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
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.
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
June 16, 2017
At first skeptical, but it works!!
I am struggling with acne since 2013 until now. It is a combination of cystic acne and nodules and almost all of my breakouts are containing pus; which hurts af. Besides that, my acne is also triggered badly by stress and PMS. So last month, I was trying to use Tidact, another alternative for Clindamycin as it also contains 11.9mg of Clidamycin Phosphate. However, when I first bought it I wore it a few times and stopped because there is no effect whatsoever on my breakouts. I am desperate to find a quick solution. Within the past few weeks, my acne on jawlines and below the chin got worser and worser. I have tried almost everything. Honey, turmeric, lemon, sea salt water. You name it. But no avail. So I'm giving Tidact another shot and wore it continuously for 2 weeks; one time in the morning under my makeup and one time at night. And currently yeah, it works! The breakouts are starting to diminish and leaving only the red, flat acne scars! If you want to use this product, believe me; patience is the key. :) In one of the successful review, it takes 6 months to banish acne completely by using this product. It also works well with gentle facial cleansers such as Cetaphil. For the acne scars I am using Bio-Oil as it works well for me.
May 10, 2017
Product used: Clincitop (Clindamycin Phosphate Gel)
The thing that changed my life, "temporarily".
Clinictop is a topical antibiotic which only contains Clindamycin Phosphate.
I have moderate to severe acne which became Cystic a couple of months before I had started this treatment.
I started using it and noticed improvements within days, my Acne was less aggressive and was fading away, I went from multiple pimples to only getting one or two in the 2-3 weeks of application. By a whole month my Acne had vanished completely, didn't even have a single pimple for 2 months straight. I did wonders and changed my life until it stopped working, why? Well, my fault. It's an antibiotic and Acne bacteria developed a resistance against it. I stopped using the cream for 2 weeks and only applied 2.5% Benzac. I now use Clinictop in the Afternoon as a middle ground between my Day and Night BP regime.
Results so far look promising and hopefully BP will help stop the Bacteria developing a resistance against Clidamycin. I think it's best to use Clinctop for 1 month and then gradually start using BP as well. Bacteria takes 3-4 months to stop Clindamycin from working so it's best to have BP as an extra Bacteria killer.
I used Clinctop twice a day and noticed joint pain after 3 months as I run a lot, I wasn't able to run as much as I used to but joint pain was a passable side-effect. Did not notice anything else.
Another thing I changed was my diet with the application of Clinictop. It consisted of a good amount of Vitamin-A rich ingredients, note that I noticed zero changes in cutting down dairy, in fact I increased my dairy level in order to bulk-up with Whey intake. Cutting down dairy could help but not for me.
Although there is a lot of debate on this subject but I think what you eat is highly essential to a clear face especially if you know what to avoid. I haven't eaten anything fried since the last 5 months and couldn't stress how much that helped me. Clinictop worked great for me and I'm sure it will continue to work BP now being in my regimen.
December 31, 2016
Working For Me
So I have mild acne--whiteheads on my forehead and on my chin, and also a few cysts here and there on my chin.
I had been using proactive for about 5 years, and it worked, but over the past few months or so the proactive just stopped working. I would get a new cyst weekly, and it would be so painful. I finally scheduled an appointment with the dermatologist and he prescribed clindamycin (the watery solution).
The first week I used it, I got a terrible breakout. It's as if all the acne that was "dormant" suddenly erupted, and my face was full of cysts and acne and it was the absolute worst it had ever been.
But then after about two weeks it started to get better.
Right now, my face is more or less completely clear, the spots are clearing up, I don't have any cysts, and I'm even noticing that my hyperpigmentation is getting better (maybe that's because of my vitamin E pills, I don't know).
So yeah, I've only been on clindamycin for about three weeks now but my face is finally back to normal for the time being.
As the dermatologist told me, "It will get worse before it gets better. Expect to see results in 2-3 months."
October 10, 2016
Zindaclin works fast!
Hi folks! Just started using zindaclin, which was prescribed by my gp on Wednesday, and since then I have noticed that my spots have diminished considerably - there's only one left on my nose but I'm sure that'll go soon, too. However, I am still left with a lot of inflammation (I have inflammatory acne) but I hope that the gel will address that as well but I can't complain, as It is working so well on my skin, aside from the drying effect but I use a good moisturiser so it's not that bad. At this point, I am confident that it will control my acne and help reduce the inflammation in combination with lymecycline (also on prescription) but it's way too early to be commenting on the effect(s) of the latter as I've only been taking it for a few days. Anyway, zindaclin definitely works at getting rid of spots, and I highly recommend it to all those who have papules and pustules like me. Thumbs up!
July 9, 2016
It works!
I recently started using this in combination with other things to combat moderate inflammatory acne after taking oral steroids for a medical condition. It has really helped the inflammation! I know this is a temporary fix, but hopefully my other treatments will kick in before this stops working (Tretinoin, Spironolactone, Finacea, Ortho-Cyclen). Highly recommend the Fougera Clindamycin Gel (non-comedogenic), but be careful of the Lotions, they often include pore clogging ingredients!
April 10, 2016
Great!
I was put on this for mild hormonal break outs.
It has worked great!
No drying. No side effects at all.
I use it once in the morning and once at night.
With in two days,I started seeing results. Now I continue to use it with very few new break outs.
I have struggled for years...and who knew it was this simple to help my issue!
I'm going to have my son use this now. I was the guinea pig...now that I know it works,I want him to use it also.
Highly recommended to anyone having these same issues!
January 30, 2016
Product used: Faceclin (Clindamycin (1%) and Nicotinamide (4%) Gel)
huge impovement in my acne
very very effective. Differencecan be seen in single use itself.