Topical Retinoid / Topical Antibacterial
Efficacy
67%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Topical Retinoid / Topical Antibacterial
Side Effects
Low-Medium
Topical Retinoid / Topical Antibacterial
Acne.org’s Real World Take
A way of using benzoyl peroxide in combination with the topical retinoid, adapalene, that studies show works a bit better than benzoyl peroxide alone. Comes with side effects for the first weeks and can bleach fabric. Note: When used correctly, benzoyl peroxide on its own can completely clear the skin.
Topical Retinoid / Topical Antibacterial
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Adapalene / Benzoyl Peroxide (Epiduo®)? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
November 30, 2017
Give it some time
I started using Epiduo this August after fighting my acne for about 5 years. It was the typical teenage acne, and when I look back at pictures I feel bad because I didn't realize how bad my skin actually was. It got better with the years, but never really completely clear which bugged me. When I got a huge breakout in August I felt that I'd had enough (as so many times before) and contacted the doctor. He prescribed me Epiduo, and I was a little doubtful because of the fact that it was a topical. At this point I never thought a topical could do something about preventing pimples, only treat the ones that are already on the surface. But, I started using it, and spent hours on looking on reviews of it. In many reviews it said to give it a good 3-4 months, and I remember feeling inpatient, I couldn't wait that long? After the first month there was really no change. I got dry, but used masks and moisturizers to help that. Month 2, still no change. I started losing hope of the product but remembered the reviews that told me to keep using it. Today, three months later, my skin is clear almost all the time. The times that I have gotten a pimple is when I stopped using Epiduo because my skin was clear, which shows that you have to be persistent. By now, I use Epiduo about every other night and it still keeps my skin good. As a summary - try Epiduo because it works! Be persistent and don't give up even after one to two months.
The dryness will also disappear after a while, I now that can be a struggle. I was bright red for the first few weeks haha.
Good Luck dear acne-friends!
September 5, 2017
Patience is key
I never ever write reviews for anything...but I feel like I should share my experience with epiduo. I started in June of 2017 and immediately experienced the purging. Unfortunately for me, I started to get acne in places that I had never gotten before due to this purging phase. It was extremely irritating and embarrassing because my face was nowhere near as bad before as it was during the purging phase. For me, the purging lasted about 2 months (I know this sounds really bad, but you have to be patient). I live in Florida, so I'm constantly sweating (terrible for acne!). I almost gave up around the 2 month mark, but I kept reading reviews about how I need to stick it out until month 3. I'm currently on week 12 (one week away from the 3 month mark) and my face has improved exponentially. Throughout all of August, I had non-elevated red marks all over my face, but those are fading very quickly right now. My face is not 100% clear, but I can definitely see it heading in that direction. I'm so glad that I didn't give up on this product. As awful as it may be to have to wait 10-12 to see results, it's totally worth it. It's very upsetting to read reviews about how people stopped after like 6 weeks. This just isn't enough time. For someone that is extremely acne prone, I was so excited to see this product start working. Once my face clears completely, I will probably only apply the epiduo every other night to maintain. Long story short: not everyone will see results quickly because everybody responds differently and at different intervals. Stick it out and you should see good results. Besides, the acne that you are getting as a result of beginning epiduo (the purging) would have come anyways at some point in the future. I highly recommend!
August 19, 2017
so far so good!
my doctor prescribed me epiduo three days ago and it works like magic! i have mild/moderate acne, which really flared up a year ago (age 15) and it's been difficult trying to keep it away. i get cysts and nodules. there would be 3-5 in one area which can be painful. i don't get a lot of spots but i do get larger pimples. my acne is hormonal so i never know what it will do next. sometimes it goes down completely and one day i'll wake up with 2 cysts on my cheeks. i've tried doxycycline which didn't work for me at all. 2 and a half months in and i was still getting cysts frequently. i thought it would work because i was taking the fight inside out but it was a big fail. i was hesitant to try the epiduo as it is a topical treatment and i've heard many times that it is inside that you need to take care of (to control the hormones), hence taking prescription pills. personally i have had no bad side effects, it would VERY slightly itch/tingle on the side at a small area but goes right away. i haven't had any burning sensations, as i've read many people experienced on here at the first couple of weeks, but i'll have to wait and see. i saw a big difference the morning after my first night with it on and it has completely removed my cysts and nodules since, at least on the surface. i've also seen scars fading a little but i'm not sure if it is the epiduo. in the morning i would rinse it off with just water and use the olay complete spf 15 moisture lotion. my skin hasn't purged, i'm not sure if it will or if i'll get minor side effects later. i have only been on it for three days so i'll have to check back on here in two-three months. hopefully, i won't have to take pills with the epiduo or be disappointed yet again :)
July 22, 2017
my ride or die
epiduo dries out pimples and if you breakout epiduo is there to save the day. However after using this epiduo for months and months and years and years relying on it, it irritated my skin and made specific places where i applied the epiduo very red, sensitive and irritated (maybe because i did not apply a pea size amount). HOWEVER, i still think this is one of the best topical pimple treatments out there, and definitely by far the best one ive tried out of duac, clindamycin toner, etc.
