I'm a 22 year old whose been battling acne since I was in grade school. I've tried a lot of products, from over the counter drugs to those prescribed by the dermatologists and I have even tried herbal teas. I always wanted to find that "perfect" solution to my problem as I'm sure many are facing as well. And hopefully from my experiences with some of the products I'm going to list here, it could be of help to you.

What you should know:
My skin is on the oily side which means products listed here are more inclined for oily faces like mine. If you have been reading around about products for a certain skin type, you should know that creamy and products with fragrance and such is something you should not use when you have an oily face. Oil-free, and water-based is better.

*please note: Galderma and Stiefel products are usually prescribed by dermas, if possible please see a dermatologist first before using these because it may not be the right product for you.

Topical medicines for acne:
1. Stiefel PanOxyl 5%
If I remember correctly, I think this was the very first gel that I've used. It worked well but the side effect is that it dries your skin too much and I didn't think it's best for me. It's been a very long time since I last use this so it's better if you could look for a better review that says it works for them. As for me, I only used this once so there must be something about it that I didn't like.

2. Stiefel Duac Gel

This works like Differin combined with Benzac. This was the last product prescribed to me by my derma. This could work well for people with combination skin.


3. Galderma - BenZac 5%
This works like PanOxyl, it dries your pimples faster than Differin and might be more effective for (not severe) but somewhere in between severe and mild acne.


4. Galderma - Differin 0.1%
This really worked well for me. It might take a while to see changes but it does lessen your acnes. It also works for the bumps - those painful surfacing of skin that shows before the "yellowish" pus shows up. This is better for mild acnes.

I've tried all of the items listed here, but the one I have bought more than once is the Differin. The problem with my skin is that although one product might work for me, after a few months (at times 6 months), it doesn't work for me anymore so I have to look for another one. It's really tiresome because you cannot be really sure which product really helps you out.

As you might guess, I have no previous experiences in reviewing products. This is my first time, please bear with my very short/vague descriptions for each. But, if there are others who have tried any of these, feel free to share your thought and experiences.

p.s. sorry for the crappy photo, can't use photoshop now so I'm settling on Paint ><