I saw this acne duo in Allure, so I'd been interested in trying it for awhile, but the exorbitant price of almost 40 bucks coupled with the mixed reviews I'd seen on here for this made me hesitant. Still, I've never had truly clear skin; my acne was never severe, but I always had a few spots here and there that would flare up into painful breakouts every month. My skin is also sensitive, so I was afraid that the LHA and benzoyl peroxide together would irritate my skin. I had been using that 3 step Acnefree kit ( it was the only thing that had worked decently so far) for somewhat clear skin, but I still wasn't completely happy with the results. Then I saw that CVS had marked the Effaclar Duo down to 19.99. That combined with an ugly new cystic pimple made me rush to the drugstore and buy the duo. Let me just say: it was the best 19.99 I've ever spent. I put it on at night, after washing with my Simple facial cleanser, and almost immediately my skin looked better---my pores shrank, the redness faded, and it sank right into my skin instead of going all white and gloopy the way a lot of benzoyl peroxide products do. I was impressed with that alone, but when I woke up to find that pimple completely decimated, I was thrilled. I've never been the type to be excited over a new skincare regime, but I am excited over this! The longest I've ever gone without getting a pimple is maybe 2 days, but I've been using this for 2 weeks with NO BREAKOUTS at all. My skin looks so gorgeous that I haven't even worn a drop of foundation---I don't need to anymore. No acne, no dryness, just clear, toned, radiant skin that I can be proud of. I don't care if it is expensive, the confidence it's given me is worth it. I know I probably sound like a walking advertisement, but I just love this stuff. I've finally found something that I know will take care of my skin no matter what. I've been using it only at night, but even once a day is apparently enough to control my acne. It hasn't made my skin irritated at all, something that I thought would inevitably come with the territory of anything containing BP, and I don't even have to use that much of it, because a thin layer is sufficient. I highly recommend this to anyone with acne who has tried everything, like I did, because this duo works wonders.

This product was not very moisturising for my dry skin and made me break out in spots. I also applied it to the dry skin around my lips and I woke up in the morning with a cluster of blisters there.

I gave it to my mum to try out and she had to wash it off within minutes as it made her face turn red.

I won't put this product near my face, nor buy it again.

it was good for a few days and then i break out. Time to find a new one that would fit my normal combination skin.

My dermatologist told me to use this around this time last year for
my back and face (I have bad back acne and mild face acne) so I started to use it every morning after I shower and wash my face, but it dried out my face so bad and burned every time I used it so I stopped. Lately I have noticed my acne has been getting worse so I decided to stick it out and start using this again. I started about a week ago, putting it on every morning after I wash my face, and it's been hell. My face is completely dried out, and it burns terribly every time I use it. It hurts so bad I cannot put on liquid foundation or do my usual makeup routine. It's almost like putting on sunscreen when you have a sunburn but worse. But, I have noticed that my nose looks a lot better (I get bad acne around it). I will definitely update if I see more changes, I am not going to be too quick to judge considering I haven't been using it long yet.

I've been using this product for the last two weeks and I love it. I've been strugling with breakouts for some time now, so a friend of mine recommended this product for me. I also use the cleansing gel, after which I apply Effaclar Duo. The first week was not that good because my skin dried out like crazy in some areas, but it got used to the product afterwards. My skin is super smooth, my pimples have cleared up, my pores look tightened and cleansed. My scars are still there, but this product doesn't claim to do anything for your scars, so I guess I'm very much satisfied by the results. I will keep using it. I'm curious how will skin look in a month or two. Keep you posted.

I bought this after a recommendation from my best friend. She claims that an whitehead that could never have been extracted, surfaced and she was able to extract it after 2 long years and this, she credited to the use of this product.

I am currently having this terrible nodularcystic acne going on, I have tried salicylic acid, BP and Tea tree .. nothing works.. so I bought this and applied it over the affected areas.

While my acne had dried up, the skin around the acne started to flare up to what appears to be muzzle rash ... sad.. I had to stop this treatment and get those pesky muzzle rash off my muzzle! When I stopped the treatment for a day, a new acne popped up -_- .. but at the same spot where the old acne was.

I will use this as spot treatment moving forward and will update once again! But I am hopeful...

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. It's been amazing for my skin and I wouldn't be without it. I've been using it for six months, and nothing topical has ever worked this well for me.

