Product & treatment reviews

I got prescribed epiduo 9 months ago and it started working almost immediately. There was a pretty bad initial breakout and the dreaded flaking of the skin but after about 2 weeks I could tell it was working and by month 3, I was completely cleared up. I was incredibly happy with the results, I stopped worrying about my skin and I felt like a changed person. HOWEVER about a month ago I started to notice my skin gettting progressively worse and worse. At first I thought it was just a breakout but nothing seemed to be improving so I went to my derm and he prescribed me Tazorac. My skin is currently horrible but I'm hoping to find a more permanent and consistent treatment than epiduo. I think one of my mistakes while on epiduo was maybe that I used too much of it and my skin eventually became resistant to it but who knows.

• Clears up skin

• Redness,dryness
• not consistent or permanent
• Very painful to use (burning sensation)

I was apprehensive about using this at first as it felt quite greasy when applying it. However, I found that my face still felt moisturised without being oily. It feels quite soothing when spots are stinging/ sore.

• Light
• soothing

• Feels greasy at first

I have used this antibiotic in the past for cystic acne. It took a good 3-4 months before I even noticed any change but in the 5th month I was all clear. During this time I still had excessively oily skin, but I would try to cover that up with powder during the day. The clear skin lasted only for about 3 months and then after this slowly I started breaking out in little inflammatory spots, then eventually they became full blown cysts again. I regret not using a topical with this antibiotic because I think I could of maintained the clear skin for longer if it wasn't just relying on the antibiotics. I have to add the new resistant acne came back even worse than my previous cystic acne and I was truely dissapointed. These new cysts were deeper and more harder to treat. In the end I eventually got rid of them with isotretinoin.

Bottom line is this antibiotic will work for you if you have not used it before and provided you don't have any resistance. But eventually your spot causing bacteria grows an immunity and becomes resistant to this antibiotic, so it's best to use it in conjuction with another treatment. Antibiotics are only a temporary solution to a chronic condition.

• it clears skin initially
• i had no side effects at all
• easy to take

• your acne becomes resistant to it after a while
• results are only temporary
• doesnt do much for oily skin or comedones

I have used Azclear lotion for 3 weeks with great results.. In Australia it only costs $10 over the chemist counter with no prescription or insurance required...I use it once a day coz I found using it twice a day was too drying. Every third night I skip it and only use Akin 100% pure rose hip oil. Also I no longer use harsh washes with salystic acid or benozyl peroxide...they simply strip my skin too much. So now I use Akin Pure Cleansing Gel. Once a week I use a generic Calamine lotion for a 30 minute mask to calm skin and draw out impurities. Anyone who is serious about clearing acne should also minimise sugar, wheat, red meats, coffee, and hot spices...these are flamatory so cause the skin to excrete more sebum.

• Doesnt cause skin to flake
• Doesnt bleach skin or clothes
• Non drying when used in combination with natural wash and rose hip oil

• Intitially stinging, after hour is fine
• Doesnt sit well under makeup
• use only once a day to stop irritation

I have used this product for 2 years and I have oily skin. At first, I was in love. It controlled my oil, covered my acne, and did reduce my breakouts. I used it with the Clinique foundation brush (highly recommend) and washed it daily with the brush cleaner, which might have been the cause of the improvement in breakouts. I used the foundation also as a concealer on my pimples and it stuck to my pimples much better than other foundations or concealers. I tried the Acne Solutions concealer but it was SO overly drying it was useless - a waste of money. After a few months with the foundation I found that it was so oil controlling that my skin appeared to age and become tighter so that when I smiled I had lots of fine lines. I am 31 and looking back at pictures over the last few years I do feel like I've aged more quickly. When I use it, I never need a powder to control shine. My blush and bronzer settle into my fine lines. I also notice that while I have fewer actual pimples, I have a lot more bumps. Instead of the pus turning into a zit, it will become harder and dried and just stay as a bump without getting red. I'd have to use a pimple tool to remove the hard pus, which I know sounds gross and leads to scarring if not careful, but in sunlight the bumps are visible and still indicative of acne even though you can't see the red. Recently, I tried Clinique's other foundation products to try to alternate in an attempt to get some of the fine lines to go away with a less drying foundation. However, none of them cover the way I need them to and I have gone back to the Acne Solutions for the days in which I really need to look good.

• Covers pimples
• Is buildable for more coverage
• Controls oil and shine

• Can be too drying
• Caused more fine lines
• Causes more bumpy skin

When I first used this product, I was very excited. It seemed like it'd be easy to use, it smelled pretty nice, and when I washed it into my face, an intense, cool feeling breezed into my pores. Before I used to product, I had multiple, tiny pimple like bumps on my forehead that I could not seem to get rid of. I tried, unfortunately, popping them but they didn't seem to go away. I used the wash and they started to go away! Sounds like a miracle wash so far? Oh no no no. I guess since I messed with the pimples, it opened up the skin a little (there were no scabs or redness though??). About a day later, a weird, shiny layer of skin covered, what seemed like, my entire forehead! It was almost like a shiny, clear scab that I couldn't get off. Eventually, about a week or two later, the shiny coating peeled off and the pimples were gone. Although I loved the fact that those stubborn pimples were gone, I was not fond of the shiny skin. It's now been about a month and a half since that event and I am still getting weird patches of shiny skin, but this time, much worse and all over my face. This time, the patches are shiny, a brown/red color (not like a scab), very very big (almost an inch to a centimeter in diameter?), and everywhere! They leave scars and are very unsettling. There are currently 3 on my face and 3 that are recovering. Although I do believe this is partially my fault (I should have just left the pimples alone and let the X Out do it's stuff) but it's getting old.

• Smells nice
• Left an intense, cool feeling

• Shiny, waxy coating over scabs?
• Runs out quickly