At the recommendation of my dermatologist I switched from panoxyl (benzoyl peroxide) to neutrogenas oil free acne wash (salicylic acid) but not for a few weeks after starting antibiotics. My skin was looking like it was clearing up really well and I was really happy thinking it could only get better from there, but now I've been using neutrogenas pink grapefruit cream cleanser for a week and a half-two weeks now and I'm breaking out again. It seems like all the little white bead-looking things are turning into pimples and I don't want to stop using it because it already seems to be helping to fade red marks and scars, and I don't want to go back to benzoyl peroxide because it will make them worse or last longer. Is this just a purging stage? And is it necessary before things can truly keep improving? Or should I stop using this and all acne washes in general? I also seem to be experiencing breakouts from the clindamycin phosphate topical I was prescribed in places I didn't breakout before. Anyone experienced this? Any input?

Hi ComicalLoad! If the pink grapefruit wash seems to be helping some parts of your skin (even though parts of it are breaking out) I would continue using it. How many products are you using currently? Your skin might be breaking out from a mixture of things than just one product.

From my personal experience, benzoyl peroxide helped with my acne, but after about 3 months my skin became upset from the harsh product. I then switched to the neutrogena pink grapefruit cleanser, which was much calmer on my skin than the BP, but my skin still remained upset. (I love the smell though!) My skin is now clear (mainly from my clarisonic) but I use much gentler cleansers. What type of cleanser you use should depend on your skin type, and acne type. Two cleansers that help get rid of acne but are very gentle are Noxema Triple Clean Antibacterial cleanser and La Roche Posay Effaclar purifying foaming gel.

At the recommendation of my dermatologist I switched from panoxyl (benzoyl peroxide) to neutrogenas oil free acne wash (salicylic acid) but not for a few weeks after starting antibiotics. My skin was looking like it was clearing up really well and I was really happy thinking it could only get better from there, but now I've been using neutrogenas pink grapefruit cream cleanser for a week and a half-two weeks now and I'm breaking out again. It seems like all the little white bead-looking things are turning into pimples and I don't want to stop using it because it already seems to be helping to fade red marks and scars, and I don't want to go back to benzoyl peroxide because it will make them worse or last longer. Is this just a purging stage? And is it necessary before things can truly keep improving? Or should I stop using this and all acne washes in general? I also seem to be experiencing breakouts from the clindamycin phosphate topical I was prescribed in places I didn't breakout before. Anyone experienced this? Any input?

Salicylic acid will exfoliate inside the pore to help keep oil from clogging it.

BP has some exfoliating action along with an antibiotic action.

So first issue is, you don't have the topical antibiotic action from the BP anymore. But you do have some from your clindamycin topical, so theoretically it should even out...

Second issue is, the power of salicylic acid is mostly negated in a cleanser, because you wash it off. You would do much better with a leave-on cream that lets the salicylic acid sit on your skin and do its work.