Has OXY Face Wash Been Zapped By The Grocery Shrink Ray?

oxylayerWhile many items zapped by the Grocery Shrink Ray — which reduces a product’s size but magically keeps the price the same — are the things you love to eat and drink, it’s sometimes the stuff you put on your body that falls victim to the Ray’s reductive ways.

Yesterday, Consumerist reader James purchased a new tube of OXY Maximum Action face wash. He noticed that not only was the packaging changed, but it seemed like he was getting less for his OXY dollar.

And a close look at the labels shows he’s probably right. On the left is the older tube, which contained 6 fl. oz. of the face wash. On the right is the newly purchased bottle, which contains only 5 fl. oz.

One ounce may not seem like much, but considering that the price remained the same, James is only getting 83.3% of face wash for the same amount he’d paid previously.

We did notice that the newer bottle (both of them say “NEW,” which is a bit confusing) says “Advanced Face Wash,” while the older one merely says “Face Wash,” but we believe these are the same product with different wording.

The OXY website only lists two face washes — the aforementioned Advanced, with 10% benzoyl peroxide, and a Sensitive with only 5% benzoyl peroxide. Since James’ older tube of face wash lists 10%, we’re guessing the “Advanced” language is just for marketing purposes.

We’ve checked with OXY to confirm that the products are the same, and to see if it can explain the size reduction. If we here anything, we’ll be sure to update.

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