Since I was 11 or 12 I've had acne issues - it started out mild but eventually my skin became oily and filled with acne; Now 18 years old, I've tried ProActive, Clearasil, and now this AcneFree system.
First of all, let me say: Don't waste your time on ProActive. Of the three I mentioned above, it was the least effective. ProActive is just basically watered-down Clearasil, which is great for use on mild acne.
However, for moderate to severe acne, I highly recommend this product. I've been using it for a little more than two weeks and, while my face is not completely free of acne (although I suspect it will be soon), it is much less irritated and my skin does feel softer. I don't have many bumps, just red blotches where the acne used to be. These mild blotches are going away each passing day.
HOWEVER, I must state: while this product is great for severe acne and works well (yes, better than ProActive, in my opinion) I would NOT recommend using it for mild acne or as some kind of skin care treatment. These are POTENT chemicals that you are putting on your face/chest/back, not some mild antibiotics.
Now, my skin has been very tolerant to acne medications thus far, and I have not experienced any itching, peeling or irritation. However, this product did BURN around my eyes. DO NOT USE IT WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR EYES! THEY SAY IT WILL BURN, AND THEY MEAN IT!
The third step of the morning routine, which I believe in the repair lotion, is a gritty, sandpaper-feeling substance. In the beginning, it stung when I put it on because of its rough texture and the fact that my skin was sensitive due to the acne. However, once your skin begins to clear up, it won't bother you so much anymore. For a week or two, you just have to soldier on and deal with it. It is also possible that it will dry your skin out. What many reviewers don't understand, however, is that this is SUPPOSED to happen. That is how Benzoyl Peroxide and other acne medications work - they dry out the affected area to kill the bacteria and other impurities that cause acne. If you get mild dry skin, that means it is WORKING! If you hate the feeling of dry skin, however, use an oil free or low-oil moisturizer. It will make your skin softer while also not impeding the effect of the acne medication.
Overall, I recommend this product to anyone with moderate to severe acne. This is a very powerful system; to put it in perspective, ProActive and Clearasil have 3-4% Benzoyl Peroxide whereas this system uses 10%. It is a very powerful, potent system. Use it wisely, and don't be afraid to reduce how often you use it if it irritates your skin. Your skin will gradually become used to it and the burning or irritation will decrease. However, I sincerely must stress to not use this around your eyes - my skin had not become irritated with anything else before, and when I applied it around my eyes, it burned. I don't mean stung, I mean burned, where there were dark red circles around my eyes (they went away in about 2 days, but were tender to the touch).
Also, it's not exactly perfume - I notice a few reviewers gave it a bad review because it smelled bad. Yeah, it doesn't smell the best, but the smell wears off once the lotion has been absorbed into your skin. As long as you're more interested in losing acne than how it smells, it shouldn't bother you. AcneFree Severe Acne Treatment System
I only started breaking out with acne in my early thirties. After trying the Loreal adult acne system for 2 months & Proactiv for 6 months with minimal results, I decided to give this a try. Yes, it made my skin very dry the first few weeks but I used a moisturizer over it kept using it and got fantastic results. I had the hard, large painful nodules on my face and this not only cleared them but I don't even break out anymore. One kit lasted me 6 months and my skin is soft & smooth. After the acne went it away, it did leave behind the black marks but Avon's skin brightener faded those out almost overnight. I highly recommend this product.
First off I want to explain that I have had terrible acne off and on (mostly on though) for the past 8 years. I had to be put on Accutane my sophmore year for 6 months in high school and then again my freshman year of college for another 3 months. I have been struggling ever since then and needed an alternative to dermatoligist bills and prescriptions for acne treatment.
I was having extremely painful and frequent breakouts in the later half of last year and in early November I happened to stumble upon this product. I had my doubts because I had already given Proactiv a couple of tries in the past.
The first week of using the 4 products in the package my face became EXTREMELY dry! At first I was worried because it would always be a little red and irritated for the first hour or two after going through the routine. However, within 4 days ALL of my blemishes (big and small) had cleared up! Within a couple of weeks my skin even became smoother, softer, and more even-toned. Trust me, if you have problem skin and want to try something new, this product is definitely worth a shot!
Also, I love that you can buy this in pretty much any Walgreens and Walmart so it's very convenient...no waiting for it to be delivered. I purhased mine at Walmart for $20-something in November 2006 and still have more than half remaining of each product in the pack.
Thank you University Medical for making an affordable product that actually works! Best of luck to all of you who are struggling with acne...and don't mark this one off your list!
Let me start this out by stating that I am in my 30's and have tried every acne product known to man for about 15 years. I have seen a dermatologist, resorted to birth control and used everything from neutrogena to murad, as well as proactiv. None of these worked for me, and most actually made my skin worse.
When you're in your 30's and are STILL dealing with acne, you start to wish for wrinkles, because who has wrinkles and acne, right?!?! I was starting to think I would be one of the few dealing with both, and that was a pretty depressing prospect.
I usually check out reviews on everything before I buy it, but when I saw this product at target, and saw that it was marketed specifically for severe acne, I bought it without knowing a thing about it (sidenote: this product was 21.99 there).
I know it sounds crazy, but I saw a difference in my skin the next day, after only applying it before I went to bed. Prior to purchasing this, I had just had a terrible experience with Burts Bees acne products, which had made my skin red, even more oily, and had produced terrible pre-pubescent breakouts along both sides of my chin. After one application of acne free, the redness was reduced significantly, and some of my more painfull bumps had gone down in size...which is huge.
I was ecstatic, but had experienced these results with other topical treatments, only to be let down a week or so later, when my skin would eventually return to its angry self. So I waited two weeks before sharing my review.
It is now three weeks after starting application, and my skin has honestly never been so clear. I still have a few bumps, but compared to what I was dealing with before, I'll take them. Because this is a benzoyl peroxide based product, after a few weeks my skin became really tight, and that led to a few minor bumps. I started using an oil free, fragrance free moisturizer (olay regenerist), and that cleared everything up.
My husband has remarked on how much brighter my skin looks, and I am over the moon. I have even gone to the grocery store without makeup (and not wanted to die of humiliation). If you have skin like mine, you know what a huge, amazing thing this is.
Prior to using acne free, I had small bumps, whiteheads, and periodic cystic bumps that were super painful. It may not have looked severe to other people, but it felt pretty darn severe to me after dealing with it for so long. I would absolutely, whole heartedly reccomend this product to anyone dealing with acne. Just invest in some great moisturizer if you have sensitive skin.'
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