I have used BP and retin A .025% for years so I thought Epiduo would be easier on my skin but it turned it very red the first application even with the high end moisturizer the Derm gave me. It burned enough that I wouldn't be able to sleep so I washed it off after 30 mins and moisturized again. The doc told me to stop applying until my skin was no longer red but I really wanted to get my skin use to the meds and start working, so I bought cetaphil eczema moisturizing lotion. I mixed a pump into an equal amount of cetaphil and applied it. No burning, and I was able to leave it on all night. Woke up the next day and my face was pale compared to my pre epiduo complexion. So thrilled and this $18 Cetaphil blows away the Docs $70 AHA moisture serum. Highly recommend the eczema moisturizer which is safe for babies on a daily bases! Only two days in so wish me luck.

So a little background on my acne... I have struggled with it since middle school, was prescribed yasmin BC and antibiotics as a teenager which worked wonders and I was finally clear. In my late teens my OBGYN switched my BC because of warnings against yasmin and yaz to a different less risky BC. It was still doing the job of keeping me clear but I would occasionally start to get a cyst near that time of the month. Within the last 9 months (I'm now almost 27) I made the decision to get off of BC because my friend who had been having migraines since starting BC told me that was what had caused them. Now I had been having pretty bad migraines with aura for the past 10 years and just attributed it to genetics since my mom suffers from them as well. Turns out it was the estrogen in the birth control! I have not had one migraine in the past 9 months! FYI if you experience migraines with an aura and take BC with estrogen you are putting yourself at a much higher risk for stroke and blood clots, something I do not want to risk. But unfortunately getting off the birth has wrecked havoc on my skin. I went to a new dermatologist (after having a terrible experience with trying accutane with my old one and ending up with severe anxiety attacks and having my left arm become numb) and I was prescribed epiduo forte. I did not want any sort of antibiotic because of the damage they can do to the good bacteria in your body so I opted for something topical since I have never really been consistent with any topical creams I was prescribed in the past. So I am currently on week 7. Now the first few weeks were absolute HELL with the peeling and itching and burning of my skin. After a few weeks the peeling went away but I'm still struggling with new break outs. In fact its much worse than where I was before starting epiduo Forte. But from what I have read online at least from people reviewing the less strong version (just regular epiduo) they have said to wait a full three months to decide if its working. Honestly this is the hardest thing I have done regarding acne treatment because I have had to stay consistent with it and go through terrible peeling and this so called initial breakout. I do feel that the small skin colored bumps around my jawline have started to disappear and that I have been having less and less cystic bumps popping up as of the past week so I'm hoping I am nearing the end of this "gets worse before it gets better phase". I am however going to stick this out until the full three months is up and then update my review.

Hey, I am 33 years old and been suffering with acne on and off for almost 18 years now. I have tried so many antibiotics and creams I have lost count of which ones. I live in the uk so cost of treatment is different to the US so it is affordable here. It all started when I was 15 and went in the pill dianete and became crazy bad when I was 18, I was using concealer for foundation. It was all over my face, back and chest. I was referred to a dermatologist who prescribed me accutane..... It was the best thing ever although it gave me bad back and dried my skin out and I looked like a lizard for a few months but my spots disappeared. I didn't even have to wash my hair which was great as I suffer with greasy roots haha. Anyway, it worked and I was spot free!!! But then when I was about 23 it started to come back :(. Not sure if it was stress or heartbreak that triggered it but it hasn't gone since. I wasn't taking tablets at the time as after taking so many it was an issue swallowing them and the doctor laughed at me which didn't help. I tried the injection contraception which made me skin so bad so I came off it. I eventually found the implant which was perfect and didn't make my skin worse hurray! My skin was still a problem and being 33 and in a job where I have to talk infront of groups I am very self aware of my bad skin. I have a number of bad days where I cry and hate looking at myself. I moved and changed doctors and recently he prescribed me tetraysal(lymecycline) and epidural to try. I must say I was desperate and would try one last thing before considering accutane again. I am nearly three weeks into it and I can honestly say it seems to be working!! The first two weeks were agony, I won't lie. My skin is red raw and dry and cracking and stung like hell. Also I broke out so bad as it seemed to be drawing all the crap out. But now it seems to be slowing down on breakouts and my skin is no longer red or sore. Just very itchy!! But I can handle that now. If you do give this a go, I would plan to have a few weeks off or something and make no plans to go out as you won't want anyone seeing you like I did. I wish I had a few weeks just locked up at home wearing no makeup. Makeup makes it worse with burning and itching but if you are like me you won't be seen dead without it. So anyway I am happy it's working and my skin is a lot smoother and my makeup looks a lot nicer on. Oh and another thing, I ended up buying cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser as everything stung like hell and these products will be very gentle. I like them and will continue to use them even when I have no spots. I will review again when I have used it a lot longer but it's worth a shot. Good luck

This stuff is amazing. I have been battling my acne 10 years, since I had my kids. I have tried every home remedy, store brought cream, lotion and potion. I then went to a 'skin clinic' and started light treatments that cost me $150 a week after a month I was broke and my skin was crap maybe even worse. I finally gave in and went to my GP, I had previously not wanted to see him because I was convinced he would put me on some crazy drugs that would turn me into a prune. He gave me Epiduo. I have been using it for roughly a month and my skin have cleared up remarkably. The bumps are disappearing and not many new ones appear and then they do they are only small and don't stick around long. I didn't get much pain or drying out of my skin either.

