dries anything used on beyond oily zones
  • ✗ Sulfur and salicylic acid are cosmetic-level with no drug facts panel
  • ✗ Charcoal is colour and story, not pore extraction
  • ✗ Kojic acid and lactic acid get minutes of contact against months of leave-on evidence
  • ✗ Eucalyptus and turmeric oils are sensitisers on a bar left on as a mask
  • ✗ $32 for five ounces that dissolve in six to eight weeks
Review

Full Review

Walk down the body-wash aisle looking for something that treats breakouts on the back and buttocks and fades the dark marks they leave, and you will find benzoyl peroxide washes that bleach towels, salicylic acid washes in sport-scented bottles, and nothing that acknowledges that on brown and black skin the mark outlasts the pimple by months. Urban Skin Rx noticed that gap in 2019 and answered it with the format its customers already knew: a bar in a jar, a sponge, and a roster of actives. The Clear and Even Tone Body Cleansing Bar is a product for a real and under-served problem, and that context is worth holding onto, because on the ingredients alone it is an expensive, drying soap with trace actives, and both things are true at once.

The formula is short enough to read in a breath. Water, sorbitol and propylene glycol, then sodium oleate, the salt of oleic acid, which is the entire surfactant system and makes this a true soap with an alkaline pH. Niacinamide is fifth, which on a twelve-ingredient list is a genuine position. Salicylic acid and sulfur follow, then eucalyptus oil, activated charcoal, kojic acid, turmeric oil and lactic acid. There is no drug facts panel, so the salicylic acid and sulfur sit below the monograph levels that would let the brand call this an acne treatment, and in an oleate soap most of the salicylic acid is ionised and cannot enter a follicle anyway. Charcoal adsorbs oil in the lather, turns the foam grey and provides the purifying story; it does not extract anything from a pore in the seconds a wash allows. Kojic acid and niacinamide are the even-tone half, both real pigment actives in leave-on use over months, both here for a minute or two.

What the bar actually does is degrease, and it does that thoroughly. Oleate soap strips sebum efficiently, the sponge adds a mild physical exfoliation, and the eucalyptus gives a cooling jolt that makes the whole thing feel like a treatment. On an oily, sweaty back, a chest that breaks out under a sports bra, or buttocks prone to folliculitis from sitting, that combination genuinely helps: the roughly 210 reviewers on the brand's site and more at Ulta report fewer bumps within three or four weeks, and a good number describe some fading of old marks over months. The fading is plausibly real and comes mainly by the honest route, fewer breakouts producing fewer new marks, with a small assist from niacinamide during the mask minutes. The brand's instruction to leave the lather on breakout zones for a minute or two is, as with its face bars, the one thing that gives the actives any contact time, and it should be followed on the areas that need it and nowhere else.

Nowhere else is the operative phrase. Used over the whole body, this bar strips the arms and legs of lipid they need, and the reviews from people who tried it as a general wash describe tightness and flaking within days; on eczema-prone or dry skin it is the wrong product entirely. Eucalyptus and turmeric oils are sensitisers, kojic acid occasionally is, and lactic acid at the tail adds a little more sting on freshly shaved skin. The right use is narrow: the sponge on the torso and buttocks, a short mask on breakout zones, a thorough rinse, a gentler wash for everything else, and a moisturiser on damp skin afterward. Followed that way by someone with oily body skin it earns its reviews; ignored, it earns the complaints.

The jar is the other practical matter. A sorbitol-and-glycol soap absorbs water and goes soft and murky if left wet, which the brand acknowledges alongside the colour change at the bottom, and a five-ounce bar used daily lasts six to eight weeks even when drained and aired. That brings the honest cost to $32 every couple of months, roughly $200 a year for soap. A monograph-strength benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid body wash costs a fraction of that and treats body acne at a dose that is actually recognised for the purpose; a leave-on niacinamide or acid body serum for the marks costs less again and does the job this bar's trace roster cannot. What the $32 buys is the jar, the sponge, the eucalyptus, the mask ritual and, above all, a brand that built the product for a concern the aisle ignores.

