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Benzac ac acne wash review

 

Benzoyl peroxide. If you’ve ever had acne, there’s a fair chance you’ve heard of the stuff. Used all over the world for decades, it’s an absolute powerhouse ingredient that kicks acne bacteria’s butt. Loads of brands use it as a key ingredient, such as Acne.Org. Their ‘Treatment‘ is brilliant, and it works. If you need to slap a lot of BP all over your mug then it’s the way to go. Problem is… it’s online. Cue Benzac AC.

In Australia, you can quickly and easily grab this stuff off just about any Priceline shelf. Other retailers such as discount chemists and Chemist Warehouse are bound to stock it too. Produced by Galderma, a company which prides itself on skin care innovation (but not on an updated, functioning website apparently), Benzac AC is a brand I have used for years. The active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide, a tried and true method of killing off acne bacteria. Whether I’ve had a tiny little zit, or a huge blind pimple slowly building under my skin, this stuff has been my saviour.

The Benzac AC 5% Benzoyl Peroxide Gel is my go-to. I don’t know why it’s called a ‘gel’, because the consistency and appearance is far more like a cream. Regardless, this is the stuff I’ve used for years to wipe out my pesky spots. Using a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution is optimum – going lower may not be effective, and going higher is superfluous. The product design is great, as it’s easy to squeeze, and gravity will always drag the last drops to the end of the tube. Personally, I like to apply it to my skin using a cotton-tip (or q-tip, for my American friends), in order to avoid touching my skin as much as possible. The aim of the game is to reduce bacteria, after all!

A few extra points about this specific product:

• The price can range from around $15-$19 for only a 50g tube. While this is fine for mild acne, you may find yourself going through it at an insane pace for more moderate or severe spots. That’s ridiculous, and is the greatest negative of what is otherwise a fantastic product. So look out for sales, such as Priceline’s 40% off skincare sales and stock up!
• Avoid simply spot-treating. Topical acne treatments work best if you apply them not only to the spot, but to the wider area too. Again, you want to kill as much bacteria as possible, so keep working on getting that entire perimeter clean!
• You will likely bleach towels, pillow cases, clothing and possibly more while using this product. Be aware, and try not to use all the best linen in the house.
• It’s best used once a day, at night. And if you spend any time outside, remember to slip, slop and slap. Your skin can become extra sensitive to the sun when using benzoyl peroxide, and a good quality sunscreen can save your skin from getting damaged.

Now, let’s have a brief chat about another Benzac AC branded product: their 5% benzoyl peroxide wash.

Due to having so many feels from their ‘gel’, I naturally figured that their wash might be a decent method to ween myself off the nightly application routine, while still keeping my acne at bay. Hmmm… unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case.

I didn’t experience any kind of excessive redness or drying of my skin like they predict to happen, but this is likely due to my skin simply being used to benzoyl peroxide already. I mainly use acne washes during my morning skin care routine, so while you can use this twice a day if you want/if needed, I only used it during the morning, for about 3 weeks.

I followed the instructions, washing for 30 seconds before rinsing, and it felt just like a regular gentle cleanser. Sometimes cleansers can cause a mild tingly sensation, or make your skin feel tight. The Benzac AC wash doesn’t do that. It feels more like a smooth, gentle formula, similar to Cetaphil cleansers, and leaves no tightness in your sin afterwards.

After 3 weeks, I decided that while this thankfully didn’t cause me to have significantly more acne, it didn’t seem to be doing a crash hot job of stopping my spots, either. Now, I’m really not a fan of chopping and changing routines, but after 3 weeks of use, it’s pretty easy to determine whether something is working or not. Your skin has had time to become used to the new product, and it should be reacting favourably by this time. After many, many years of using acne-related products, I have a fairly good sense of when a product is, or isn’t working. In this case, my reaction was… neutral. Nothing much changed! And ultimately, at almost $20 a bottle, that’s just not good enough.

