I'm 21 and female, I got my acne out of nowhere at age 18. I went to a skin therapist and did some extremely expensive acid treatments. That helped with the worst of it. But I still had my acne and redness. I tried a lot of different products but nothing worked. Then I went to a regular doctor who prescribed Epiduo (in combination with Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer) and after about 2-3 months I could see great results! Sure, I still have some red spots, scars and my skin is quite red - but I wouldn't even call it acne anymore! Epiduo is the only product I've actually seen a difference with, and it's cheap and simple! Epiduo is definitely worth a shot! I'm so happy to finally feel good about my face again! I think the secret to get rid of acne is to give it a lot of time and to use a simple routine.

I have had pretty bad acne for 4 years, and I especially get a lot of spots on my forehead. The only thing that worked for me was quinoderm so since that has been banned I have been desperate to find something else. I started using this cream about 3 weeks ago, and it does actually work, but it destroys your skin as well. After a week I noticed I went from a lot of medium sized spots to lots of tiny, hard, red, inflamed ones, almost like a massive rash across my forehead. This is because the stuff is awful for your skin and I was applying tons of it twice a day so use springy otherwise your face will be a red, itchy, peeling mess. However if you use a lot of moisturiser and get the balance right it works pretty well, and after three weeks I have FAR BETTER SKIN, so I am happy.

I have moderate type of acne since I was 16 y.o. (I am 24 now). About two years ago I was prescribed Accutane and it cleared my skin entirely. I couldn't be any happier! Plus the bonus- my scalp was also dry and I had to wash my hair only once a week, compared to every other day before that. Time passed by, I graduated and got my Bachelor's degree, and there came another important step in my life- I got accepted into grad school at Columbia and arrived here to NYC last September. Coming from a small town I was shocked and amazed by this huge megapolis. Everything was different here: food, climate, atmosphere, people. Even though I liked this city immensely, I still got significant school-related stress and acclimatization process. So no wonder, that after a couple of months I started breaking out, and it progressed pretty quickly, and by the end of midterms in March I was all covered in acne rash and could not feel any worse about my skin. I went to see the therapist on campus. After a unsuccessful treatment she send me to the dermatology clinic in midtown. I went there and the dermatologist prescribed me anti-bacterial pills and an rosacea cream. I saw no progress after two weeks of treatment, so when I came back to her, she replaced the rosacea stuff with Epiduo gel, and told me that this gel is pretty serious and if this will not help, she will prescribe Accutane. She told me that it takes a while for it to get to work, and there are some initial breakouts related to its use, and also it is very harsh on skin, so I should apply a really thin layer on the affected area (for me it was my whole face). I got the prescribed gel for $35 with discount coupon that dermatologist gave me. And there started my adventure with Epiduo. I will tell you that I was very motivated and even though there were a lot of negative reviews, I still sticked to it, because I trusted people who told that I should wait for result to come up. The first week showed no progress whatsoever, the second week was quite painful, cause I started breaking out and in addition to that my skin started reacting to the gel and I felt as if my skin was burning, but at the same time I was started feeling positive, 'cause at least it showed some effect, which means it is actually working. I started noticing progress on the fifth week and that was about the time I had my next appointment with dermatologist, she came into the room and noticed the progress straight away (which is surprising, because it happened after barely seeing me for the third time in two month, taking into account dozens of other patients that she might have). I confirmed that the progress was quite good, and there are much less new breakouts popping up on face now. She told me to stick with it for another couple of month along with the doxy that she prescribed for my back and chest acne (which worked perfectly btw). After that the I was pleasantly surprised with slow but stable gradual improvement. She told me to come once again in a month or two, but since I was a broke at that time I could not afford going, and I did not have reason to, 'cause my skin was almost perfect. Not that there are no breakout at all, I still get them, but they are much less in size and amount, and there is no cystic acne, as there used to be before the treatment. I am a little disappointed that chest and back acne are coming back, because I stopped taking doxycycline about two month ago. So I still need to go to her sometime soon so she can prescribe me something for that. Anyway, if you've read 'til this sentence, I am impressed, cause I think I wrote way too much. I just really wanted to share my story with you, because I know that the only reason you are looking into these reviews is that either you got prescribed with Epiduo or you want to. My personal advice- go to dermatologist and if he/she prescribes you this, you should stay patient and most importantly- POSITIVE (personally, I believe in the placebo effect to some extent). This is a great treatment for ance, I only wished I got it prescribed before Accutane.

