Topical Antibiotic
Efficacy
55%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Should never be used on its own and for a maximum of 3 months.
Topical Antibiotic
Acne.org’s Real World Take
One of the less effective treatments out there. It should never be used on its own or for longer than 3 months and may lead to resistant strains of bacteria. It may provide a slight improvement in mild acne in some people.
Topical Antibiotic
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 Clindamycin? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
August 25, 2018
Gives Headaches
Tried this for a few weeks. Saw some decent improvement in my complexion. Started getting tension headaches and I could not understand why. Stopped Clindamycin treatment and they slowly faded. About 2 weeks later the headaches finally stopped. These headaches were like no other headaches I've gotten before.
May 24, 2018
ONLY THING THAT WORKS!
I went to the derm for cystic, hormonal acne on my cheeks that I had been dealing with for 1.5 years. The painful, underground pimples would show up repetitively and NEVER leave. She prescribed me clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide topical. This gel got rid of the cysts and stopped them from coming back. I stopped using the ointment then a year later started getting them hormonally. I again was prescribed cindamycin, and it successfully terminated my persistent acne. Thank goodness for this!
April 11, 2018
Product used: Clindets (Clindamycin (1%) Topical Antibiotic Wipes)
Cheap, easy to use, and works great
I first tried using these wipes in high school on my face for comedone acne, but didn't give it much of a chance to really become effective, gave it up after short period of time. Then in college I got bacne (back acne) out of nowhere and mildly on my face. I asked my dr. for clindamycin 1% pledgets and found them very helpful as an addition to other acne products I was using. I wash my face and back with Obagi gentle cleanser, wait for it to dry completely, then applied Obagi 2.5% salicylic acid solution with a cotton wipe and wait for that to dry. This combination of clindamycin 1% and salicylic acid 2.5% quickly cleared much of my inflammatory acne and whiteheads up. It dried up the pimples and acted like an exfoliant almost, however it was not drying much at all to my skin. A week after starting this regimen, I added tazorac 0.1% cream every few nights, while the other nights I applied Finacea (azelaic acid 15%) after the salicylic acid 2.5% has dried (I give it about 10-15 minutes for any solution, cream, or gel to dry between applications). About 3 weeks later I started using Aczone (dapsone 7.5%) after the Finacea gel. I also added in a Obagi clenziderm moisturizer glycerin 10% the same time I began using Aczone. With this entire combination, my bacne had decreased roughly 92% within less than 7 weeks. The inflammatory papules and whiteheads are significantly reduced, almost gone. I know this treatment regimen might seem very aggressive, but it worked and wasn't anywhere near as drying as you might think it would be considering all the medications I used infamous for dryness, flakiness, irritation, etc. I also have sensitive skin, but despite this I never suffered any of the dryness symptoms. Clindamycin 1% wipes are a great, and much cheaper than many of the other acne medications, plus they're super easy to use and effective.
February 11, 2018
Product used: Dalacin T (Topical Lotion)
Dalacin T lotion- fantastic
After trying many different lotions and potions , both natural and from the GP a trip to a dermatologist was out last option. In the UK this came with a free of £200 but so far hss been worth every penny.
A wash once a day with over the counter Hibiscrub followed by 2 applications of Dalacin T per day has dramatically improved my daughters skin in just 15 days. She has back acne, chest acne and T zone acne. All the areas have improved. No dryness, no itchiness, no irritation, no bleaching. It speads on very easily. I would highly recommend giving this a try. All other products have resulted in either no improvement at all/purging or irritation. With this product is all been positive. There are 2 types apparently according to our gp...one for dry skin and one for oily skin but I'm not certain on that. The dermatologist we saw was a one off but i took the prescription he provided to our gp and as it's for my 14 year old we get the products on the NHS so no further payments needed. Can I add... no initial breakout either which is a first! I'd give this 5 star but it's still early days so I will come back in 2 more weeks and update!
February 9, 2018
Product used: Clindets (Clindamycin (1%) Topical Antibiotic Wipes)
Great Fixer
For me, this was not enough to prevent acne--nor do I think it's the purpose of the product--but it did a great job of clearing up existing acne without scarring.
This product is super easy to use and didn't irritate my sensitive skin.
