Topical Antibacterial
Reviews
3.5
20781 Reviews
Topical Antibacterial
Efficacy
54%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
1
2
3
4
5
Note: Benzoyl peroxide clears the skin completely when applied correctly.
Topical Antibacterial
Side Effects
Low-Medium
Topical Antibacterial
Acne.org’s Real World Take
It’s been a staple of acne treatment for decades for a reason. When used properly it can completely clear the skin. It is widely available and affordable. Comes with side effects for the first few weeks and can bleach fabric.
Topical Antibacterial
How to Get It
This is an over-the-counter treatment. Here are some places you can find it online.
Read All About Benzoyl Peroxide
Compare To Other Treatments
5
31.3%
4
25%
3
17.2%
2
12.5%
1
14%

Used Benzoyl Peroxide? Rate It:

Choose from 1 to 5 stars
February 15, 2016
Best choice!
I suffered from acne for almost 13 years now and I have tried everything you could possibly think off. I finished 2 course of accutane that lasted almost a year before my acne start coming back again. I was going to start my 3rd course but I read about benzac here on acne.org and I thought of trying it why not? Let me tell you that i give benzac a 5 star. It really helped a lot with my acne after one week. All my acne are almost completely gone. Your fave will get red and itchy in the begining but trust me it will all go away and use it only as a spot treatment. My daily morning routine before heading to work is washing my face with clerasil and then apply bioline toner before applying Auriga Melaclear tinted sunscreen which actually contains zinc oxide and it helps a lot with my acne. At night i do the exact same thing put skip the sunscreen part and apply benzac directly on the spots before bed. In a week time i noticed a huge difference my face has never been better. So for me so far i love benzac have been using for a month now and i will continue using it.
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February 9, 2015
Horrible Product, Horrible Company, Horrible Business Practices, and Horrible Customer Service. WATCH OUT - WHEN YOU ORDER ONLY A 30-DAY SUPPLY - THEY AUTOMATICALLY SWITCH IT TO A CONTINUOUS 90-day SUPPLY WITHOUT NOTICE. BEWARE!!
I wish I could leave a "0 - Star" review because that's what they deserve. Save your money and save yourself a big headache don't purchase. Companies like this should be penalized for false advertising or bait and switch. I ordered my 16 year old son a one time try, ONE MONTH ONLY the $19.99. First off, the product doesn't do anything, my son said it was a big waste of money. So, I cancelled my account with them. Yet, they sent me another box so I called them. I told them that I had cancelled my account and I asked why they were sending me another box and why they took out over $30 from my bank account. I told her that I NEVER ordered that. She told me that even though I only ordered the special one-month supply for $19.99, that that one-time purchase is AUTOMATICALLY SWITCHED TO A CONTINUOUS ongoing monthly supply at $29.99 plus s&h - I NEVER ORDERED THAT. I did NOT want it. I did NOT authorize it. If I had wanted the ongoing monthly supply I would have ordered it in the first place; but I didn't. I also did NOT want to have to hound them to just get my money back. What makes it even worse though, is now I have two boxes to pay for return shipping back to them. HORRIBLE COMPANY!! HORRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES!!! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! HORRIBLE PRODUCT!! Please save your money and save yourself a huge headache. Again - BEWARE ** They changed my one time 30-day supply to an ongoing monthly order - THAT I DID NOT ORDER or WANT. ** I wonder how long it's going to take them to refund my money now. They are quick to take it out of your account but slow as hell on returning it. I even went to the X-out website to see if I could leave my own review of X-Out, but of course you can't. Gee isn't that a surprise. Usually when you see 'results will vary' it means "don't expect it to work for you". I would have more respect for them if they let you actually leave feedback on their own product and on their own business practices but they don't let you do that. yet they boast go see the "Proof", yeah right. Again, BEWARE. HORRIBLE company, HORRIBLE product HORRIBLE business practices and HORRIBLE customer service. WATCH OUT!
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June 10, 2014
Made My Acne Worse
I am 15 years old and started using this product about 10 days ago, and it has done absolutely nothing except make my acne flare up. I had been using Proactiv/Proactiv+ for over a year, and while it helped clear my face up a little in the beginning, it eventually stopped improving and had kept my acne at a mild/moderate level. I saw the X Out commercials on TV and was immediately attracted to it because it is specifically geared towards teens and is by the makers of Proactiv. I did some research online and found very mixed reviews (mostly negative, honestly) but decided to give it a try anyway. Bad choice. I received the 30 day wash-in treatment along with the body bar, spot corrector, and shine control product. Upon first use, I thought the cooling effect was nice, but was also greeted with very dry skin (to be expected from the high concentration of benzoyl peroxide, but was nonetheless very uncomfortable). It has since only increased my breakouts on my entire face. I tried the spot corrector morning and evening, and it doesn't do a thing. In fact, I have gotten so annoyed with the spot corrector not working, that I have gone back to my Proactiv spot treatments. Same story with the body bar: made everything worse. The only product that has shown a bit of promise is the shine control, but that's not nearly enough to keep me as a customer. In just 10 days, my acne is the worst it has been in over a year. I am going to send this package back for a refund ASAP, and will continue using Proactiv+ until I order my next option: Exposed Skin Care.
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August 31, 2011

Pros:

-Clears skin in about 4 to 5 weeks
-Makes skin less oily(Win!)
-Reduces redness
-Works great on recently popped pimples
-Underground pimples(cysts) go away within a week

Cons:

-Makes skin a bit to dry sometimes but what's lotion for?
-When applied on nonaffected areas it itches and irritates the skin
-Doesnt work so great on blackheads