MY VERDICT:

My perspective on skin care has always been that using a mix of natural and man-made chemical products is perfectly fine. Some people may be turned off using benzoyl peroxide due to some of the side-effects (bleaching clothes and dry, red skin being the main ones); however, it’s undeniably one of the only ingredients that actually works. But, not every benzoyl peroxide product is going to be 100% effective, as I found out. Perhaps it’s my skin type, but I can’t deny my disappointment in the result from the Benzac AC face wash. It’s expensive, and I was hoping for way more bang for my buck. But… that gel? Yes! I give it two thumbs up and a big fat grin. It’s never let me down! It’s like my not-so-secret weapon, and it’s a major work horse. If you need something to get your acne under control quickly, then this is absolutely worth the price. It’s been a part of my skin care routine for years, and while I am using it less and less, I know it will always have my back.

Note: as far as I know, this is not a cruelty-free or vegan product line. As I am moving towards a full CF & V lifestyle, posts on products such as these will be rare. 

Feeling spotty?

I know I am, I've been quite spotty ever since Easter (which is expected) due to the great quantity of chocolates, tim tams and chocolate brownies consumed during (and still consuming). Ahhh why do I always do this to myself.

So... chocolate and junk food breaks me out like no tomorrow. I've took a couple of Skinb5 tablets to calm my skin, but admittedly I have been very lazy and not following through with my intake. As a result, all my eggs went in one basket, Benzac, the number one acne brand in pharmacy, offering a complete solution for mild to moderate acne suffers with a range of clinicially proven treatment cream, cleanser and moisturiser.

PRODUCTS CLAIM

• Benac Daily Facial Foam Cleanser will gently remove dirt, oil, bacteria, skin cells and other debris from the surface of the skin and unblock pores. The cleanser will also control the oiliness of the skin without drying.
• Benzac AC Treatment  possess Benzoyl Peroxide to kill acne bacteria, it will also unblock pores, whiteheads and blackheads. It has a mild peeling effect to help remove the follicle plug. This product contains glycerin to assist with hydration and reduces the risk of irritation. There are 3 gels available based on treatment strength: 2.5%, 5% and 10%.
• Benzac Daily Facial Moisturiser SPF 15 soothes and nourishes dry skin without blocking pores. It is oil free, light weight, non-greasy and protects against UVA and UVB rays.

MY VERDICT

Benzac Facial Foam Cleanser $12.95

From my experience, cleansers designed to reduce acne are generally poor at ridding makeup. This foaming cleanser did surprisingly well, I dispensed 1 pump into my hand and used my hands to cleanse my face, as with all foam cleansers I wouldn't go around the eye area. Benzac got rid of most of my makeup, however I double rinsed with a cream cleanser to rid my eye makeup.

It was quite gentle and wasn't too drying, althogh I still needed to spray a mist on my skin following the cleanse. Overall, not a bad foam cleanser.

Benzac Daily Facial Moisturiser SPF 15 $18.95

When I first pumped this moisturiser onto my hand I thought .. Ohh nooo, it was quite thick and reminded me of sunscreen that would leave a white overcast. Once I applied the mosturiser onto my skin it was fast absorbing and non-greasy. The texture was actually quite beautiful and water based if anything. I can definitely see how this can be a great product for people with oily skin, it is very light weight and fragrance free. I love that fact that it has SPF, although 15 is not quite enough for me so I have to put an extra layer of SPF 50 sunscreen over my moisturiser.

Another issue is that there's no night cream in this range - or an SPF free range so I can use it after cleansing on days where I don't leave the house. Nonetheless, I really liked this moisturiser!

Benzac AC Mild Strength $16.95

I have used a few different acne treatmment creams, fluid and gels. This is different to to my Oxy5 cream - which doesn't do anything for my skin and leave little white crusts on my face. Benzac provides a cooling effect, I feel that it helps calm my pimples down, but it doesn't get rid of them per se - for me anyway. I still experienced a build up of pus after using the product maybe my pimples are heavy duty and I need a treatment cream with a higher level of active ingredients! I still experienced redness (probably because I kept touching and popping my pimples which I shouldn't!!). My non-pus filled pimples healed a little bit faster with Benzac and it certainly did not leave any visible residule on my pimples. In addition, I did not experience any peeling effect.

*These products were provided for editorial purposes, all opinions are my own.