This is one of the very few products I've consistently purchased again and again over the years. A staple for me. I'm so surprised to see it hasn't gotten better reviews on MUA.
My skin is generally good, yet almost every day, a new pimple will raise its ugly head, especially along my hairline. This cream clears most pimples within a day or two, and often enough, overnight, with one single application.
A bit expensive, but I don't think twice about it coz the results are there. Also I estimate a tube lasts me six months.

I'm a fan of a lot of the LRP products so when this came to CVS I was so excited to try it! So excited that I think I just expected way too much. This product doesn't work on already existing blemishes but if you catch one before it comes to the surface, it does do its job. Dried the heck out of my skin though, to the point of being chapped and painful. Very surprising because I feel like at times I could use acetone on my face and still be oily. I think I'm going to stick to the good old standby drugstore generic 10% spot treatment.

I got this as a sample, something which I'm thankful for now considering that I got the same bad reaction as someone described here below. I can have sensitive skin at times but it tolerates AHAs and is generally clear. I however tried this product on some stubborn small pimples on my neck and one of my cheeks. The first night I applied it the pimples actuallly looked a bit smaller the morning after. But when I tried it the second night it gave me a very red rash both on my neck and on my cheek. So ladies, just beware, if you don't have major acne problems to begin with maybe it's not worth the risk of getting rashes instead ...

Well, this does help with blemishes but I also find if I am not careful it can really burn my skin badly. I have sensitive skin but usual have been able to use BP lotions at 5% with less irritation. Maybe it is another ingredient in there that bugs me. I think the price is absolutely ridiculous for what you get! I will most likely use it sparingly as needed simply because I'll feel like it was a waste of money if I don't. It works best for me applied as a disinfectant after extracting a blemish so more don't pop up. It absolutely does the job in that respect. I will NOT buy this one again.

This product is "ok" - wouldn't say its great.
I have been using it quite regularly for about one and a half months now.
Takes about 4 days to clear whiteheads - BUT the scar still remains.
Not too sure if I would purchase again.

I went to shoppers drug mart hoping to find a great product to help clear the breakout I was having since none of the stuff I used at home worked. I saw this La Roche-Posay Effaclar kit which came with 5 little bottles of different acne treatments ; a gel 15 mL , this cream 15 mL , toner 15mL , lotion 5mL , and an anti-redness lotion 5mL. All these bottles we're smaller then my pinky finger for $20.
I used this breakout corrector on my pimples and it didn't help at all. I was disappointed because I thought this would definitely work considering La Roche-Posay is a pretty expensive brand but nooope it didn't.
:(

Great acne buster... HOWEVER, it does leave my skin a little raw after it's effects... like a bad patch of dry skin.
I use quite a lot of this but feel that I should cut down so that my skin does not become somewhat "immune" to its' ingredients.
As with any acne buster, this cream loses efficacy after a couple of months so I switch it up to keep it effective!

This product gave me a bad rash in the spots where I applied it. Be careful if you have a sensitive skin because this product contains benzoyl peroxide.

This helped reduce the size of my cystic acne and whiteheads. It dried out the whiteheads in 1-2 days and helped to exfoliate the dead skin cells away. It did not seem to cause new breakouts. However I still see red brownish marks even though the painful bump is gone, and I am still waiting for these marks to fade away after using it for ~2 weeks.
***UPDATE*** I found it after a while to be too drying to my skin and not that effective on certain acne.The scar marks take a longer time to fade away. In fact some of the scars are still there, even after 1.5 months. I might use it occasionally but instead have switched to a 2% salicylic based herbal spot treatment gel that's dermatologist recommended. I think it is working better. I think the Benzoyl peroxide in this product kills the bacteria but also is damaging to the skin, creating a lot of free radicals.

I bought this as an emergency pimple remover before a cotillion ball I had to attend. It worked in minimizing the pimple, but didn't erase it (although I wasn't disappointed, since that would've been a miracle due to its size!)
Generally, it works well if you spot the pimple right away and put it on. If the pimple has been there a while, it's effects are not as pronounced.

Thisis an outstanding acne buster. I've been using it for nearly two years now, and it's been most effective for reducing/clearing pimples --- literally overnight. And it doesn't dry out the skin, even with a liberal application. I try not to overuse it though, for fear that the efficacy will reduce with constant usage, but so far it's been holding up pretty well. One of my HGs!

EDIT: Meh, not so miraculous after all. Still breaking out.
this is my fast-action miracle product. I've only been using it for a week but by the third day it had already soothed and reduced these persistent cystic pimples on my right jawline. I did use this in conjunction with effaclar k though so maybe i cant attribute all the benefits to a.i. Since i'm living at paris in the moment, i was able to get this for about 8 € which i think is not bad at all.
Cons: balls up a bit sometimes, but small price to pay. The packaging is hygienice BUT sometimes the product squeezes out by itself
bottom line: try it. It really worked for me.

this product is awesome. I used to buy it in Paris, but I just found out that the version sold in the US is even better (it has benzoil peroxide- that works even better on acne).
It works in no time and don't dry my skin.