That last thing is not nothing, and it is the honest reason to buy. Urban Skin Rx has spent a decade and a half thinking about hyperpigmentation in skin of colour, and a body product from that brand carries an understanding that a generic charcoal bar does not; for someone who has been sold sport washes for a problem that is really about marks, the recognition matters. The formula, though, is a strong soap with a good sponge and a story, and it should be priced and used as one.

So: if you have oily body skin, breakouts on the back, chest, shoulders or buttocks, and the marks that follow, and you will use this as a targeted mask with a moisturiser after, it is a reasonable if pricey part of a routine and the only bar in its aisle built for you. If your body skin is normal to dry or sensitive, or if you want the acne treated at monograph strength and the marks faded with a leave-on, the same money buys two products that do both jobs better.

Formula

Key Ingredients

The hero actives that drive this product's performance.

IngredientFunctionEvidence
Sodium Oleate Fourth on the list and the only surfactant, the sodium salt of oleic acid, which makes this a true soap with an alkaline pH; it is what degreases a sweaty back and what dries a normal one, and every other ingredient rides on it. Not yet assessed
Niacinamide Fifth, above the acne actives, which is a real position for a twelve-ingredient bar; it carries the even-tone claim and, with the mask minutes the brand suggests, is the one brightening ingredient with a plausible if small contribution on body marks. Emerging for Hyperpigmentation
Salicylic Acid Sixth, at an undisclosed cosmetic level with no drug facts panel and in an alkaline soap where it is mostly ionised; it lends the blemish claim and a mild keratolytic tingle during a mask rather than the follicle-clearing action of a monograph wash. Established mechanism for Rough Texture · established mechanism
Sulfur Seventh, likewise below monograph strength, adding a drying, mildly antimicrobial note to the bar for chest and back breakouts and a faint mineral smell under the eucalyptus. Regulator-approved for Acne · limited certainty
Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Powder Ninth, the reason the bar is black; charcoal adsorbs oil in the lather and provides the purifying story, with no evidence that it pulls anything from pores in the seconds a wash allows. Not yet assessed
Kojic Acid Tenth, a tyrosinase inhibitor with leave-on evidence for dark marks over months, present here for a few mask minutes as part of the even-tone roster and, for the sensitised few, as a potential irritant. Limited for Hyperpigmentation
Full INCI List

Water, D-Glucitol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Oleate, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, Sulfur, Eucalyptus Leaf Oil, Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Powder, Kojic Acid, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Oil, Lactic Acid

Safety & Formulation Facts
✓ Pregnancy Safe ✗ Fragrance Free✓ Alcohol Free✓ Oil Free✓ Silicone Free✓ Paraben Free✓ Sulfate Free✓ Cruelty Free✓ Vegan✓ Fungal Acne Safe
Potential Irritants
Sodium OleateSalicylic AcidSulfurEucalyptus Leaf OilKojic AcidLactic AcidCurcuma Longa (Turmeric) Oil
Common Allergens
Eucalyptus OilKojic AcidTurmeric Oil
Compatibility

Skin Match

Best For
Works For
Not Ideal For
Routine Step

cleanser

Time of Day

AM & PM

Layering Tips

Lather the bar with the exfoliating sponge on the shoulders, chest, back and buttocks only, leave the foam a minute or two on breakout zones, rinse well and moisturise the whole body afterward; keep it off the face, the limbs and anywhere dry, and use a plain wash on the rest.

Results Timeline

Oily, bumpy areas feel cleaner and look matte at once, and small body breakouts thin out over three to four weeks of daily use, mostly from thorough degreasing with a light sulfur-and-salicylic assist in the mask minutes. Dark marks on the back and buttocks fade slowly if at all from a rinse-off; expect months, and expect a leave-on product to do most of it.