Prior to Epiduo I used Differin for about a year, with fairly good results, but I had to use it morning and evening, and a bit more heavily than is recommended, for it to be effective. But there were too many occasions where I would still develop a few red acne lumps for seemingly no reason, and if I ever went a night without using it, within a few days there would again be a few red lumps developing. In the last month I have switched to Epiduo, and whilst it contains the same 0.1% Adapalene as Differin, it also contains Benzoyl Peroxide which appears to have made a huge difference. My skin has been completely clear since I started using it, I have also had the odd night or two where I have not used it (came home late and fell asleep!) and my skin has remained clear. I think this works for me because the cause of my acne seems to be excessive oil rather than any kind of bacterial problem. I honestly would compare the results to that of taking a course of roaccutane (which I have done in the past) - it's that effective for me. The dryness is minor and whilst there is a bit of redness to my skin, it's nothing particularly noticeable. I also find the consistency of the cream easier to use that the Differin gel.

Okay so I used to use this in my teens but as my skin pretty much cleared up I stopped. My skin suddenly went really bad again these past few years and literally nothing has been working. My skin would clear up for a couple of months but then out of no where it would turn to complete sh*t again. So recently a friend raved about dermalogica medibac kit so I thought why not and gave it a try. The big bumps I had kind of got smaller but I still has comedomes and after 2 weeks I saw no results so I stopped. Anyway I've been getting these facials where they do extractions and kind of laser your skin to try prevent acne and get rid of pigmentation/scars (guys I really recommend this, it's great for your skin and it really does help your acne). she practically yelled at me for changing cleansing regimes (lol oops) BUT since then I've been cleansing day and night with cetaphil and using epiduo. I use it day and night even though it says once at night only. Because I've used it before, the dryness didn't really bother me - you can just moisturise throughout the day. It's been only a couple of days but I can definitely see results. I think it's a combination of the facial but I had some leftover pimples that were purging and they calm down immensely over night with epiduo. My comedomes also seem to be gradually going away but I'll definitely post an update after a couple of more weeks. I've read a lot of negative reviews but it really does work wonders so why not give it a try. If you're looking for faster results you might wanna try going for the facial beforehand Hope this helped!

Been using for two weeks now and haven't seen much improvement. Usually my skin is extremely sensitive and cracks and flakes with retinoids but I've been using manuka honey as a facial mask/cleanser in conjunction with Hawaiian moon aloe cream as a moisturizer and haven't had any of the flaking AT ALL! Totally recommend this stuff. The manuka honey I bought is trader joes brand (10+) which I personally love. The hawaiian moon aloe can be found on amazon but you can also buy on their website. Ive been using this moisturizer for about a year now, and although its a bit pricey, I'm a huge fan. Hope this helps someone out there!

I got prescribed epiduo gel by my doctor after being taken off a particular pill because of concerns about blood clots etc. I was really excited about it because i have heard so many fabulous reviews. I am now on my second round of it, and although it hasn't made my skin any worse, it also hasn't made a significant difference. I used it religiously every night as I was told to do, and after about 6 months of using it, all that happened was that it has completely dried out my skin, particularly around my cheeks and eyes. I have very sensitive skin, so this could be a huge factor in it, but I began getting rashes on my cheeks, and every time my eyes watered (or i cried), the skin around my eyes would flare up and I would have big red rashes. I know this was only because of the gel because once i stopped using it it never happened anymore. I have recently decided to go dairy free, so perhaps that will be my miracle cure instead :)

I've recently started my second try at using Epiduo, which was prescribed by my derm. The other time I tried it (in about March this year) my acne suddenly got a lot worse when I started taking it so I gave up after about a month, and after I stopped using it my skin suddenly improved. But after telling my derm this she prescribed it again a couple of weeks ago. So I'm a bit confused - either Epiduo just doesn't work or you have to stick it out and it gets worse before it gets better. Does anyone know? Or has anyone had a similar experience? I'm completely stuck as to whether I should be using this, and praying that if I keep using it for a few months my acne will finally start to improve. I have quite sensitive skin and my acne's mainly whiteheads and cysts and makes my skin very red, so maybe Epiduo just isn't the right treatment for me. But I'd say if you're thinking of using it I'd give it a go as there are no risks or bad side effects (except really dry skin, which can easily be dealt with with a good moisturiser!) but I'd also be prepared for the fact that different treatments work on different people, so Epiduo could either be a life saver or a waste of time!

I had suffered from spots on forehead for years to the point where family and friends would comment and I'd be so embarrassed and self conscious. Antibiotics would help but after the course the spots.would.return. But recently I started epiduo in February and not a single spot since then. No joke this personally is my miracle cure and I'm so confident I won't get any even when my skin gets oily after a long day of exercise or in the sun. People have even commented on my skins improvement and are amazed how my skin transformed. Really recommend this to anyone struggling with spots. I've finished my antibiotic course and just use this now and it's become a lifesaver. Can walk around make make up free and feel good about my skin for the first time in years. Thank you so so much to those who recommended this. Wish I started using it years ago.

I've had acne for a few years and this was the first thing I tried. I have a blurry memory with Epiduo because it was 3 years ago but it did not work