June 7, 2017
In the process, Week 4
I've been on epiduo for 4 weeks now and I have had moderate acne for about a year, when it started i didn't really see much of a difference it got a little better. At week 3-4 I have started experiencing the purge stage on my chin and it is pretty rough, but everywhere else has no acne just fading scars. Just got to stick it out. Hopefully it will be done purging in a couple weeks. During this purging stage I have probably had about 5 new pimples a day on my chin. I will post again at 8 weeks and then at 12 weeks. Thinking long term helps a lot and getting the epiduo app as well.
May 23, 2017
Yes, even for dry sensitive skin
My daughter was on antibiotics for 9 months for Lyme disease treatment. When she went off the medication she broke out terribly on her face and her back. Long term antibiotics wreck your gut which among other things can cause acne. She started treatment with epiduo forte on her face but in a way that minimized the harsh effects. She already has dry sensitive skin so she applied it every other night mixed in with her moisterizer and worked up to full strength slowly. At the same time we healed her gut with probiotics - pills and kombucha and bone broth every day ( yes bone broth, google bone broth and healing acne) it has been a few months now and she is pretty much all cleared up. The marks have faded considerably and improve every day. Her back is completely clear.
May 13, 2017
Product used: Epiduo (Forte Gel)
Glad I stuck it out
Ive been on epiduo for about a month and a half. the purge phase for me lasted a good 4 weeks: i broke out in places ive never broken out before, had major breakouts on my forehead, and my skin was red and peely. the breakouts were nothing big, but a ton of individual small bumps that were miserable. . it wasn't until recently when i started seeing good improvements in my skin. Don;t get me wrong, its nowhere near perfect, but its a lot more manageable. I used to get whiteheads and have to worry about them becoming HUGE (im talking pea-sized) whiteheads that caused major scarring on my face. now, i still get some whiteheads but i can go to sleep having put on epiduo knowing they would be gone the next day. the cycle of my breakouts has become a lot faster and i dont worry about breakouts becoming inflamed. I also think that epiduo has helped somewhat with oil control and my pores are definitely smaller. also, it has overturned new skin cells so my skin looks overall fresher and less textured. I am happy where it is going and hopeful for perfect skin in the future. UPDATE: while epiduo did help the texture of my skin, and it helped breakouts go away faster, they werent stopping. i was on the treatment for maybe three months with no change. I am not on Onexton in the morning and retin A every other night, and i am already hopeful for this. The epiduo fpaved a path for retin A so i am experiencing no dryness so far. I still use epiduo as a spot treatment as it still works great to make pimples go away fast
May 5, 2017
It does work!
If you're reading this you might wanna know whether Epiduo is effective or not, right? Lemme first give you a background on my acne, I started suffering from it when I was in highschool then it got worse until this year. I tried every way possible to cure it, from regular facial, chemical peel, iontophoresis to taking isotretinoin(which is the generic name for Accutance), they did treat my acne but only for a while. Then I came back to my dermatologists and he recommended me Epiduo, I'm like you who's skeptical on trying it because it 'might' not help again BUT when I read all the positive reviews on Epiduo here in acne.org I've decided why don't I give this a try. So for 14 weeks now I've been applying this wonder, my face is 90% clear with acne marks though. Together with Epiduo, I wash my face with Cetaphil and cold guava tea, then rub banana peel 3x a day for 30 minutes and serum. For those of you who's on the verge of giving up on this product please don't, be patient and positive. 😊
April 5, 2017
It has to get worse before it gets better, then you will thank it and can't imagine your life without it!!
I have been using Epiduo for about 6 months now and WOW, the results are so encouraging! The first 1-2 months of using this acne treatment was not easy; my face would get swollen because it still had to get used to the Adapalene and Benzoyl Peroxide, I was breaking out more than I ever have and my skin was so So sensitive. The burning sensations I felt were so painful I honestly just had to lay there and wait for it to pass. I thought about stopping the treatment many times, but I have to say; I'm very grateful my dermatologist encouraged me to keep on track with it. I rarely get any pimples, before my pimples were mainly in my chin and forehead area. I will get the occasional one, maybe 1 every â…" weeks, but the Epiduo clears it up within 3 days. When I was using Epiduo for the first 4 months, I would apply my face cream after 15 minutes, but now I have realised that putting on a face cream over the Epiduo didn't do me any justice. It only made things worse, and it wasn't the face cream. Now, I simply wash my face using a very gentle electrical face brush and the recommended Cetaphil acne wash and then apply one pump of Epiduo to my whole face. Hopefully my skin will only get better than it is now! I also found it helpful to get the app that tracks your skin progress! The most important thing is to PERSEVERE and oh, STAY OUT OF THE SUN and LATHER ON THAT SPF 50!! I hope I've helped xxx
March 10, 2017
Epiduo saved my skin!
I am so grateful for this product. I suffered from moderate and cystic acne for around 2 years before seeing a dermatologist that presecribed me Epiduo in combination with antibiotics. My acne was completely gone 1 month later. After 2 months I got off the antibiotics but my skin is still clear - all thanks to Epiduo!
However, I should mention that the first week of Epiduo was hell. My skin was flaky, lots of irritation etc. My solution to this was to use a Cetaphil cleanser + moisturizer before applying Epiduo. This combination helped me a lot and my skin irritation stopped.
Nevertheless, I am now suffering from really oily skin due to my Epiduo treatment. This clearly bums me out but with the help of certain makeup and oil absorbing powders (transparent powder) I have managed to control this. It's an irritating side effect but with 100% clear skin - I can deal with a bit of oil.