Some time ago before Christmas, I found myself in full-blown hormonal breakout crisis mode. Eeek! So naturally I reached for my Duac. Duac is an expensive, prescription-only treatment that combines the antibiotic clindamycin with benzoyl peroxide. Much to my dismay, I realized my trusty Duac was expired. I don’t think it would have been dangerous to use it, but it most certainly wouldn’t be as effective. And when it comes to skincare treatments, potency is key.
So I found myself in Rite Aid, peering down at the skincare items on the shelf. Now, I love drugstores. Really. But some of them have the ambiance of a creepy parking lot at night. For some reason CVS I can walk to at any hour of the night and feel right at home. Walgreens, too. But this Rite Aid is always sort of creepy. However, it’s near my apartment and this was a skinmergency!
Initially I grabbed Persagel, which is a really good, simple benzoyl peroxide gel treatment. It doesn’t have excess irritating ingredients. But there on the shelf next to it was Zapzyt. (Zapzyt? Is that not the ugliest, most embarrassing name for a product ever?) $2 for 10% benzoyl peroxide. I know 10% is much higher than they say you really need (more like 2-5%), but my skin does okay w/ benzoyl peroxide. It doesn’t dry me out really bad like it does some people, so I went for it. $2 isn’t much of a gamble.
Honestly? It’s pretty damn good. I don’t notice it being any different than the slightly more expensive Persagel I had been getting in the past. It doesn’t have the added antibiotic benefit of Duac, but Duac is also a gazillion more dollars. I don’t have health insurance, so this will have to do. But even if I did have insurance, I think I would grab Zapzyt again because I am also a bargain hunter! The simple product with an ugly name has really made an impact on my skin for the positive. Combining that with keeping my skin excessively, ridiculously clean and moisturized. ;) So don’t be fooled (or ashamed, lol) by the cheapo price and dumb name. Give ‘er a shot!
Now all I have to do is deal with the scars. Oy. Unfortunately I have yet to find a cheap solution for that. I use DERMAdoctor’s Poetry In Lotion, a very high-potency retinol. It doesn’t come cheap either. It’s $75! But it WORKS wonders. I’ve heard Bio Oil is great for scars but nobody has specified if they meant facial scars from acne. Has anyone tried Bio Oil for this purpose? How’d it go? Let me know!
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