Acne.org 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide (BP) Gel

As an acne sufferer, benzoyl peroxide is something that has a permanent place in my daily skincare routine. After years of trial and error, I have determined that it's the only thing that actually works to control my acne. While it's not severe, it's very persistent, which means that I have to continuously treat it in order to keep it at bay. The challenge is finding a BP product that is both affordable and compatible with my current skincare products. This fits the bill!

Acne.org 2.5% BP Gel is a fragrance-free, clear/white, thick gel. It comes in several different sizes, a 2oz. TSA-approved size, an economical 8oz. pump size, and an even more economical 32oz. huge pump size. Since you do use this twice a day, generously, over your entire face,this is a great thing.

After I cleanse and tone, I apply a generous amount of the BP gel and wait for it to dry before moisturizing. What I love most is that it’s very thick, so it actually feels moisturizing as it glides onto your skin. Since it’s gel, it has a nice cool sensation (think aloe vera gel) as it goes on, which is very soothing and even invigorating in the morning. It takes only a few minutes to dry, which is great when you’re in a hurry.

Another thing to note is that it soaks in completely, leaving no film or residue. I have experienced little to no "balling up" of other products with this gel, as opposed to other formulations I have tried. This is a very important factor when you're applying makeup on top of it.

Since 2.5% was proven to be as effective as 10%, i’m very grateful that Dan (of Acne.org) decided to make a high-quality, economical BP gel. There are times when I switch off, since it doesn't work with every single skincare product, but I would definitely continue to repurchase. It keeps me very clear with little to no irritation, which is all I ask of an acne treatment.

Neutrogena On-The-Spot Acne Treatment

In an effort to find a cheaper skincare line, I let myself run out of my new love Solvere, and picked up an AcneFree kit from WalMart. I had tried it years ago and hated it, but it was reformulated and "significantly better than Proactiv," so I decided why not. It ended up breaking me out, and I had no backup BP to use. So, I ran out to the store and grabbed a tube of Neutrogena On-The-Spot (which I will now refer to as OTS), knowing that it's an acceptable, albeit expensive, readily available replacement for the Acne.org BP.

You may be thinking: "Hey, this stuff is $6 a tube and it's a spot treatment, those last forever...that's not expensive!" No, as a spot treatment it wouldn't be, but I planned to use this on my entire face, morning and night, which means that a tube would typically last between one and two weeks depending on how much you use. That ends up being $12-24 monthly, JUST for your treatment....no cleansers, toners, or moisturizers. See what I mean?

OTS is a white (and I hesitate to say this...) "cream." It's not really a cream, IMO. It's more of a lotiony texture with an extremely matte finish. However, it feels greasy (you will need soap, like an oil would) when you're trying to rinse it off your fingers, due to the emulsifying wax NF. So, I'm not quite sure what to describe it as.

The second (inactive) ingredient is bentonite, so I assumed that this would be very drying and oil absorbing...both of which you would want for a spot treatment, but not necessarily the drying part all over your face. Upon application I could definitely tell that it contained a high percentage of bentonite, as it had a very matte finish and acted quite like a mattifier. Though, due again to the emulsifying wax NF, it was very easy to apply as long as you worked quickly before it started to set. I had no problems spreading it around my face and it didn't ball up or anything like that.

I was quite happy with the matte finish since I have VERY oily skin, and I hoped that maybe it would control some of my oiliness. Here's where it got weird for me...

When I applied my moisturizer, it took much longer for it to soak in. As I would rub it in, it would start to get whiter, presumably from the OTS "reactivating." I would allow a couple seconds for it to absorb a little, then I would rub it in a bit more, and eventually it would soak in. The downfall to this is that I prefer my treatments to stay in place and my moisturizer to glide easily over them, and soak in without me having to disrupt the layer of treatment to make the moisturizer absorb. Also, as the moisturizer finally absorbed, if I didn't blend out the edges right away, there would be a white line that didn't want to move, just like when applying the OTS itself.

I think this can all be blamed on the bentonite, as it forms a layer on the skin that doesn't absorb...it just sits there absorbing oil and drying the skin. So where a normal treatment would soak in and be gone by the time you applied moisturizer, OTS was still partially there, dried, and waiting to be reactivated by the moisturizer. Hence the whitening and resistant blending of the edges when the moisturizer finally started to dry. However, none of this seemed to affect the results, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Even weirder, is how it reacted with my makeup primer. Even though the finish after moisturizer was still a bit matte, when I applied my silicone primer, it was a bit hard to spread and felt super heavy. I would venture to say that this is also the bentonite. I can only guess that it absorbed some of the moisturizing ingredients from my moisturizer before they went into my skin, which made more of a layer. After I finished applying my makeup it was very dewy and I felt that no amount of powder would fully mattify my skin. Not exactly what I need with my oily skin...

