Acne.org Products
Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
56%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Should never be used on its own and for a maximum of 3 months.
Oral Antibiotic
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Antibiotics should be used for a maximum of 3 months, provide only moderate benefit and only to some people, and may lead to side effects and strains of resistant bacteria. Studies do show doxycycline can reduce severe acne in the short term, and as far as oral antibiotics are concerned, it’s usually the go-to, but approach with caution and stay your own advocate.
Oral 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 Doxycycline? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
April 2, 2016
better oil control
My derm prescribed this for me and it did help a lot to control my oily skin. However, I still got cystic acne bumps with this product, and that was a bummer. I then tried minocycline, but discontinued its use after four weeks. I started getting some side effects that I knew had to be from it, so I switched back. It wasn't worth it to me.
March 3, 2015
struggling
I have been on several topical creams and this is the first tablet i could finally get my fricken doctor to give me. I'm 15 and i have constant pimples for about 3 years now. It is so exhausting, they are not as bad as some people's I know but for me they make me so upset i try to avoid mirrors all together to be honest, because when I see it it puts me in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
Anyway so i started doxycycline 2 weeks ago, my doctor gave me 100mg tablets for 7 days and then 50g for the rest. She said i would notice an improvement in 10 days... well thats not right at all because my pimples are worse 2 weeks later. Not sure if its because i am taking such a small dosage, the tablet is about 1/5 size of a 10 cent coin, how can that do anything? Most frustrating thing. Anyway she also gave me epiduo (another cream... what a joy) and i seriously cannot say that either of them are doing a thing. Getting soo exhausted seeing my friends with such clear faces, one of them went of roaccutane and her full face of acne was cleared in a month, I really want to go on it but my mum doesn't want me to.. part of my frustration. Wasting my time with tiny tablets and sh*t creams. Ugh. Please let me know if this is your situation and if this stuff is the classic: "you have to have patience" because i had patience for 8 months on differin so please dont tell me that.
June 8, 2015
My daughter went on Roaccutane at age 12, it honestly is a miracle cure, I see lots of teens with acne, and I wish their parents would put them on roaccutane, it does also take a while however, around 3-4 months from memory to have clear skin, it also heals up any existing scarring
July 21, 2015
My dermatologist prescribed me this antibiotic a few days ago, so I can't say anything about my personal results. However, he did tell me the acne will usually get worse before it gets better, because the bacteria is being drawn out of your skin and onto the surface. Most people who have been on this drug say the acne is at its worst during the treatment at about 4 weeks, and then it starts to improve from their.
February 9, 2015
CLEARED up my face BUT BROKE OUT MONTHS LATER!
Okay, so I never write reviews but this prescription really cleared my face! My break outs got so bad by December of last year that it started affected my life In a negative way. I decided I've had enough so I decided to go to my school doctor and she prescribed me this. I took 100 mg twice daily for two months. The first month I didn't notice much improvement in fact I broke out a bit more ! However, I just finished my second month and I literally only have four pimples left! Of course, I do have some scarring but they are very faint. I would post pictures here but I don't think I can? Anyways I would recommend ! The only side effect I had was that if I took it without food I would get very nauseous, so I had to take it with food. She recently changed me to minocycline for my 3rd month, so I will keep this updated! UPDATE: My face had cleared up and I was elated! So I gradually started to decrease my doses (per my doctor) and everything went smoothly for about three months. However, on the third month after stopping the medication, I started to break out mildly. At first it was a pimple or two there, then about a week later my face started to break out BAD! I broke out on my forehead, cheeks, and chin! I couldn't believe it was happening again. I was horrified! At this point, I started to see at non-prescription treatments and decided to give the acne.org products a try (I will write my review shortly on those products as well).
In the end, I am sad to say that it was only a temporary fix. I stopped the products all together (after decreasing the amount of course) but it all came back. Maybe you're supposed to stay on these pills for a longer period of time? I am not too sure. I hope you guys' experience is better than mine.