So my acne is very bad and when i say bad i mean it. My acne covers my cheeks and there are so many discolorations that cover my whole cheeks. I went to my doctor and got Epiduo because it got alot of good reviews and plus a friend of mine told my it cleared up her acne. I tried this product out for a month. I got no results and this medication dried the crap out of my face it was the most uncomfortable feeling ever i hated it so much. It burned when i put it on aswell and plus it gave me even more pimples I know that these are all the side effects but still it just gave my skin more scaring and discoloration now my face is even worst. Right now im in high school and i hate going to school because i dont want people looking at my nasty face. Im so depressed and sad ive tried so many cremes and gels that dont even work acne really just sucks i hate it so much!!!!!

I never had any problems with my skin until my early 20's. I didn't get large pimples, but rather really small bumps, kind of like a rash, all over my chin and jawline. I thought it was due to an allergy or makeup, but nothing that I did worked. I tried so many products and they just made it worse. Eventually, after about 18 months of trying to make it go away, I saw my dermatologist. I wish I had've gone earlier! I didn't realise how easy it would be to get rid of this problem. I was prescribed Epiduo and, like everyone else seems to have done, I used too much at first. My skin was flaky and dry and it tingled when I put it on and hurt a little. I used it every 2-3 days until my skin got used to it, and since then I've been able to use it daily. It does take a while to work. My skin initially got worse before it got better, but I read reviews saying to stick to it and I'm glad that I did. This product doesn't clear existing acne (apparently), but just prevents new acne from developing, hence why it takes a while. I still have some small bumps, but nothing noticeable at all. Everybody is commenting on how nice my skin is, and now when I wash my face it feels smooth - finally! My dermatologist told me to use Dove soap and no moisturiser, and it left my skin really really dry. So now that it's all cleared up I've moved onto some good products just for nourishing. It's important to not use an acne cleanser with an acne product like this. Now my skin is supple and smooth. I use Epiduo every few days now, and sometimes when I get slack my skin starts going crappy again so I step up the routine. I'm trying to stick to a consistent routine for the next month or so to see how that goes. I'd love to have flawless skin and not have to wear any makeup. Anyway, definitely recommend! Even if your skin isn't extremely bad it's still worth using. My self esteem is so much better.

This stuff combined with oral erythromycin saved me. Had severe acne with pretty bad cysts and nothing else could get rid of them. Didn't notice an initial breakout because my acne was so bad an I dint really pay attention! Funny thing was I probably used it incorrectly. I would lightly wash my face with a face cloth and hot water then apply like 3 times as much as you're supposed to. I don't recommend this btw. It did burn initially but it didn't really bother me as my face was so painful already and everything else I'd tried for the past 5 months had burned like hell as well. Problem is that I kept using it for about a month or 2 after I got completely clear and it would no longer make my skin drier but I would wake up with oily skin and some little whiteheads/crusty bits on my nose (see my 07/09/14 post for the full story) and now I'm dealing with what I think is a different escalated problem. Long story short it can be a lifesaver and definitely worth a try but be careful as over use can leave you open to other problems.

I have been using this for going on 8 months. I apply it before bed every night and wash thoroughly in the morning. I did notice results in the first month, but noting dramatic. My skin burned, reddened, itched, and cracked after using this product for two weeks. Many months later, my results have plummeted and I see no difference since the first month. I feel like this is a good product for other people but it just didn't do it for me. Hope this helped. :)

It takes a couple months to work, but did a good job of preventing my pustular breakouts (not the big hormonal ones in my experience). I didn't really have issues with flaking and dryness, as I switched to a gentle, non-medicated cleanser while using it, and have extremely oily skin. I used it nightly in a THIN layer over my whole face and washed it off in the morning. Even though my complexion drastically improved, I still woke up to a few small, but manageable, pustules virtually everyday. My pores were also still extremely clogged. I believe it also helped fade my dark marks at the same time. Lately, however, it hasn't been working as great as it used to, even though I haven't changed my cleansing routine. It might have something to do with other lifestyle changes such as water composition, sleep patterns, and diet. For these reasons, I believe that if your acne is caused by a more serious, internal issue, epiduo might not work as well as expected. For me, it was only a short term confidence booster. Additionally, I am slightly suspicious that it exacerbated my dry eye issues.

I've had acne since forever...About 8ish years! I've tried almost everything there is that's supposed to clear the acne, but none of them worked! I would get maybe 2days of clarity and then my face would be covered in acne again! I finally had enough and went to the dermatologist and she prescribed me Epiduo along with Cetaphil DermControl face wash and spf moisturizer. When I first started using it, like anytime using a new product, my face did break out. After a week, I could definitely start to tell a difference! Its been 4 months and my face is the clearest it has been that I can even remember! I feel more confident and I've grown to love my skin! Granite, i still have the monthly break outs, but I can't complain because they're 100x smaller than they used to be, and they don't last nearly as long either! Overall i absolutely LOVE Epiduo!