Anti-Allergic Face Wipes Are Bullshit
When I found out about the existence of Zyrtec facial wipes, I was surprised and intrigued. I have used Zyrtec tablets in the past to help with my spring pollen allergy (although they will never replace my first love, Claritin). Will wiping my face help my itchy eyes? Yes, it turns out, but not for the reason I thought.
There is no cure in anti-allergic face wipes
While buying a pack of wipes, I noticed something printed in small print: they are “non-medicated” face wipes. There is a list of ingredients, but no drug facts label, because there is no allergy medicine in these wipes. Zyrtec tablets contain the active ingredient cetirizine , which is an antihistamine. (Histamines are produced by our bodies during an allergic reaction, so antihistamines relieve allergy symptoms.) We’ve become so accustomed to thinking of a brand name as synonymous with its active ingredient that you’d be forgiven for assuming, as I did, that these branded wipes would have medicine. No: Zyrtec manufactures cetirizine tablets and non-drug facial wipes.
Even some online stores seem confusing. On Target’s website, the wipes are listed as “drug-free” and “with cetirizine,” which can’t be true at the same time. (They do not contain cytirizine.)
You can just buy regular face wipes…or wash your face
So what do wipes do if they don’t heal? Their functional purpose is to remove pollen, dust and other allergens from the skin so that they do not irritate you. No medicine is needed to do this work; washing your face would be enough.
But washing your face is not always convenient, so there are face wipes. You can find plenty of them in any drug store, in the cosmetics and personal care departments. In doing so, you’ll save a dollar or two: I found Zyrtec wipes at my local CVS for $7.99 for a pack of 25 wipes. Then I went to the other end of the store and found some CVS “micellar” wipes for $5.99 and “sensitive skin” wipes for $5.59. All three items were the same except for the markings.
(While we’re here, I’d like to briefly address the fact that the same items are sometimes labeled and priced differently. These two varieties of store-bought wipes had the same ingredient list but were priced differently. “Micellar” simply refers to a cleanser. , emulsified into a liquid; this is not a feature. Meanwhile, Zyrtec’s own wipes come in regular and baby versions. The only difference is that there are rockets on the baby packaging.)
So you can save two dollars by buying wipes without the Zyrtec logo. You can also buy a bottle of micellar water and use it with wipes or cotton swabs, or you can wash your face with a cleanser of your choice. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America also recommends showering every night to remove pollen you may have picked up from outside, and wearing sunglasses outside to keep pollen out of your eyes.