Great spot treatment! It's made those nasty under-the-skin spots that refuse to surface and hurt like hell go away and it's also got rid of the cysts and small patches of acne that I used to experience near my jaw line and parts of my cheeks.
It took me some time to get rid of all of my major spots, but it's very effective. I use this on my spots and blackheads in the morning and evening after cleansing and toning my face but just before moisturising. It's kept my skin very clear and is super-effective on those one-off pimples that you can get from time to time.
Definitely recommend this.
A little pricey, but the tube that I've bought has seemed to have lasted me forever. Will buy again if ever this tube runs out!

great all round little product. I got it for £6 on ebay and do not regret it. Previously I used the new garnier ball treatment however found it too drying and it did not make that much of a difference.
The packaging is great and hygienic, a subbtle, lovely fragrance and it is not over-drying which is important. It really speeds up the spot rippening process. I applied it to a newly formed pimple last night and in the morning it had come to the top layer of the skin and was ready to be removed hygienically. Then I applied it again after that and the next morning the mark was reduced in size, colour and was healing nicely. As nearly my entire face has a spot it is not over-drying or irritating for me and I have an oily t-zone and the rest is normal.
As you only need a tiny amount, it is worth the money. Love this brand

I'm going thru my second one. I got the larger one this time. This is an AMAZING product but I'm having my doubts. Perhaps my skin needs to settle for it to work again. Been using it nonstop for over a year now. It's wonderful, smells great, very mild and it helps!!!
But I definitely think I need to rest from it a little bit.

Pretty good. I'm impressed that Effaclar is this effective with the low amount of salicylic acid in it. I've used other salicylic products that were so drying on my face that it re-broke out from irritation. I think this strikes a nice balance between treatment and gentleness, so if you have sensitive acne prone skin, maybe ask for a sample of this and try it out. Nice scent, hygenic packaging. Works well in combination with my new cleanser regime (honey, oatmeal, nutmeg), and I haven't experienced any white residue. I throw a little sunscreen on top so maybe that cuts down on the white cast. Oddly enough, only my Benefit concealer balls under this, no problems from my other face makeup.

This is most effective on cystic acne. Within 2-3 days it will completly flatten my hormonal cystic pimple I periodiclaly get on my chin. It doesn't seem to do much for blackheads, whiteheads or clogs. It also leaves a white residue and balls up under makeup. As always LRP has packaged this in a great hygenic squeeze tube.

There used to be virtually no well-formulated BHA-only products available in my country while Effaclar A.I. does the trick. I have mild rosacea but get terribly red when using AHAs. Effaclar K is very mild stuff, bordering lack of effectivity on me. But Effaclar A.I. contains BHA as well as LHA, the formulation is indeed non-comedogenic and non-irritating. It also contains some white clay (kaolin), so it may be drying to the skin and rolling under make-up when used too much. I only need a pea-and-a-half-sized amount for my entire face. I use it in the morning, on a clean face, under my sunscreen and make up. What it does: virtually resurfaces my skin, which gets amazingly smooth and clear. I always get lots of whiteheads after waxing my eyebrows and upper lip by an aestethitian, and I mean the whiteheads keep appering even for a week after procedure, to the point I'm wondering if I didn't look better with all the hair on my face instead of all these spots. Here comes Effaclar A.I. and presto, clears them all in 3 days total. They immediately get less red and swollen, dry up by themselves, and there's new smooth skin. No need for squeezing or peeling. Effaclar A.I. has also big impact on the blackheads I get on my nose - I have a bad case, and it makes my pores look much smaller and unclogged most of the time (might not be true at the end of the day). The downside is that it comes in a small tube (but I understand it isn't supposed to be used on entire face) and I'm not sure if it won't be too drying in winter. In summer, it totally rocks.

I hardly get any pimples these days - thank you RoC - but when I do, this product really helps! I noticed its effectiveness for the first time when I squeezed (naughty me) a deep spot just under my jaw line because the lump was driving me mad. I ended up with a red inflamed blemish that just would not fade. Since I am allergic to BP and find most spot gels too drying, I decided to try this and within 3-4 days the redness was completely gone and the blemish faded to nothing. More recently, another cyst appeared in the same area - probably due to habitual use of my fist to support my head - and it felt like a very hard pea under the skin, with visible inflammation. I decided not to play with it and immediately began treatment with Effaclar A.I. twice a day, just on the spot. After 3 days it has reduced in size and cannot be seen at all. The lump is barely there when I touch it and I am confident this product will get rid of it in due course. I have had no undesirable side effects so far; no dehydration of the skin, no nasty residue, no itching or flaking. I do not detect any fragrance either. Although this is formulated for oily skin, I believe it is suitable for all skin types when used as directed. This is a spot treatment so only a tiny amount is needed; it lasts quite a while :o)
Ingredients: Water, DI-C12-13 alkyl malate, cyclohexasiloxane, propylene glycol, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, PEG-100 stearate, glyceryl stearate, cetyl alcohol, PEG-4 dilaurate, PEG-4 laurate, zinc PCA, sodium hydroxide, capryloyl salicylic acid, xanthan gum, acrylates/c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, iodoproponyl butylcarbamate, PEG-4, fragrance.