Im 34 and have had acne for at least 20 years. Ive tried many things including birth control pills, salicylic acid, oil cleansing regimens, benzoyl peroxide, essential oil blends, just all kinds of stuff. I settled on the acne.org regimen with the benzoyl peroxide, and that was the most helpful thing, it kept my acne fairly low but I would still have a zit or two at least at all times as well as many small blackheads and white heads. sometimes it would become very bad, such as it did this past summer when I was almost embarassed to show my face in public. it was bumpy and had sore spots.

I started this medication in July 2019, and my face has gradually gotten better and better, my breakouts less severe. At this point in early December, I have no active zits at all! my skin feels smooth when i run my fingers over it to wash it, and my old spots are healing and lightening. Im so excited that finally I get to have clear skin. I dont know why my skin never got better after my teen years, but Im glad Ive finally found a solution.

It's important to note that I didnt see a significant improvement for about 3-4 months. Also I have very light skin, I see some darker skinned people have had trouble with bleaching, but this isnt an issue for my skin tone.

this product bleached my face. no joke. 

just because it didn't work for me, does not mean it wont for everyone BUT if you are a darker skinned person (like myself) be wary of the product's bleaching nature. 

sayonara 

I?ve had adult acne since I was 20 (now 37). I got it under control for years by being on birth control but 4 years ago it came back with a vengeance. My problem has mostly been closed comedones from the cheeks down and jawline. For the last 4 years my doctor and I have tried everything. Different types of birth control, antibiotics, retinol. Nothing worked and my skin would still be bumpy. I got desperate and tried sebaceous gland ablation. This treatment was painful, expensive  and left me scarred. Plus the products they made me use contained ammonium laureyl sulfate which I have only now learnt is a trigger for acne. After two months of ?treatment? my skin was worse than ever. I switched back to my ASAP products which helped a bit but the bumps remained. Given that my acne is hormonal, I decided to try a female doctor. She told me she had suffered with acne herself and epiduo had really worked for her. I was skeptical that a cream could really do anything for my damaged skin but decided to give it a try since her skin was clear. 

First week, less pimples. Skin became dry and scaley.

Second week, skin was terrible. I woke up every morning with 5 inflamed pimples and another 5 would develop through out the day. My skin would burn when I applied the cream. So I stopped using a salicylic acid toner and skin clearing gel with glycolic acid in it. This reduced the burning. However the pimples were so painful that my face was swollen. The glands in my neck even became inflamed because of the acne. At this point I contemplated going on antibiotics but didn?t. 

Third week, skin was less dry and scaley but I was starting to wake up with less pimples. Then one day all the bumps on my chin area and jaw line became huge inflamed pimples. 

Fourth week (now), suddenly I?ve realised that my skin is smoother than it?s been in four years. What the epiduo did is bring every single closed comedone to the surface. And it?s stopped new ones from forming. My skin is pretty much clear now except for red marks. I?m applying aloe Vera gel to the marks to help them fade. I?m hoping I?m on the road to recovery now.

Morning routine: ASAP Daily Facial Cleanser, the Ordinary Zinc and Niacinamide serum mixed with Vitamin C suspension serum, oil free moisturer with SPF.

Night routine: double cleanse with ASAP Daily Facial Cleanser, epiduo, oil free moisturiser. After LED light therapy I apply Aloe Vera Gel to the marks and any healing blemishes. 

Twice per week, after cleansing, I also use a microdermabrasion scrub.

Before and after photos below