Is Acne Free Right For You?

You may have heard about Acne Free before, it is an acne treatment kit that is fairly well known and is sold online and at major retailers such as Rite-Aid and Wal-Mart.  It was actually developed as a cheaper alternative to Proactiv and contains the same active ingredients.  Acne Free claims its product is superior to Proactiv, however many people have thrown doubt on the claim since both products use the common acne fighting substance benzoyl peroxide as their main acne fighting ingredient.

The Acne Free kit comes with several skin care products, including a cleanser, a toner and a moisturizing lotion.  The three combined are meant to cleanse the skin, hydrate the skin and reduce the pore size and to help heal acne while you sleep.  It is sold as an adult acne solution, but has been used by teens as well with similar results.  Let’s take a closer look at each of the 3 products included in the Acne Free kit:

• Acne Free Cleanser – This is the first step in the process and the cleanser works by removing dead skin cells to open up your pores and by drying out the bacteria inside the pores and pimples.
• Acne Free Toner – This is the second line of cleansing and it is meant to remove left over dead skin cells as well as balancing the remaining cells.
• Acne Free Repairing Lotion – This cream is meant for overnight use and is meant to be left on for a minimum of 5 hours to continue killing bacteria in the pores as well as keeping pores open and clear.  It is meant to be washed off in the morning to keep irritation at a minimum.

The active ingredient in all the Acne Free products is benzoyl peroxide which has long been known to be effective in treating acne breakouts.  Care must be taken with it’s use however as it is also known to be extremely irritating for some people causing dry, red skin, itching and sensitivity to sunlight.  It has even been known to cause increased acne in some people due to a bounce back effect that has been well researched and documented.

In addition to the main active ingredient Acne Free uses several other chemicals that could be harmful to your skin when used long term.  The company even states that it is possible for your acne to get worse before it gets better.  If you aren’t seeing results or your skin is getting extremely irritated it is probably best to discontinue use and consult a dermatologist.

So, lets look at the pros and cons of Acne Free.  On the pro side we have the fact that this is a well known and popular product, it is cheap at just over $20 per kit and the product last a long time.  On the con side we have harsh chemicals, side effects that include extreme drying of the skin, redness, irritation and itching, and cheap ingredients which provide questionable results.

In the end I would have to say that even though the Acne Free system is well known and inexpensive, you will probably be better off finding a product that is more gentle to your skin, even if it costs more.  Not only do you run the risk of making your skin look worse with Acne Free, the drying effect can actually age your skin faster.  Your best course of action is to consult with a dermatologist and let them recommend a suitable acne treatment product for your skin type and acne problem.