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
January 6, 2013
Cons:
Can cause dryness and make your face itchy
I have had acne for four years. I lost all confidence in myself and didn't leave the house because of it. I'm a teen, so I have to go to school. I couldn't just hide in my house everyday because of how bad my skin was. It was painful, red, and makeup just made it look worse. I went to the dermatologist regularly and tried many different creams and antibiotics. Nothing had worked. My acne would calm down a little bit, but it always came back. My dermatologist insisted that I try epiduo. It didn't seem to be working the first few months and so I switched to Differin. About a week later my skin was completely covered with acne. There wasn't a single spot on my face without a bump. I switched back to the epiduo and within days, my face started to look clearer and the acne started to go away. I still have a long way to go but my skin has improved so much. Epiduo has nearly cleared my face. I have just a few pimples left over and many scars. But so far it is the only thing that has worked for me.
November 29, 2012
Pros:
Not that expensive only have to put on once a day it works well for teens ( I'm 19)
Cons:
Don't really have a con but I guess it doesn't work over night.
You should give it a try if you have moderate acne and of course ask your dermatologist if this is a good medication for your face.
November 13, 2012
Pros:
Clears up skin
Prevents future breakouts
Works relatively quickly
Cons:
Dries out skin
I have been prescribed Epiduo in the past, but hardly gave it a chance, discontinuing its use after my forehead peeled during my first use. However, after my at home regimen (same as acne.org regimen except only washed face at night, and used a clean and clear benzoyl peroxide), stopped working, I went back to my dermatologist. She again prescribed Epiduo, however this time with a prescription moisturizer, which works deep into the skin (Neosalus). Many people complain that Epiduo burns and stings, and causes dryness and flakiness. This is most likely because they A) use epiduo every night right off the bat or B) Don't moisturize enough. I have been on Epiduo for around a month, and I still only use it every other night. A little goes a LONG way with epiduo. I also mainly spot treat with the Epiduo, or put it on problem areas that are prone to break outs. I do NOT cover my whole face, as I have never broken out on my cheeks. If your dermatologist does prescribe Epiduo, ask about Neosalus, the moisturizer. With it I put it on morning and night after washing my face. However on the nights I use Epiduo, I put the Neosalus on BEFORE the Epiduo. You would think that it would prevent the Epiduo from working, however like I said, Epiduo is strong and by using the Neosalus first and using Epiduo every other night, I have mainly avoided the dryness and peeling from my first experience. Epiduo has CLEARED my skin. I have not had a new break out in a while, after the initial breakout which was no worse than what my skin had been going through before. HOWEVER-
In addition to epiduo I have also been doing other things that I believe are clearing my face and will help ANYONE. 1) I have switched to only drinking water, and A LOT of it, which really does help in clearing up your skin and flushing out bacteria. 2) changing my pillow case every night. Before I hardly ever changed it, but now I do so every other night. This prev
September 4, 2012
Pros:
Exfoliates your skin as all the dead skin falls off
Clears acne up
Cons:
Intense drying and flaking
Burns and stings when you put it on
Face gets real dry to the point when it hurts to smile sometimes
I havent been using epiduo very long but i can tell that its working. Besides the dryness the acne does clear up and it will burn and sting but you just gotta take the pain! Good luck to everyone out there fighting with their acne problems :)
August 15, 2012
Pros:
-reduces redness to a light pink color
-clears cysitc acne almost right away
-clears other acne in about 2 days
Cons:
-dryness
-redness
-burning
-makes every thing you put on it sting
Ive only been using this for about 3 days and im already satisfied my acne is WAY better already, however my chin is red and irritated for about an hour or so after using it i have no idea why its only on my chin. At first i used it with neutrogena oil free acne wash because it what my dermatologist told me to use but i found that using it combined with epiduo made the side effects even worse so now i use it with the cetaphil gentle cleansing bar and the redness and dyness arnt as bad, overall i think its a good product except for the side effects. But even angels have flaws!!!
August 8, 2012
Pros:
dries out pimples
helps cystic/hormonal acne
Cons:
can be drying if not used properly
MUST exfoliate to get rid of dead skin from the retin-a
My dermatologist prescribed me Epiduo two weeks ago for my horrible cystic/hormonal acne. I have been suffering from this ever since I went off of birth control about 4 months ago but it was really bad about 3 weeks ago when I was about to begin my cycle. I was at a complete loss!! I have been using natural/organic products on my face because I believe the stuff they sale in drugstores and department stores are scams and that natural products are WAYYY better for our skin. I really did not want to go back on BP products because I had used those in the past and it never really got rid of all my acne and later on it made my acne terrible which is when I stopped using it around February of this year. I am extremely cautious with the prescriptions my doctors prescribe topically because I know my cystic acne is caused by a HORMONE IMBALANCE. Nothing you put on your skin is going to fix that and it must be fixed internally, not with creams you put on your face. So while I still have been getting acne spots because of THAT problem, the epiduo has been working well so far! Only complaint is that the cell turnover caused by the retin-A made my pores on my forehead, chin, and nose get EXTREMELY clogged with dead skin cells. Biore pore strips and Indian Healing Clay mask w/apple cider vinegar saved my life.