Pairs Well With
A fragrance-free body lotion applied to damp skin afterwardA leave-on niacinamide or acid body serum for the marks themselves
Planning a combo? Check it against what you already use
Conflicts With
Leave-on body acids or benzoyl peroxide on the same dayOther exfoliating scrubs or tools in the same shower
See where it fits — layering order & night-splitting
Sample AM Routine
  1. Plain body wash on limbs
  2. THIS PRODUCT with sponge on chest, back and buttocks
  3. Body lotion on damp skin
Sample PM Routine
  1. THIS PRODUCT as a 1-2 minute mask on breakout zones
  2. Leave-on body acid or niacinamide serum on marks
  3. Body lotion
Evidence

Science & Expert Perspective

The Science

The bar's action is soap chemistry with a targeted-contact modification. Sodium oleate, the sole surfactant, is the sodium salt of oleic acid, an unsaturated soap that lathers moderately and cleans by solubilising sebum in micelles at an alkaline pH, typically 9 to 10; like all true soaps it also removes intercellular lipids, swells corneocytes and raises surface pH transiently, effects documented in comparative studies of soap and synthetic-detergent cleansers as the source of dryness and irritation on normal and dry skin and experienced by oily skin as a thorough clean. Sorbitol and propylene glycol keep the bar translucent-soft and are why it absorbs water and softens in the jar. The enclosed textured sponge supplies the exfoliation; the bar itself contains no abrasive, and the activated charcoal is a fine adsorbent powder that binds oil and pigment in the lather, has no demonstrated effect on follicular contents during a wash, and accounts for the colour.

The acne actives are recognised agents used below their recognised doses. Salicylic acid is listed in the FDA acne monograph at 0.5 to 2 percent and sulfur at 3 to 10 percent; the absence of a drug facts panel places both below those levels. Salicylic acid penetrates the sebum-filled follicle in its un-ionised form, which predominates below its pKa of about 3, and in an alkaline oleate soap it is almost entirely ionised and confined to the surface, where during a one-to-two-minute mask it adds a mild keratolytic effect; sulfur contributes weak keratolytic and antimicrobial activity at the surface on the same timescale. Lactic acid at the end of the list adds a trace of alpha-hydroxy activity, likewise limited by pH and contact. Eucalyptus leaf oil provides eucalyptol and terpenes with weak antimicrobial activity and a recognised sensitisation potential; turmeric oil contributes turmerone and colour.

The even-tone ingredients have leave-on evidence only. Niacinamide reduces melanosome transfer to keratinocytes and has controlled-trial support at 2 to 5 percent applied daily for weeks; its fifth-position inclusion here is meaningful for a bar and its exposure during a short mask is a small fraction of that regimen. Kojic acid chelates the copper in tyrosinase and works at 1 to 4 percent over months of continuous contact; at tenth on this list for minutes it has no plausible effect on pigment and retains its sensitisation potential. The realistic mechanism by which the bar improves body marks is prevention, fewer inflammatory lesions producing fewer post-inflammatory macules, rather than any direct depigmenting action, and Urban Skin Rx publishes no testing that would show otherwise.

Dermatologist Perspective

Truncal acne and the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation that follows it on the back, shoulders and buttocks are common presentations in patients with skin of colour, and dermatologists recognise that the mass-market body-wash aisle serves them poorly; a targeted product for that concern is welcome in principle. In practice, clinicians would note that the bar's salicylic acid and sulfur are below monograph strength and that the sole surfactant is an alkaline oleate soap, so it degreases well but does not treat acne at a recognised dose and will dry and irritate skin outside oily zones, which in this population is itself a cause of new marks. The standard recommendation for body acne remains a benzoyl peroxide wash at 5 to 10 percent with adequate contact time, or a monograph salicylic acid wash, and for the marks a leave-on retinoid, azelaic acid or niacinamide with sun protection on exposed areas; this bar is at most a degreasing adjunct on oily torso skin used once daily with a moisturiser afterward. Eucalyptus, turmeric oil and kojic acid are recognised sensitisers, and the bar should be kept off the face, the limbs and any eczematous or shaved skin. Persistent folliculitis on the buttocks or back that does not respond to over-the-counter care warrants assessment, since bacterial and fungal folliculitis are managed differently and neither is treated by this product.

