To be fair, I have only been using the product for two weeks. However I am not new to benzoyl peroxide. I used to use Clinique's 2.5% BP cream for 8 years until they discontinued it. I have been looking for an a new acne treatment since. I started using a 5% BP that was working at keeping my breakouts away, but it was a little too drying for me (even with moisturizing), which is why I decided to give this a try. I understand that this product could cause initial purging however downgrading from a 5% BP to 2.5% should not have caused one in the first place (especially as bad as the one I am having now) , considering my skin was relatively clear with a few breakouts here and there at a certain time. My skin got pretty bad within the last two weeks (the worst its been since I was a teen), which is why I am giving up only after two weeks and going back to my 5%. The new breakouts I am getting are definitely more painful and red, they also linger for some time, which is why I am not sure if this is an initial purging period, or my skin just doesn't like it. The reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is because it did not dry me out or cause any irritation. It didn't even feel like I was using a BP treatment. I believe that 2.5% is strong enough and not everyone needs 5/10%, but I am not sure that this exact one works for me. My personal advice to someone starting out BP for the first time, don't give up after 2 weeks like me, stick to it for AT LEAST a month, because you might be purging in the beginning. In my case, I don't think I am due to my past experience with BP (which has never really caused purging in the first place). If you're switching from another BP treatment that was working well to this and keep having a bad reaction, I suggest going back to the old BP. The 5% I was using was medical grade and a lot more expensive than this, which was another reason I wanted to switch, but if it keeps my breakouts away, I am willing to spend the money!
Update: I went back to my 5% BPO and my inflamed red breakouts have calmed down and are healing. This BPO was definitely causing a bad reaction and not purging, considering the breakouts weren't small and in the regular areas but were red and inflamed all over.
If benzyol has not helped you in the past, it will not now. I was very hopeful about this product and it is not to say it doesn't work for people, in my experience it was no different from cheaper more accessible creams like proactiv which for me did nothing. I acknowledge that this is something I observed with my skin, and this will not be the case for everyone. Never the less, I spent $30 on this product and it made me break out and dried out my skin. I even tried the 2-minute leave on method which is shown to reduce irritation, but until I cut out this ingredient from my regime my skin was stuck in severe (keeping in mind I had other treatments going on like salicylic acid and retinoids, so benzoyl might have been too much on top of my regime).
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