Comparing Differin vs Epiduo Forte

For Acne: I had mild to moderate acne. By that I mean 3-4 active blemishes at any one time. But the marks they leave behind had accumulated since they take so much longer to disappear so I decided to do something about it. I have been using adapelene 0.1% for about 6 weeks now. But for the first 3 weeks I only used it twice a week. My skin cleared up completely. For the past 3 weeks I have increased the frequency to every other night. For the first two weeks my skin wasn't showing much changes. Now it is the third week into this new routine and I am experiencing dryness and irritation around the eyes and mouth. These dry patches would burn slightly when I apply moisturiser or sunscreen. Not the best feeling in the world but bearable. 5 new blemishes have also started popping up. 3 of these were actually small comedones that never really surfaced until now. I suspect the other two were microcomedones deep within. This is a difficult stage but I am determined to power through.

For Acne: The purge I experienced lasted in two different waves from end of week 2 to week 6. Yikes. However, the acne from it was no worse than what I had been dealing with already on some of my worse breakouts. I seemed to be able to combat inflammation by using a benzoyl peroxide face wash and aloe vera gel as part of my routine. For me personally, dryness and skin flaking was far worse than the purge. It took about 7 weeks for my skin to adjust to adapalene, and even with two moisturizers layered on, I had the worst dryness and slight irritation. That said, once I hit 8 weeks, noticeable improvements started happening. About half of my comedones are gone, dryness is now manageable, and hyperpigmentation scars are starting to fade a little bit. I expect all of these areas to keep improving now that I'm getting closer to the 12 week mark. This was a process that had growing pains, but I am so glad to have stuck with it. Be patient, it will reward you!

For Acne: Epiduo Forte is probably one of the most effective topicals I've used to date (suffered from hormonal cystic acne for 8 years now) and definitely more effective than Epiduo. I've never written a review for an acne medication before so trust me when I say I rely on Epiduo Forte as an effective spot treatment. I find this topical to really help in thwarting those angry cystic pimples and stop em in their tracks. If I get them early and apply the Forte they usually go away or just turn into a regular/smaller pimple with a head. The only thing I hate about it is that it makes the area where you apply the epiduo forte EXTREMELY dried out and flaky, which sucks for a foundation-wearer like myself. The flaking doesn't fully subside til about a week so if you want your makeup to look smooth try not to apply the night before or just apply a very thin layer.

For Acne: My daughter's dermatologist prescribed this after she went off of accutane and started getting breakouts again. Accutane cleared her skin up amazingly, but we didn't want to put her back on it if it wasn't necessary. Epiduo Forte really does work. She has been using it for 10 months and her skin looks as clear as it did after 6+ months of accutane. She does still get breakouts, but nothing like before. And she has tried many prescription topical treatments and pills over the years, and none of those worked. She has also managed to make one bottle last 10 months, so she's probably not using enough, but she does say it is very drying. It's very expensive, so be sure and ask your doctor if they know of any rebate programs for it. We get it for $75 after insurance discount and rebate.