My routine:
(morning)
wash face with my dermatologist's green tea facial wash (his own line of products)
DIY Toner with bragg's applecider vinegar, green tea, distilled water, few tablespoons of witch hazel; applied all over my face with a few drops of 100% tea tree oil--this makes your skin tingle and feel AMAZING
apply a dime/nickel size of jojoba oil depending on my skins needs
large pea-sized amount of Coppertone sensitive skin sunscreen
(Night)
remove eyemakeup with J&J baby soap and splash face with warm water
keeping face slightly damp, apply organic honey all over face with cinnamon (let sit for 20+minutes) then wash off
apply epiduo
August 6, 2012
Pros:
Easy to use
Reduces redness
Helps with cystic acne
Dryness isn't too bad with moisturizer
It's effective
Cons:
Will dry if you dont use moisturizer
Initial breakout
Burns skin when you wear makeup after washing your face
Gets worse before it gets better
Been suffering with acne for 5+ years now. I've been on Epiduo for about 3 weeks now. First few days I noticed it reduced my redness. After another few days I experienced drying and mild peeling. About close to 2 weeks in the initial breakout started, which is the worst but I know it means the product is working. I'm coming up on my 3rd week now and the initial breakout is slowing down and not as bad, more redness is reducing and inflammation is reducing. I suffered with some cystic acne on one side of my face and that is starting to go away as well and I'm very pleased! I'm going to continue to use this product and hopfully within the next few weeks I will see even better results. I highly recommened this product.
June 17, 2012
Pros:
Cleared my acne
Exfoliated my skin
It was free because my derm gave me a bunch of samples
Cons:
Made my skin look flaky
Initial breakout sucks!!
I want to say I'm also on doxycycline which together with the epiduo has Completly cleared my skin of acne ( I get a pimple or two a week before my period but nothing like before) my skin was clear up until march if 2012 then it went crazy and started popping up all over my face forehead, cheaks, chin, and they were NOT SMALL!! They where big ugly and painful, it's been 11 weeks since I started the epiduo and 13 weeks for the doxy and I am so relieved. You just gotta get though that initial breakout and you will get great results, I used ( and am still using)Cera Ve foaming facial cleanser Cera Ve day and night facial moisturizing lotion, I put the epiduo on before my Cera Ve night lotion and it's never stung or burnt bad at all. I do think acne treatment benefits from antibiotics like doxy or minocycline (solodyn) so you treat from the inside and out, I'm also an aesthetician and I definitely needed presciption meds for my skin, I could not deal with it myself, thanks, and don't stop it because of the initial breakout be patient and you will see results!!
June 3, 2012
Pros:
really works
easy to use
Cons:
possible irritation and dryness
takes 2-3 months to work
a couple months ago i had a huge patch of acne on my forehead that would not go away. It had been there for about 2 months and nothing would work on it. When i went to the doctors for a check up one time, the doctor noticed it and gave me some samples of epiduo without really telling me how to use it. I started using it that night but i was only applying it to my forehead, not my entire face. it took about 2 months and never dried my forehead out and the patch was COMPLETELY gone and still, a couple months later, i have not had one blemish on my forehead. However, i started getting alot of breakouts on my chin and on my cheeks which was unusual so i decided to go see a dermatologist. She prescribed me to use epiduo on my entire face which i didn't know you could do since i was never told how to use it, I just thought it was a spot treatment. But i have been using epiduo on my entire face every night for about 2 weeks and i can already notice a difference in my skin. My skin is not as oily and my skin is slowly clearing up. I still have some blemishes but it has gotten better. I have had a little flakiness around my nose and my mouth but its nothing that a little moisturizer can't fix but i would definitely recommend this product!
May 19, 2012
Pros:
WORKS, quite fast actually- 2 weeks!
Really easy to apply- you won't forget because it will be apart of your skin care routine.
Never had a breakout when I was stressed!
BEST PRODUCT I'VE USED!
Cons:
Dries out skin= flaky skin!
Made my eyes swell up
Stinging on second week...extremely painful!
Never ever writ a review but really thought I should for this product.... I'm 19 and usually get breakouts around my my period (guys are lucky ^.^). Epiduo really helped my skin from breaking out- I get the odd spots but they are not massive ones, so changed my acne type in a way, used to suffer from massive spots under my skin! I currently took my second year finals and when I am stressed it used to show on my skin! EPIDUO STOPPED THIS :D. Ok so, the bad stuff! When I started using epiduo I never really had a serious breakout like other people did but my gosh, my skin was so dry, specially on my eyelids and cheekbone area! Also it really made my skin sting on the second week of using Epiduo, was extremely painful! But the pain eventually went away. So advice:
1) USE A MOISTURIZER AFTER YOU APPLY EPIDUO. (other wise your skin will really dry out- I tried not using a moisturizer once and then spent 1 week getting it back to normal!). I use Simple Anti-Spot Moisturizer. 2) WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER APPLYING IT AND BEFORE YOU APPLY YOUR MOISTURIZER! (Ok, so never washed my hands once and my eyes inflated! Epiduo can really irritate your eyes.) 3) APPLY AROUND YOUR WHOLE FACE, even areas where not prone to acne! I don't know why, but it helps! 4) Well, I'm using Tetralysal too so maybe that's helping me too, but wouldn't recommend this antibiotic, I forgot to use it twice and both times had 2 spots the next morning!
Pros:
Reduces pimple size overnight
Stops breakouts
Easy to use
No smell (that I've noticed)
Makes skin feel soft