Acne.org Products
Topical Keratolytic
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Due to its antimicrobial properties and ability to absorb skin oil and dry out the skin, sulfur has been used for thousands of years for various skin conditions, including acne. However, it is normally reserved for noninflammatory acne (whiteheads and blackheads), because it doesn't work as well as other over-the-counter medications for inflammatory acne (papules and pustules).
Topical Keratolytic
How to Get It
This is an over-the-counter treatment. Here are some places you can find it online.
Used Sulfur? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
October 5, 2012
Product used: Murad (Acne Complex)
Cons:
spot treatment left terrible marks behind
used this when i was younger... still have scars from the horrible acne and scabs it gave me. i used it for a couple of months, and at that time my acne was moderately severe. the spot treatment is what caused the burns, scabs, and now scars, they have faded, and are gone with some makeup, but i have one above my eyebrow that i have cut bangs to cover. I did not apply too much, it just caused a horrible reaction. also, my skin never stopped "purging" even though i was on it for a little under three months.
August 13, 2012
Product used: De La Cruz (Sulfur Ointment)
Pros:
works well
inexpensive
no extra ingredients (dyes/perfumes)
Cons:
dries skin if you leave it on too long
I tried this when the drug store didn't have my usual sulfur treatment (Acnomel) and I like it! It works about as well and you get a lot for the money. It's a mask, not an ointment, and it's pretty sticky so I apply it 10 minutes before my shower, where it's easier to wash off. It's a bit of a pain trying to wash it off in the sink. Definitely moisturize after you use it! I've experimented with leaving it on longer than the recommended 10 minutes and my skin is pretty oily so that works for me. I got a little bit of peeling but the dead skin just rubbed off and there was no raw or red skin underneath. It seems to be most effective if you can leave it as long as possible but not so long that it makes your skin peel later, which requires a bit of trial and error. I've also tried using it as a spot treatment ointment, I get a little dab on my fingertip and apply it to a pimple then just leave it. If it starts to itch later then I wipe it off with a tissue but it doesn't always - sometimes it just sort of soaks in and it doesn't bother me. That works for me but it might dry your skin! I definitely recommend using it as directed on a small patch of skin first to see how it is for you. I think this might even be better than Acnomel, it doesn't dry my skin quite as much as Acnomel does. I'm kind of alternating between the two at the moment. My regimen definitely works better when it includes sulfur.
June 13, 2012
Product used: Grisi (Sulfur Soap With Lanolin For Acne)
Pros:
EVERYTHING
- prevents acne
- stops any progression of acne
- makes your skin soo glowy, vibrant, and healthy looking.
- cheap
- non drying or irritating
- leaves behind no film.
- safe for sensitive skin
- can use multiple times a day without dryness (I do morning and night).
- gets rid of acne fast (I use it for my face)
- smells ok and is esthetically pleasing
- Lasts forever
Cons:
NOTHING
This is the BEST purchase I have made for my facial acne. I struggled with acne for years, and never got the results like this. Benzyl peroxide did nothing but damage, salacylic acid was ok, but soon as it got rid of something a new one would form XD. I needed something to get rid of and prevent my acne, and this is the only thing that did that for me (along with tea tree oil, the only other great product I use). Not only that but the other washes seemed to dull out my skin, and soon as I stopped using them and went to this my family has started complementing how gorgeous my skin is, it just glows, isn't oil or dry, and looks so perfect and healthy as its ever been; uhh I'm in love with this. I can just go on and on about how great my skin is because of this. My acne is gone, I don't get new ones, and my face is so pretty with a healthy glow (no more dullness). PLEASE TRY THIS
Its cheap and lasts a long time.
June 6, 2012
Product used: Proactiv Solution (Refining Mask)
Pros:
Easy to find on EBay
LOW price $5.00/2.5oz average
One tube lasts a very long time
Diverse use as either a mask, overnight
treatment, or spot treatment.
Doesn't stop working
Sulfur based
Cons:
None :)
Although it's not a miracle tube....if you have hormonal acne, you need to treat that at it's source..this is just a topical treatment.
