Hello everyone,
I have currently been on Epiduo for 85ish days. My acne is not too bad, but I do have red marks everywhere. My dermatologist prescribed me Epiduo (he was in a hurry...I hope this is supposed to help with my acne scars). The first 2 weeks were hell and my whole face peeled including my eyelids. Everything burned. Like I said, it was hell. I stopped putting it on every day and only put it on every 4 days, then every 3, and now I have been using it every other day. On the days that I don't apply the Epiduo, I apply my Aczone. I have no idea what the Aczone is supposed to do, but it does not dry my skin and it makes my skin SO soft! Anyways, I am here to ask: now what moisturizer should I use? I am not looking for one with SPF protection because my makeup takes care of that. My peeling has subsided, and I only have peeling along the top of my eyelids/just below my brow line. I am looking for a moisturizer that won't make my acne worse (obviously) and might speed up my acne scar healing process. I am currently using Curel ultra healing lotion. I also want a lotion that I can use on my eyelids! Thanks for any help.
P.S. I am using the Cetaphil face wash recommended by Epiduo, if that matters.
I used Cetaphil Moisturising Lotion for the first few weeks of treatment...they were hellish for me! Burning, peeling, bleeding, flaking, scabbing...the lot. I was recommended CeraVe Moisturising Lotion (just the general one, not the SPF one) and it really helped clear up the flaking, and it wasn't as thick and 'greasy' as the Cetaphil. I was still left with a red complexion, not so much hyperpigmentation, but my whole face was just generally more red than the surrounding skin on my neck etc. and was starting to drive me mad that it wasn't subsiding! The CeraVe was also sometimes burning, but I'd read that it was just a reaction between the glycerin in the CeraVe and the BP in Epiduo. I was also getting a few stubborn blackheads - something I never really had before.
However, last week after using the CeraVe for around 6 weeks, I switched back to Cetaphil just by chance as I couldn't find my CeraVe. I was dreading it as I remembered it being so thick and sometimes leaving a residue that I didn't like the feel of, but my skin felt fantastic afterwards. After 2 days, all of my blackheads have gone, and my skin colour has returned mostly back to normal, as well as not having that horrible burning sensation.
I think I may have been very mildly allergic to the CeraVe, which is a shame because it helped so much with that horrible early stage that I loved it!
Anyway, I'd recommend giving both a try and seeing which works for you as everyone is different.
Good luck on your course of Epiduo! I've now done just over 10 weeks (accompanied by 408mg Lymecycline each day) and my skin is the clearest it has ever been, and the Epiduo no longer irritates me at all. You can see my updates through my posts via my profile if you're interested. 