Guidance

Usage & Recommendations

How to Use

Wet the enclosed exfoliating sponge under the shower and rub it over the bar until it produces a grey lather, then massage the foam in circles over the shoulders, chest, back and buttocks, letting the textured sponge do the scrubbing. On oily, breakout-prone patches leave the lather for a minute or two as a mask; on everything else rinse straight away, and use a gentler wash for the arms, legs and any dry or shaved skin. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry and apply a fragrance-free body lotion to damp skin every time, since the soap strips lipids. Use once daily and drop to alternate days if tightness or flaking appears; do not combine with a leave-on body acid or benzoyl peroxide in the same session. Rinse and wring the sponge, drain the jar and leave the lid off between uses so the bar does not turn to mush, and keep it off the face.

Value Assessment

At $32 for five ounces, about six and a half dollars an ounce, this is treatment pricing for an oleate soap with charcoal and trace actives, and the bar's tendency to dissolve in six to eight weeks of daily use pushes the annual cost toward $200, several times what a monograph-strength benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid body wash costs and more than a leave-on body serum that would actually fade marks. The premium buys the jar, the exfoliating sponge, the eucalyptus ritual and a brand that understood the problem of body marks on skin of colour before the mass market did, and for a loyal customer who has seen fewer breakouts that may justify it. On the ingredients it is expensive soap, the brand publishes no testing to argue otherwise, and a buyer with the same concern can assemble a more effective routine for less.

Who Should Buy

People with oily body skin who get breakouts on the back, chest, shoulders or buttocks and the dark marks that follow, especially skin of colour, who want a targeted degreasing bar with a sponge and a mask step from a brand that built it for exactly that concern, and who will pair it with a moisturiser and keep it to the zones that need it.

Who Should Skip

Anyone with normal-to-dry, sensitive or eczema-prone body skin, for whom an alkaline soap with essential oils is the wrong wash; anyone who wants body acne treated at a recognised dose or marks faded by a leave-on, both of which cost less than this bar; and anyone who will use it as an all-over wash rather than a targeted one.

Ready to try Urban Skin Rx Clear and Even Tone Body Cleansing Bar?

Buy at Amazon ♥

Or visit the Urban Skin Rx store on Amazon →

Details

Product Details

Texture

A dense, black charcoal soap that foams into a grey, medium lather when worked with the textured sponge, gives a mild scrub from the sponge rather than the bar, and rinses to a squeaky, matte finish.

Scent

A strong, cooling eucalyptus with an earthy turmeric and faint sulfur undertone, present through the wash and largely gone after rinsing.

Packaging

A 5 oz opaque white plastic jar with a screw lid and an exfoliating body sponge inside.

Finish
mattefresh
What to Expect on First Use

The first shower is the eucalyptus, the grey lather and a squeaky rinse that oily backs welcome; leaving the foam on a minute gives a light tingle from the acids and sulfur. Tightness on the arms or legs the next day is the signal to keep the bar to breakout zones only.

How Long It Lasts

About six to eight weeks at daily use on the torso, less if used over the whole body or left sitting in water.

Period After Opening

12 months

Opened yours? Track the toss-by date
Best Season

spring summer

Background

The Story Behind This Product

Urban Skin Rx built its name on facial cleansing bars in jars, and in 2019 it answered years of customer requests for something to use on body breakouts and the dark marks they leave, particularly on the back and buttocks, a common concern among the brand's skin-of-colour clientele that mass-market body washes ignore. The body bar borrowed the sulfur-salicylic-kojic roster of the Clear Skin face bar, added charcoal and turmeric, and shipped with a larger exfoliating sponge.