December 18, 2014
hopeful
to day starts day two of being on doxy. Its to early to note any changes but reading the reviews, i'm hopeful this will push my treatment faster to get clear skin. I'm getting married in september, at this point my skin is making me second guess my date. around the same time every month, my skin breaks out and i get 1-3 cystic pimples on my face... unfortunately without thinking, i booked my wedding date around the time of month my break outs happen. I'll be updating my review as i go along. I'm also on two other treatments with this; Morning: aczone Night: adapalene cream 1%.
December 19, 2017
howd it go?
September 22, 2014
Very agressive
I started using it a week ago , but was very aggressive with my stomach ... so I decided to stop treatment .. does not work for me, my skin is as always, a bit dry and moderate acne . I am aware that I have not used it for the recommended time , but nothing changed , exept that I now have acne and stomach pain .
January 8, 2014
Not the miracle product I was looking for
Cons:
Still a lot of bumps, closed comedons and open comedons.
My skin became a little more red.
My doctor prescribed me 100mg/dag. After 1 month there was a little improvement, so I decided to keep taking it for another 1/2 months to see whether it keeps improving. In the end I can say it has helped a little. I don't get big cysts anymore, but my face is still full of bumps and closed and open comedons. It wasn't really worth it for me unfortunately:( I didn't experience any side effects by the way, which is a good thing offcourse.
December 17, 2013
Works very well with patience, but cannot use forever
Pros:
It clears skin up well for a couple months
Inexpensive
Cons:
You must take this with some food in your stomach!
It will not put acne in its grave. It will eventually come back
Takes time
During the end of summer 2012 I had really started to break out. I was 19 and just about to start college; I didn't want to scare any ladies away so I started using face washes and other stuff but none of it worked too well. I went to my doctor in October 2012 and he gave me epiduo with doxycycline. I was told to take twice a day for a couple months. At first, my face seemed to have gotten worse but after about 6 weeks I started to notice that my face was really starting to clear up. By the end of January, my face was clear and smooth. Once my prescription ran out, I kept using the epiduo and went back to using face washes to prevent any more acne from sprouting. I had clear skin for about 8 months until I started noticing breakouts again. Even with daily cleaning and epiduo, I had started to get acne as bad as the first time. Basically, the stuff works well but it lacks longevity.
December 16, 2013
Barely works
Cons:
not effective
kills good bacteria in stomach and digestive system
NOT a long term option
Doxycycline did not do much for my acne at all. I noticed no increase in the severity of my acne after coming off this antibiotic. Also, antibiotics wreak havoc on your digestive system causing a whole range of other problems.
August 30, 2013
Good, but no long-term soloution
Pros:
Acne improved
Cons:
didn't completly clear skin
nausea
I used this in conjunction with Epiduo cream, so this is really a review of both together (I will also post under that product). I saw improvement in my skin in a week, although it took about 6-8 weeks to clear as best it could. I also went up a dose towards the end, which improved my skin further. My face is significantly better, however my back and shoulders are not improved at all (possible because I did not use epiduo on them and doxy is not effective on it's own). I am moving on to accutane, as my back still looks terrible, and I do not want to be on antibiodics long term (it has been about 5 months).
August 16, 2013
Didn't agree with my skin
Cons:
Developed cystic acne
Mild headaches/dizziness
Mild hair loss
I was prescribed Doxy, 50mg once a day. I have been on Brenda for over 6+ years now, which worked great for me throughout high school but since leaving and starting full time work I had developed acne around my mouth and jawline. Within the first week I didn't notice any severe side effects but as the weeks went by I did notice mild hair loss & mild headaches/dizziness. I have long thick hair and I always experience hair falling out as I brush or in the shower but while on Doxy it seemed that more was coming out. The look of my hair hadn't changed though. I didn't experience any stomach pain but I did ensure I took it with food/after eating. Acne-wise, I developed severe pimples all over my face immediately. I had a few small painful bumps before which then had turned into huge red cystic acne. I would breakout EVERYDAY without fail. The pimples would go away and then come back in the same spot, never healing. I was on Doxy for 3 months and since coming off it has made my skin worse. I have acne scarring all over my cheeks and I am still breaking out all over my face. I have been off for 3-4 months now and I am about to take another medication.
Pros:
No side effects
No big cysts anymore