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I am 27 year old female who has had acne since the age of 12. (Yes, 15 years, gosh!) I can't even remember what it was like to be a kid having smooth skin!
Anyway, my acne had been managed well (acne went from moderate to mild) with Bactrim antibiotics and a very simple cleansing routine (washing twice a day with gentle cleanser) but I always seemed to have pimples. It would always flare up with hormonal fluctuations - these are the times when I got most disappointed as I was starting to get new scars because of the size of the pimples that were always appearing on my chin at this time. So getting increasingly frustrated by having this problem for so many years, I checked back in to my dermatologist for some new treatment/hope that things could get better!
The doc prescribed Epiduo for me to try. I was excited and concerned all at once! Something new to try! Hope was at my doorstep but so was the fear re: the side effects which I was soon to read about and experience!
From my personal experience with Epiduo, I found that I was using waaaay too much cream in the beginning. I probably had more side effects than what I would have had if I had just used a "pea sized" amount like the doc's say! I guess subconsciously I did not want to leave any skin uncovered by the stuff! (now I only apply the smallest amounts to the main target/problem areas that tend to get pimples i.e. for me that is forehead, cheeks (cheek area below the eyes) top of nose and chin. So the first 3 days were ok (only a slight warmth in the skin upon application) then wham, I had stinging/burning like you wouldn't believe! I woke up with incredibly smooth skin (best I have seen in years, I couldn't believe it - I thought, could this stuff be working, already?!) but I had super dry and red skin (bit like I had been sunburnt). I was quite disappointed that this had to be experienced - particularly because my skin looked amazing re: no pimples but I was suffering from the side effects
I decided that I didn't want to stop the cream altogether and wanted to "give it time" so I just avoided applying it for 2 nights to let the skin heal a little and to allow me to wear the cream again without the burning upon the next application.I have been on the cream for about 4 weeks now and have very minimal side effects. The dryness is becoming less and less and is manageable (I use Cetaphil moisturising lotion each time after I wash my face), and sometimes when I wash my face I just gently rub in small circles to lift of any excess of dry skin that may have built up over the last couple days. I like to wear makeup quite regularly so I also try to keep the dryness down as much as possible by monitoring how my skin is reacting to the cream and backing off for one night if I need to. For about 2 weeks now i have been able to wear Epiduo every night without any stinging/burning....I am relieved and very pleased.
As for the effect on my acne, I have noticed that my pimples are no where near as large or numerous during hormonal fluctuations and that my general day to day acne during "normal weeks" is almost non-existent. When I do get the larger pimples, they are very quickly stopped in progressing further. However, strangely, the tiny, tiniest of pimples that have a really tiny head on them take about a week to disappear??!! I have no idea why it does this! lol but as long as the big ones are kept from forming into larger ones, I am happy as the prevention of new scars is what I aim to achieve by being on this new medication.
I have found though that my lips are unusually constantly dry (in the past week) and that i burn extremely easily in the sun (even when I lather up loads of suncream on my face and wear a hat AND only am out for an hour from about 9.30am to 10.30am in the morning....!! this sucks big time but I am predicting that my skin may not be as sensitive to the sun, the longer I have been using Epiduo and that my skin might build a bit of tolerance to the cream.
Hoping that my experience here helps some of you who may be considering using Epiduo, or are just starting to use it. My advice in summary is to be patient with it, use tiny amounts, manage your side effects with care and reduce the amount/frequency you are using it in the first few weeks if things become unbearable. I am not a doctor but these things have helped me get to the point where i can enjoy the benefits from the cream with minimal side effects.
Love and hope to you all
xx
