Clean & Clear

Clean & Clear is an American skincare brand best known for cleansers, scrubs and acne treatments aimed at younger and oily-skinned users. It began as a Revlon product line, was sold to Johnson & Johnson in 1991 [2], and today sits in the portfolio of Kenvue, the consumer-health company that separated from Johnson & Johnson in 2023 [3]. The brand is sold in 46 countries [2].

The line originated as fragrance- and dye-free products for sensitive skin. According to Wikipedia, the name itself described that promise: the products contained no fragrance or dyes and left no residue after rinsing [2].

Clean & Clear was originally developed by Revlon as a range of sensitive-skin personal care items. Wikipedia records that it was "introduced by 1956" [2]; the Revlon launch is elsewhere dated to 1957, so the exact founding year is not settled. No individual founder is associated with the brand, which began as a corporate Revlon product line rather than an independent house. Its early identity rested on what it left out — fragrance and dyes — and the residue-free rinse that gave it its name.

In 1991, Revlon sold Clean & Clear to Johnson & Johnson [2], which repositioned the brand around acne care and a teenage audience. In 2000, Johnson & Johnson used it to test early online marketing, running the "Talking Postcard" Superstitial campaign to build a presence in online teen communities [2].

The brand later passed to Kenvue, the independent consumer-health business spun off from Johnson & Johnson. Sources differ on the timing: a Wikipedia search summary places the spinoff "in 2022," while corporate reporting documents Kenvue's separation in 2023, with its New York Stock Exchange debut on 4 May 2023 and full separation completed that August [3]. Kenvue's portfolio also includes sister brands such as Johnson's, Aveeno and Le Petit Marseillais.

The brand's longtime tagline was "Clean & Clear and under control" [2].

The range centres on skincare for acne and oily or sensitive skin, spanning cleansers, scrubs, moisturisers and body washes. Two products in its Advantage line drew industry recognition: the Advantage Acne Spot Treatment won Allure magazine's Best of Beauty award in 2011 and 2012, and the Advantage Oil Absorbing Cream Cleanser won the same award in 2013 [2].

Clean & Clear presents itself as accessible, everyday skincare. The company says its products are "specially designed to treat your unique skin needs without stripping it of what keeps it healthy," and frames clear skin as connected to mental wellbeing — the idea, in its words, that "when you clear your skin, you clear your mind." On animal testing, the brand states that it believes in "a future where cosmetic testing is always animal free."

Clean & Clear is active. It remains a mass-market brand within Kenvue's portfolio, with a maintained brand site referencing new and reformulated products [1].