This is the only over the counter acne product which I would recommend to acne sufferers. As someone who has struggled with an on again off again acne battle over the last five years, I can safely say this is the only product which has continuously worked for me. I put the mask on at night all over my face before I go to bed sometimes if I feel like I need to, or just on problem areas. It makes little blemishes almost disappear and bigger ones come to a head much faster. It's very very good for oily skin (which I suffer from in the T zone), and has completely destroyed the blackheads on my nose :) The mask does have a distinct odor to it, but I kind of like it, and it's not a very strong odor. The product has done so much for me that the smell just calms me down haha. Honestly it does help to take a break from using it once in a while to let your skin breathe, and so your skin doesn't get too used to having so much extra help. I find if I stop using it for an extended length of time (a few weeks altogether), my skin breaks out...and then when I start using it again after an extended length of time...I do get an initial breakout as it pulls out the gunk from deeper under my skin. So essentially...if you have developing zits...they will come out to play sooner if you use this mask. Overall I would absolutely recommend this product. It's Sulfur based (6%) and is the ONLY acne product I use. Too many topical acne products can over time make your acne much worse, and cause your skin to develop wrinkles prematurely. I can say from experience that I have tried every over-the-counter treatment for acne...they all stopped working. THIS NEVER HAS :) and my skin has had a chance to recover from all the chemicals I tried pouring on it to get rid of a problem I needed to fix internally. While it doesn't prevent hormonal acne, it sure does a great job combating the results on the surface <3 Good luck guys :)
January 12, 2012
Product used: Proactiv Solution (Refining Mask)
Pros:
Dries out Pimples
Cons:
Not that Effective
feels like it stops after a while of use
I have been using this for over 5 months and it does work from time to time but with little to no results and sometimes it just feels like it stops working
January 11, 2012
Product used: Grisi (Sulfur Soap With Lanolin For Acne)
Pros:
Cheap
Works really fast
soothing
great product
Cons:
can irritate your skin if you overly wash your face..I'm talking more than twice a day.
This product is truly amazing. I don''t usually write reviews for products but I felt this acne soap deserved to be recommended. You see, I was on the regimen and it didn't work for me...it was unfortunate because everybody has something good to say about it however, it didn't work for me at all....anyways, this product needs to be acknowledged because it WORKS. Try it, promise you wont be disappointed. ;]
P.S. you can buy it at your CVS Pharmacy.
Email me if you have any questions: ciszekkrystyna@[link removed]
November 4, 2011
Product used: KAVI (Coral KAVI)
Pros:
None
Cons:
Simply didn't work. Tried it for months, and it did nothing for my acne. Ordered extra stuff from the company to supplement my treatment to no avail.
The reviews on this website for Kavi seem too good to be true, and I'm guessing that's the case -- they're not from real customers.
September 14, 2011
Product used: KAVI (Coral KAVI)
Pros:
Reduction in oil production
Clearing acne
Gentle
Inexpensive
Cons:
Have to order online
I have been struggling for adult acne for the past four years, which frustrated me to no end as I was relatively clear through my teenage years. I am also a skin picker, so the bad breakouts only got worse and worse. I had been at wit's end, until I recieved the KAVI Coral... AMAZING! After trying everything, including the extremely pricey EPIONCE brand products sold to me by a derm, all I needed was this little pink bar and a good non-comodegenic moisturizer. Who knew it could be so simple? Results: Immediately upon usage, your skins feels tights and really CLEANSED, but not overdry. Now, nearly a month later, I am seeing a drastic improvement in my skin. In fact, I have actually gone three days now without a pimple popping up. That is incredible to me, as new pimples were a daily occurrence for me before. Without new blemishes, I have no reason to pick. Now all I need to do is sit back and wait for the old stuff to heal up. To speed the scar and dead skin removal, I have been using a Salicytic Acid Peel 20% once a week (BEWARE: very drying at first, but your skin will get used to it). If you want to give the Coral KAVI a try, but don't want to start with three bars, you can buy them individually on Amazon. That's what I did, but now I wish I would have ordered at least three! Still, as I said, I have been using this product for nearly a month, and I still have about 80% of the bar left, even with 2x + daily washes. Some people may find it pricey for "just a bar of soap", but TRUST ME, it's not. For $8 or less a bar, you can't find a better cleanser for oily/combo, acne-prone skin.
August 1, 2011
Product used: Prosacea (Rosacea Treatment Gel)
Pros:
Eliminated forehead bumps
Calmed redness
Smoothed complexion
Not drying
Cons:
Funky smell
I use BP to control for pimples, but have always had a problem with redness on my cheeks and severe blanket of tiny bumps on my forehead. I've tried everything for them. This finally did the trick within a day of starting use!!
July 18, 2011
Product used: Murad (Acne Complex)
Pros:
Reduced acne for about 2 days (not by much)
Cons:
Cystic acne
Horrible breakouts
Oily skin
I used this acne kit for about a month and a half and it basically destroyed my skin. I went from having a couple white heads and regular pimples to big, red cystic acne. I still have scars from what it caused. Don't use it.
Pros:
cleansed well
toner was nice