About Urban Skin Rx Established Brand (5–20 years)

Urban Skin Rx was founded in 2010 by master esthetician Rachel Roff from her Charlotte clinical spa, which treated hyperpigmentation in skin of colour, and its jar-and-sponge cleansing bars became the brand's signature at Target and Ulta. This 2019 body bar extends that format below the neck; like the rest of the range it comes with no published clinical testing.

Brand founded: 2010 · Product launched: 2019
Myth vs. Reality

Common Myths

Myth

Charcoal in a body bar draws impurities out of the pores.

Reality

Activated charcoal adsorbs oil and pigment in the lather, which is why the foam is grey, but it has no ability to pull anything from within a pore in the seconds a wash allows. It gives the bar its colour and its purifying story; the cleaning is done by the soap.

Myth

Sulfur and salicylic acid make this an acne treatment for the body.

Reality

Both are FDA-recognised acne actives, but the bar carries no drug facts panel, which means they are present below monograph strength as cosmetic ingredients. They add a mild drying assist during a mask; a monograph benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid wash, or a leave-on treatment, is what treats body acne.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Urban Skin Rx Clear and Even Tone Body Cleansing Bar the same as the Even Tone Cleansing Bar for the face?

No. The face bar is a glycerin soap built around azelaic and kojic acids, niacinamide and witch hazel for dark marks on normal facial skin. The body bar is a black oleate soap with charcoal, sulfur, salicylic acid, niacinamide and kojic acid, sold in a larger jar with an exfoliating sponge and meant for the shoulders, chest, back and buttocks.

Can I use the Urban Skin Rx body cleansing bar on my face?

It is not designed for it. The oleate soap is alkaline and drying, the sponge is coarser than the face bar's, and the eucalyptus and turmeric oils are strong; the brand sells its Clear Skin and Even Tone bars for the face. Keep this one below the neck.

Does the Urban Skin Rx body bar fade dark marks on the back and buttocks?

Slowly and modestly at best. Niacinamide sits fifth and kojic acid tenth on a rinse-off list, and even used as a short mask they get minutes of contact against the months of leave-on exposure the evidence is based on. The bar's real contribution is fewer new breakouts, which means fewer new marks; a leave-on body serum does the fading.

Is the Urban Skin Rx Clear and Even Tone Body Bar drying?

Yes, on anything that is not oily. It is a true soap, so it strips lipids and raises skin pH, and the sulfur and salicylic acid add to that. Use it on breakout zones only, rinse well, moisturise afterward and wash the rest of the body with something gentler.

How do I use the sponge with the Urban Skin Rx body cleansing bar?

Wet the enclosed sponge, rub it over the bar until it lathers, and massage the foam over the shoulders, chest, back and buttocks in circles; the textured sponge provides the exfoliation. On oily areas leave the lather a minute or two before rinsing. Rinse and dry the sponge and drain the jar so the bar does not go soft.

Why does the Urban Skin Rx body bar dissolve so quickly?

It is a sorbitol-and-propylene-glycol soap that absorbs water and softens when left wet, and the brand notes that colour changes at the bottom of the jar are normal. Drain the jar after each use and leave the lid off to dry; even so, a five-ounce bar used daily lasts roughly six to eight weeks.

Reviews

What Reviewers Tend to Say

Recurring themes our editors read across retailer reviews of this product — summaries in our words, not quotations, and not a substitute for your own patch test.

Common Praise

Back and chest breakouts clearer within weeks

Exfoliating sponge and eucalyptus lather feel like a treatment

Some fading of dark marks on the buttocks and shoulders over months

Common Complaints

Drying if used on the whole body

Expensive for a bar that dissolves fast

Bar goes soft and murky in the jar

Related Conditions
acnehyperpigmentationrough texturedark spots
Related Ingredients
niacinamidesalicylic acidsulfurcharcoalkojic acid