The results I experienced with this, though, were really surprising! I felt like it actually seemed to work the best of all the different BP's I have tried, even all the micro-crystal ones. Perhaps this is because it is a spot treatment and therefore more drying, but it didn't dry my face out one bit. From the first day I started using it, it was repairing the damage AcneFree had done, and rapidly clearing my skin. I had zero breakouts until a few days in.

All in all, I would definitely use this again at night. It did ball up overnight where my face rubbed against the pillow, but it didn't affect my results. I definitely wasn't a fan of it under makeup though, so I can't say I would use it in the morning unless it was an emergency like this time. I also think it would be a fantastic (and not overdrying!) spot treatment, so that's how I will use up the remainder of my tube.

Do I recommend it? Yes...as both an all-over treatment and spot treatment. Since it dries fast and doesn't play well with makeup or moisturizers, it does require a bit of patience if you're using it all over, though. You can't just slap it on and go. As I mentioned above, it can be a bit expensive if you are like me and need BP in quantity to achieve clear skin. If you only need a pea size of most treatments, this would be great for you. If you're only going to use it once a day, definitely choose to do so at night!

Solvere Four Step Acne Clearing Kit

I generally hate kits because the products run out unevenly and I feel like you have to use less than you need to clear your skin, just to make the kit last for the amount of time it's supposed to. Not the case with this kit, and out of all the Proactiv-esque kits I have tried, this is my favorite.

I bought mine from Dermstore (with a 15% off code) and ended up paying $34.72 for the kit, which is a one months supply. It's about $41 full price, depending on where you pick this up. Yes, it's a little on the pricey side when you compare it to Acne.org and other similar systems, but it does include a toner which Acne.org does not and a moisturizer which Proactiv does not.

It's only been about a week, but I have to say, I am really loving this kit. It's everything I wanted Acne.org to be, and more. It incorporates glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and BP in soothing formulations that don't dry or irritate the skin.

Step 1: Solvere Acne Clearing Cleanser, is a thick, amber-colored gel which to me, smells like baby shampoo. It creates a nice lather that removes all traces of dirt, oil, and makeup without leaving my skin feeling tight and dry. It doesn't leave any kind of residue behind, just clean and fresh skin. It combines glycolic acid along with 2% salicylic acid, formulated with green tea extract and zinc PCA to soothe skin and help with inflammation.

Step 2: Solvere Acne Clearing Toner: The toner pads are wonderful, I am very glad they chose to make toner pads rather than include a bottle of toner like Proactiv does. There's virtually no waste, and the toner is guaranteed to last through the kit. Like the cleanser, the toner combines glycolic acid along with 2% salicylic acid, formulated with the astringent benefits of witch hazel and the soothing, anti-inflammatory effects of green tea extract and zinc PCA.

Step 3: Solvere Acne Clearing Gel: The gel is similar to Acne.org's, 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, but the base is slightly more moisturizing. You only need a thin layer, so it dries quickly and you don't spend half the day walking around waiting for a thick layer of BP gel to dry, like you do with the Acne.org regimen.

Step 4: Solvere Fortified Moisturizer: This is an amazing moisturizer, and I would have to say my favorite so far. It feels very rich and emollient, but it feels very lightweight on the skin and leaves no oily or greasy residue. It works perfectly under makeup, but it's also rich enough for a night cream. It's described as fortified because it has many "good for skin" ingredients in it, such as: vitamins A, C, E, green tea extract, Co-Q10, and superoxide dismutase. Sounds expensive, right? But suprisingly it's less than $10 a jar purchased separately. It hasn't caused any breakouts, so I would definitely continue to purchase this alone regardless of whether or not I continue to use this kit in the future.

Though this kit is a lot like the Acne.org regimen, it's more similar to Proactiv, so let me do a quick comparison. In my opinion, I would say this is FAR superior. The Solvere cleanser combines both AHA & BHA and is not abrasive and irritating like the Proactiv cleanser. The Solvere toner also combines both AHA & BHA and is in pad form, vs. Proactiv's AHA toner in a bottle. The Solvere BP is in gel form, you receive half an ounce more, and it's not greasy and highly fragranced like Proactiv's Refining Lotion. Solvere also goes above and beyond by including a full sized AM & PM moisturizer, and NOT making you sign-up for autoship. In a nutshell, it works much better/faster, has more actives for better results, and it's not overly fragranced. The choice is obvious.

Prior to using this, I had been using the Acne.org regimen for 5 months. It was a long, inconvenient process each morning and night, and I was still breaking out right and left. In addition, my skin was always flaky and dry, which was very frustrating. Since starting the Solvere, I have had no new breakouts and my skin is starting to glow. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is starting to fade, and my skin is extremely smooth and flake-free. I would never go back, and I regret having spent that long trying to make it work for me.

Bottom line, I definitely recommend the Solvere Four Step Acne Clearing Kit.