It's a great product and I don't understand why people give such bad reviews on it. I understand that some products don't work on some people but that doesn't mean you have to give it a bad reputation. I started to use it about a month ago and my skin by far looks the best it's been in years. I'm 15 and have been struggling with acne since I was 12. I currently go to high school and I see girls and gals with horrible acne. I always come up to them and tell them to try this product. On some it worked but others it didn't. It all depends on your skin. Just try the product and if it works then great! But if it doesn't then just keep searching. Don't give up and let acne take over your life.
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June 29, 2011

Pros:

None

Cons:

Expensive piece of crap

It sucks...spent so much money and it did NOTHING for me.
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March 3, 2011

Pros:

clears acne up for a little bit

Cons:

stops working after 2 or 3 months

I was so happy when this first started working for me, I had no new pimples. But after two or three months they started happening again and now my acne is worse than ever. Its the same thing as proactiv with more benzoyl peroxide in it and is cheaper
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December 29, 2010

Pros:

it is the best product out there. a work friend recomended it to me because it woked for him. i will never stop using it. please never go out of business for i wont know what to buy. this is the only product that works for me. i tried proactive and over the counter soaps nothing compares. this stuff is the best

Cons:

none really my face feals dry for about an hour but all soaps do that

i love your products
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December 4, 2010

Pros:

It works. Really. Give it time. It makes your skin feel amazing.

Cons:

None that I can think of!

This is my second review on here, and I'll tell you why. This is not a fake review. I am a mom and have a daughter that has used this for 1.5 years and her skin is really beautiful. She rarely gets a pimple, and if so, it's during her time of the month. I am 44 and use it, too. It makes your skin feel amazing. I can't believe the people that get on here and accuse the owner of making up fake reviews. Trust me, he doesn't have to do that. My daughter was at Walmart and a girl asked her how she got her skin so pretty. I had to write down the name of this stuff on a business card I had and give it to her. I didn't know this girl at all...she was our check out girl! Buy it, use it faithfully for 6 weeks, and then get back to us! Use it before you diss it!!!! Leave the owner alone, I thank God he developed this stuff!
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October 30, 2010

Pros:

Gets rid of pimples quickly

Cons:

Leaves skin very dry

BE CAREFUL USING THIS PRODUCT. The instructions on the bottle are so misleading! It says to apply a 'layer' which is really not a good idea if you have dry or sensitive skin. It does however say to test it before use which is a really important thing to do because this product can leave your skin incredibly dry and irritated. I also use the proactiv cleanser which also contains benzoyl peroxide but the repairing lotion seems a lot harsher on the skin. Every so often for about a week I applied really small amounts to blemishes and it worked very well - but I then stupidly decided to apply a 'layer' to an area of my face, around my chin. The proactiv pamphlet says the repairing lotion should be applied to any area to 'PREVENT' so this is what i did. My skin became INCREDIBLY dry. For about a week, every morning I would apply layers and layers of moisturizer but no matter how much i put on my skin was still dry. I had never seen it so dry before in my life - it was flaky, kind of cracked in some areas so the skin around my chin was almost in sections. I had to start using a really thick clinique moisturizer but i had to put so much on that the dry skin kind of soaked it up so that my skin was kind of left with the yellow tint. There are also quite a few youtube videos about this product where they say you can just SLATHER on the repairing lotion and leave it overnight. Really not a good idea. Although its extremely harsh, it does work quite well for me when used in very small amounts so i would still reccommend it. However, there are other products out there that work just as well, such as tea tree oil, which will not leave you with incredibly dry skin.
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August 26, 2010

Pros:

* My skin doesn't dry out
* No irritation
* Pimples looked noticably smaller after 2 days

Cons:

*slight stinging when I first put it on. It stops after 5 minutes though

I have really stupid acne so instead of rubbing the product onto my acne until it's clear I leave it in white blobs overnight. I realized this helps the healing process faster. During the day i rub it in clear so I can put my makeup over it. This helps to make sure no excess oil or dirt is getting into and clogging my pores. I do this every single night and my skin is great! I have no acne and when I do it is bearly noticeable! I do keep in mind though that acne starts before you can see it so I wash my face with both olay faoming facewash, and clearasil daily face wash. I reccomend this to anyone like me who is tired of constant acne, broken promises on labels, and celebritys with perfect skin promoating acne washes. Please try this. I'm not a computer, I'm not a brand rep. I am a person who is sicka nd tired of acne. So get rid of it like I did. Hope this helps you all!
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Finding a Doctor

The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

  1. Use the search feature on the American Academy of Dermatology website to look for board-certified dermatologists in your area, and filter the search results for doctors with a special interest in treating acne.
  2. Read online patient reviews of any dermatologists you are considering and ask people you know whether they have any experience with these dermatologists.
  3. Do your research and go to your first appointment with questions prepared.
  4. Listen to what your gut feeling tells you once you see a dermatologist in person. If you are not completely comfortable, try a different dermatologist.

Finding a Doctor

Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.

Be sure to:

  • Look at before and after photos, the more the better, especially patients with similar scarring to your own.
  • Be realistic about results. Look for improvement, not a cure.

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

  • Are you board certified? Be certain that they are board certified.
  • How long have you been performing these procedures? Normally, the more experience the better, however, some younger surgeons may be more on top of the latest procedures.
  • Can I speak to some of your other patients? Ask for references for several patients who had similar scarring and speak to them about the process and their satisfaction with results.

Red flags:

  • Their story changes: As you discuss different treatment options, if they tend to change their mind easily, or agree with whatever you say, consider this a red flag. A confident, experienced surgeon will possess strong, unwavering opinions.
  • Your gut tells you "no": Trust your gut. If you just don't feel that the doctor is the right fit, trust that and move on. On the other hand, if you feel they are the perfect specialist for you, trust that feeling.