I'm 41, been suffering with adult acne for years. Last summer, my skin broke out worse than ever. I had cystic acne all along my jawline, neck and spreading onto my cheeks. It was truly awful. None of my usual products were working. I finally went back to the derm. We were running out of options. I've seriously used every prescription topical out there and oral antibiotics. He said I needed to try Acutane. I've always been freaked out by Acutane, but at this point, I was ready to throw in the towel. I needed to wait until after a tropical vacation to start. In the meantime, I stumbled upon the Allure review of Effaclar Duo. Even though peroxide topicals had always dried my skin out big time, and didn't seem to do much else, I decided to try this. I figured what did I have to lose at this point. And I am SO glad I did.

I started out using this twice a day. A little goes a long way, it spread very smoothly on my skin, left no weird residue, absorbed quickly and wears very well under makeup. I kid you not, my cystic acne started clearing up in 3 days!!! Now I know that this doesn't claim to help cysts, but it does for me. Better than any of my sulfur or others salicylic acid products. One tube lasted me 4 months, and once my skin looked better about a week in, I was only applying once at night. So for me, the cost was totally worth it.

I know not every product can work for everyone, but this has been a lifesaver for me. I cannot be without this! I think the action of the acid truly gets the peroxide into my skin, instead of just sitting on top and drying me out. I get a little bit of dryness now, but it has helped by using Josie Maran Cleansing Oil. I think before, my skin was so messed up PH wise because all I was doing was drying it out so severely. Between the salicylic cleanser, the glycolic serum, the sulfur acne treatment, my skin was so messed up it didn't have time to heal. Now I just use a few products. The JM cleanser, Effaclar Duo, a sunscreen moisturizer in the day and at night a moisturizer or Argan or Maracuja oil when I feel really dry.

If you are at the end of your rope, give this a try. It has helped my cystic and regular acne immensely. It saved me from having to go on Acutane. I still get a few pimples here and there, but they never get as inflamed as they used to, and they clear up quickly. Most surprisingly, the acne on my neck has all but disappeared. I used to have at least 10 active cysts going on at all times. Now, I have maybe had 2 in 6 months. That is an insanely dramatic change for me. I'm not embarrassed to be without makeup anymore. I highly recommend this product. Good luck!!!

It's a little too early to place judgment on this product (even though I said yes to buying it again), since I only got in two days ago. I just wanted to chronicle my experience so that other people can form their opinions. I've got oily, acne-prone skin with active pimples and hyper pigmentation, have a little problem with uneven texture and skin tone. I bought the kit that it comes in for $25 (buying the effaclar duo alone would be $25! What a deal). It came full size and had the purifying cleanser (full size) and a 3ml sample of their SPF60 sunscreen. First off, I love the smell...it smells so damn clean! And it doesn't feel too sticky, and it doesn't burn when I put it on my face. It's got the consistency of a serum.The packaging is super hygenic (comes in a tube), and is easy to control the amount of product you use.

First time I used it was the evening before I went to bed. It absorbed completely into my skin within 5-10 mins and I had no irritation, no rednes, no itching, no nothing, so I went to bed. When I woke up though....I had a pimples all over my face that I didn't have days before. I hope this is purging and not just a bad reaction to it....but like I said, a little early to throw in the towel since I've used it a total of 4 times now (morning & evening). I'll updated once I hit the weekly mark, so on and so forth.

**UPDATE**It's been two weeks and I have to say, my face is pretty bad right now...I've been using it twice daily (am & pm) and I have yet to see any improvement. Okay well, that's kind of a lie. I had a cluster of pimples on my chin, and I put it on last night and woke up to just one. I don't see it 'preventing' any new pimples...but it has kind of helped with the ones that have erupted. It hasn't irritated my skin any more..but i'm a little reluctant about this product. I will use it all up, but i'm not sure I will buy it again. continued >>

This stuff effectively treated and got rid of my acne. After seeing several dermatologists for rounds of oral antibiotics and retinoids and seeing my acne not improve, I finally bought this after several samples convinced my skin to improve. I have been acne free since, and six months later, I'm on my second tube.
When I first started using this, the cream burned a little on my skin, but it faded after a few days. After using this cream at night for a week, my skin improved dramatically. Nowadays, I apply a thin layer of this cream all over my face every other night and wait for it to soak into my skin before applying moisturizer. My skin hasn't been this clear for over a decade.

I have been using this and Effaclar K, but now mainly this and I have been getting very good results! My acne isn't fully cleared up, but my skin looks much healthier and radiant! My skin just looks better, and a couple problem areas that are left are also starting to go away. I just use it at night after I shower and apply it all over. It's really top notch stuff for me. It smells ok, it doesn't spread easy, so you have to use generous amounts. This stuff doesn't dry me out at all, it almost feels like a moisturizer. Good luck with finding the right products for you!