February 1, 2018
got jaundiced and saw zero improvement
Like someone else said, this product isn't for people with oily skin, at least from my experience. My skin which I *thought* was oily before got worse than ever on this product - like visibly oily whereas before it was a little more concealable. I had body acne and facial acne - my dr prescribed this for me to use in conjunction with their benzoyl product they had. I heard them tell me about some potential side effects but didn't really pay attention cause that always seems like something that wouldn't happen to me. Anyways, long story short, I didn't notice anything really positive, like no improvement in my cysts, size or frequency. The worst part was that I actually became jaundiced and my mom freaked out, looked up all possible side effects and yup, that was one. She made me promise to stop which wasn't too tough since I wasn't too impressed anyways. I called my dr and explained what was going on, said I didn't like being on prescription stuff and asked if they could recommend some other brand I could just get myself without a prescription. I thought I had tried them all honestly. But she gave me a recommendation of a brand called Ninja. Since she had heard good things (but hadn't tried it herself), I thought I might as well give it a try. I am happy to report that after 1 month of using it, my skin is clearer than after 3 months of using Clindamycin - like I haven't had a pimple or a cyst in nearly 3 weeks. Their benzoyl product was way more effective than the one I was using during my Clindamycin days (although it did bleach my sheets, which was a bummer. I'll take that for clear skin though!).
January 30, 2018
Bad for people with oily skin (or maybe everyone IDK)
Like someone else said, this product isn't for people with oily skin, at least from my experience. My skin which I *thought* was oily before got worse than ever on this product - like visibly oily whereas before it was a little more concealable. I had body acne and facial acne - my dr prescribed this for me to use in conjunction with their benzoyl product they had. I heard them tell me about some potential side effects but didn't really pay attention cause that always seems like something that wouldn't happen to me. Anyways, long story short, I didn't notice anything really positive, like no improvement in my cysts, size or frequency. The worst part was that I actually became jaundiced and my mom freaked out, looked up all possible side effects and yup, that was one. She made me promise to stop which wasn't too tough since I wasn't too impressed anyways. I called my dr and explained what was going on, said I didn't like being on prescription stuff and asked if they could recommend some other brand I could just get myself without a prescription. I thought I had tried them all honestly. But she gave me a recommendation of a brand called Ninja. Since she had heard good things (but hadn't tried it herself), I thought I might as well give it a try. I am happy to report that after 1 month of using it, my skin is clearer than after 3 months of using Clindamycin - like I haven't had a pimple or a cyst in nearly 3 weeks. Their benzoyl product was way more effective than the one I was using during my Clindamycin days (although it did bleach my sheets, which was a bummer. I'll take that for clear skin though!).
December 31, 2017
the only thing that works for my cysts
when I was first prescribed Clindamycin, I wasn't very enthusiastic about it as it kept leaving my skin feeling waxy and, frankly, gross. I stopped using it the way my dermatologist told me to (I was supposed to put it on every morning but of course I can't go to school like that) and I started putting it topically on my cysts a couple of times a day and also leave it overnight. and that really works! but what's even better, it fixes my dermatillomania excesses. I have an ugly habit of picking at my cysts and they end up looking SO bad. I put Clindamycin on the damaged skin and it seems to take out all the pus and cleans the wound and makes it heal faster. it is definitely worth giving a try, works wonders for me
August 21, 2017
Clindamycin & BP.
26 year old female. I have been using this lotion along with the BP from the Acne.org Regimen for a little over a week. **My derm. suggested that I use both products together, equal parts so the skin doesn't get used to the Clindamycin. She explained that over time the skin can get used to the lotion and it won't be as effective. I also found that since I was already used to using the BP every morning, addition the Clindamycin wasn't as harsh as other people have mentioned. I was also prescribed Doxycycline 100mg to take twice a day. I was on Accutane for 9 months 9 years ago which proved AMAZING results. Naturally, my acne came back and it was horrible. I started on the Regimen and was following the instructions to a tea which helped control my acne 80%. I also realized that my diet had a HUGE impact on my cystic acne. I went back to the dermatologist two weeks ago because my acne was so bad I wouldn't rest my face on the pillow because the pimples would pop and it would HURT. My regimen now is as follows: wash with the cleanser from the regimen, apply equal amounts on the BP and the Clindamycin (twice a day), moisturize with Cetaphil (for acne prone skin and SPF30). At night I moisturize with the lotion from "THE REGIMEN". So far, I have had no issues with this regimen and actually my acne is way better to the point that I can rest my face down without it hurting and it's only been 1.5 weeks. I will come back and give an update after a month.
June 24, 2017
Didn't work for me
I have been struggling with acne on my face, back and chest for around 5 years (12 to 17) and this product was the first thing my doctor prescribed. This gave me an IB that lasted for about 3 weeks and then my skin returned to what it had been before I started. Nevertheless, I continued use until I found that my skin had become super sensitive to pretty much everything. I started getting pimples everywhere - in places I had never had them before. I finally stopped clindamycin after 3 months when my skin just kept on getting worse and worse.